My Big Night

"My Big Night" from 2015 is a very funny Spanish film about the attempts to tape a New Years Eve program. Outside there are dozens and dozens of angry protesters due to a recent firing of 500 people at the studio. When part of the set falls on an extra, another one, Jose (Pepon Nieto) is called in just as his sister is en route to Disneyland and he has to take care of his mother. The woman (Bianca Suarez) he is sitting next to throws herself at him, but he's warned she's some sort of a jinx.

The rest of the extras have been there forever and some have formed romantic attachments. Meanwhile backstage teen idol Adanne (Mario Casas) is having some romantic attachments of his own, one from a woman who steals his semen as part of a blackmail plot. Another, over the hill super divo Alphonso (Raphael), is torturing his assistant, who turns out to be his adoptive son Yuri, with demands. Little does Alphonse know, but Yuri has brought in a hit man - a disgruntled fan - to get rid of Alphonse once and for all. During a sound check, the hit man stands in for Alphonse, as he knows every word of the song. Then Jose gets a call - his mother has set fire to the apartment building where she lives with her daughter, and the police deliver her to the set.

All of this, combined with the hilarious musical numbers, makes for a very funny movie with some wild performances, particularly from Raphael and Mario Casas. I have seen some of these variety shows done in Spain and Italy, and they are enormous productions done on huge sound stages.

I love these chaotic comedy films, and this one was a lot of fun. Highly recommended.