Pedro Almodovar upholds his reputation for controversy with this candy-colored burlesque. Unfortunately, Almodovar's peculiar vision is more repellent than risque here, particularly in his farcical depiction of rape.
Kika (Veronica Forque) is a flirtatious make-up artist who gets involved with several odd characters in modern-day Madrid, including Nicholas (Peter Coyote), a penniless American writer whose wife has just died under suspicious circumstances, and his stepson Ramon (Alex Casanovas), who literally
rises from the dead while Kika prepares him for his funeral. After Ramon's "resurrection," he and Kika move in together. Complications include Ramon's sexual quirks; their lesbian maid, Juana (Rossy de Palma), who has a crush on Kika; Juana's mentally retarded, sex-mad, ex-porno star brother Pablo
(Santiago Lajusticia), who rapes Kika; Andrea Scarface (Victoria Abril), host of the tabloid TV show "Today's Worst," who shows a videotape of Kika's ordeal on her program; and the fact that Kika is having an affair with Nicholas, who has a very scary secret life.
Despite the presence of some talented and charismatic actresses, KIKA is much closer in spirit to Almodovar's more disturbing recent films (TIE ME UP! TIE ME DOWN! 1989, HIGH HEELS 1991) than WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN (1987), the witty ensemble comedy that put him on the
international map. Almodovar's color design is as bright as ever, but his vision is at its ugliest, and many viewers may be put off by his freewheeling, screwball approach to violence against women. That KIKA isn't thoroughly offensive is a tribute to the cast, especially Forque and the striking
Abril, a vision in Gaultier and Versace. leave a comment