La gran vida (2000)

Director:

Antonio Cuadri

Writers:

Carlos Asorey (writer)
Fernando León de Aranoa (writer)

Release Date:

11 October 2000 (Spain)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

Living It Up tells the story of a bus driver who is on the verge of committing suicide when a man offers him some friendly advice...

Plot Keywords:

Slapped On Butt | Stripper | Beautiful Woman

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Salma Hayek	...	Lola
Carmelo Gómez	...	Martin
Fernando Valverde	...	Salva (as Tito Valverde)
Alicia Agut	...	Rosa
Miguel Ayones	...	Montero
Eusebio López	...	Maitre d'
Emilio A. Pina	...	Prestamista jefe
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mikel Albisu	...	Financiero 2
Carlos Bardem	...	Matón discoteca 1
Txema Blasco
Lara Corrochano	...	Prostituta
Antonio P. Costafreda		(as Antonio Costafreda)
Carlos Manuel Díaz
Paco Hernández
Paco Hidalgo
David Jareño	...	Apoderado
Rebeca Jiménez
Carlos Kaniowsky
Eusebio Lázaro
Pilar López de Ayala
Juan Antonio Lumbreras
Emilio Marco	...	Camarero
Juan Carlos Martín
Eri Marzán
Luis Montes	...	Botones hotel
Juan Motilla
Paul Naschy	...	Taxista
Diana Palazón	...	Camarera
Xoel Pamos	...	Forofo Futbol
Manuel Puchades	...	Matón prestamista
Jaime Pujol	...	Financiero 1
Cristina Raigal
Carolina Román
Inés Sáinz	...	Mujer escultural hotel
Palmira Santiago	...	La Señora
Sayago Ayuso
Xavier Serrat	...	Camarero
Kandido Uranga
Maru Valdivielso

Also Known As:

Living It Up (International: English title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language and sexuality.

Runtime:

112 min | Germany:109 min

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:L | Finland:K-11 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Germany:12 | Spain:13 | USA:R

Company:

BesoBeso Producciones

Movie Connections:

References Pretty Woman (1990)

Soundtrack:

Jugar al revés

A Pleasant Surprise

Wow, I rented this on a whim just because I'm a huge Salma Hayek fan. I must say, I really enjoyed it. I'm pretty sure most people already know the basic concept of the story (if you didn't you wouldn't be here), so I won't go into it. But I will speak on everything else. The acting all around was very good. Salma was a good choice for the feisty, opinionated Lola, Carmelo Gomez was the perfect choice for the goofy yet lovable Martin. He sort of reminds me of Mathew Perry. And Fernando Valverde was awesome as Salva. The script was very witty, and inventive. Also, the chemistry between Salma and Carmelo was truly special. I also enjoyed the aggressive rhythmic soundtrack. Some people will complain about the third act, and say it is a little to mainstream (read: Hollywood), and maybe it is. But it works! It was totally unpredictable and it resolved the story nicely. La Gran Vida also, makes for a great date movie, if she's into foreign films.