I Love You Baby (2001)

Directors:

Alfonso Albacete
David Menkes

Writers:

Alfonso Albacete (writer)
Lucía Etxebarría (writer)

Release Date:

26 October 2001 (Spain)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Plot:

Boy Meets Boy. Boy gets hit in head. Boy loses boy to girl. What will he do? |

Plot Keywords:

Amnesia | Gay Interest

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Jorge Sanz	...	Marcos
Tiaré Scanda	...	Marisol
Santiago Magill	...	Daniel
Verónica Forqué	...	Carmen
Marilyn Torres	...	Kenya
Alicia Agut	...	Asunción
Nacho San Pedro	...	Antonio
Laura Ramos	...	Kati
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Joel Angelino	...	Luis
Carmen Arbex
Chacho Carreras
Adriana Davidova	...	Actriz Serie TV
Jacobo Domínguez	...	Journalist
Inmaculada Galván	...	Presentadora Telemadrid
Boy George	...	Himself
Javier Manrique
Dani Martín		(as Daniel Martín)
Santa Morel
Chevi Muraday
Juan Prado
Marta Suárez	...	Chica 1
Juan Carlos Vellido
Elaine Yasiris	...	Teresa

MPAA:

Rated R for some language and sexual content.

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Spain:13 | USA:R

Company:

Alquimia Cinema

Movie Connections:

Follows Sobreviviré (1999)

Soundtrack:

Amor, amor

A gentle and surprising movie about the hetero/homo sexual continuum

I LOVE YOU BABY takes you places you don't expect in its own quiet way, never pushing, just coaxing you along via the four charming lead characters. Though its description (on both the IMDB and on netflix--where I rented the DVD) sounds Almodovarian, I LOVE YOU BABY is a gentle, wise, beautifully performed story of love in its many facets--gay, straight, parental, friendship--with particular emphasis on exploring the continuum from hetero to homosexuality. (The falling disco ball, rather than offering some magical means of transformation, simply shows how easily we can fall in or out of sexual attraction.) Set yourself up, not for a rolling-in-the-aisles comedy, but a sweetly believable story of four people whose connections withstand surprising complications, including one of the most engaging and credible cross-dressing stints in a long while. Santiago Magill (from the fine Peruvian film "Don't Tell Anybody"), Jorge Sanz and Veronica Forque (both quite different here from the funny "Why Do They Call it Love When They Mean Sex?") and the lovely, young Tiare Scanda all give lustrous performances that go deeper than most romantic comedies. Most surprising, given the bizarre events, there is not a false step in the entire film because everyone plays each moment for real. I LOVE YOU BABY is highly recommended to anyone interested in (or struggling with) issues of sexual preference, commitment, and the meaning of love (and who doesn't struggle now and again with one of those themes?). An added bonus is the interesting look at the Dominican community in Spain. Oh, yes--there's a special treat here for Boy George fans, too. Though I don't know the work of the two directors, I am going to search out their other films--fast!