Living It Up (2000)

After borrowing from loan sharks for a final round of partying before committing suicide, a man (Carmelo Gomez) falls in love with a waitress (Salma Hayek).

Director:

Antonio Cuadri

Writers:

Carlos Asorey, Fernando León de Aranoa (as Fernando León)

Stars:

Salma Hayek, Carmelo Gómez, Tito Valverde

1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Salma Hayek	...	Lola
Carmelo Gómez	...	Martin
Tito Valverde	...	Salva
Alicia Agut	...	Rosa
Miguel Ayones	...	Montero
Eusebio López	...	Maitre d'
Emilio A. Pina	...	Prestamista jefe
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mikel Albisu	...	Financiero 2
Sayago Ayuso
Carlos Bardem	...	Matón discoteca 1
Txema Blasco
Carita Boronska	...	Singer
Lara Corrochano	...	Prostituta
Antonio P. Costafreda	...	(as Antonio Costafreda)
Carlos Manuel Díaz

Storyline

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 - borrow 100 million pesetas from the Mafia and do everything he has ever dreamed of before ending his life. While spending the money he falls in love with Mexican waitress and realizes now he has something to live for. The only problem is that now he has to find a way to pay back the $1 million he owes to the Mafia!

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Plot Keywords:

reference to the mafia | man and woman's relationship | meltdown | suicide attempt | money laundering | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and sexuality

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in Jersey Girl (2004)

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Soundtracks

Sur
Written by Cubino and Rois
Performed by Latin.com

User Reviews

Warm and interesting story!

I came across La Gran vida at a friend's place, when I was asking him to suggest a movie for me. I am glad he recommended this. This is like a breath of fresh air! It is a light movie, about how desperate life can become, or... how interesting it can be. It all depends on how much money you have as the movie suggests. So Carmelo Gómez (Martin), a bus driver with not much of a life figures out that its not worth it ... Suicide is the answer. But as he attempts to commit suicide, some guy tries to make him change his decision, with a very tempting question: How about Living for one week with 100 million dollars in your hands then die after that? -- Now that is an interesting offer for sure. He will take 100 million dollars, but he must return them as 150 after one week, or else he gets killed, well he is about to commit suicide so why not delay it for a week? And so ... we join the ride, one poor man's 7 day journey with excessive wealth! Salma Hayek (Lola), looking better than ever, is very convincing in her role. Don't look for a great script with twists, look for a warm and interesting story! Avoid some draw backs from the writers and you will enjoy this. Enjoy Carmelo Gómez's acting, very good! It doesn't demand much, so don't ask for a lot! 7/10

Details

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

11 October 2000 (Spain)

Also Known As:

Az eltapsolt pénz

Company Credits

Production Co:

BesoBeso Producciones, Bocaboca Producciones, Telecinco

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1