Written for the Screen & Directed By Bill Condon; Starring Tonatiuh, Diego Luna, and Jennifer Lopez.
Based on Terrence McNally, John Kander, & Fred Ebb’s 1993 stage musical adaptation of Manuel Puig's 1976 novel of the same name. Kiss of the Spider Woman is set in an Argentinian prison during the Dirty War in 1983. Luis Molina (Tonatiuh), a gay window dresser, is serving an eight-year sentence for public indecency. He shares a cell with Valentin Arregui Paz (Diego Luna), a Marxist revolutionary. To escape the horrors of their imprisonment, Molina recounts the plot of a Hollywood musical starring his favorite actress, Ingrid Luna (Jennifer Lopez). One of the roles she plays in that is the spider woman, who kills her prey with a kiss.
The original production directed by Hal Prince opened on May 3rd, 1993 at the Broadhurst Theatre on Broadway. Despite receiving a mixed review from the New York Times, it ended up winning 7 Tony Awards (including Best Musical). About a year into the run, Vanessa Williams, Howard McGillin, and Brian Stokes Mitchell all joined the show, taking over for Chita Rivera, Brent Carver, and Anthony Crivello, respectively. Many critics felt they were superior to the original principals, which prompted the producers to record and release a second cast album featuring the replacements. Kiss of the Spider Woman later closed on July 1st, 1995 after 904 performances.
I’ve never seen the stage version in person myself. That’s pretty much due to it being such a rarely produced Tony winner for Best Musical. Although I am a fan of Kander & Ebb’s score from having listened to both cast recordings countless times. I actually did catch a bootleg of the original cast, and it really left an impression on me. I also have seen Héctor Babenco’s 1985 nonmusical film version starring William Hurt (who won an Oscar for his portrayal of Molina) and Raúl Juliá, which I found quite good. The fact that this movie adaptation of the musical was produced independently and is now being released in theaters should be considered a miracle.
Under Bill Condon’s direction, he takes inspiration from both prior stage-to-screen iterations of other Kander & Ebb musicals. 1972’s Cabaret from Bob Fosse, in that all but one of the book numbers from the source material aren’t used (and don’t feel missing); and 2002’s Chicago from Rob Marshall (which Condon wrote the screenplay for), in that most of the songs aren’t presented in the reality of the story. With this approach, two distinct worlds have been created quite effectively. One of them is very much a prison drama with most of the action taking place in Molina and Valentin’s cell. The other is the Hollywood musical Molina is recounting the plot of.
The prison storyline is quite a compelling one. It offers several emotionally enriching scenes as we follow the arc of Molina and Valentin’s relationship. Unlike William Hurt in the ‘85 film, the former character is played by a real-life queer latino. Actor Tonatiuh gives such a mesmerizing portrayal. On the outside, he’s just this flamboyant guy trying his best to stay positive during his sentence. Although on the inside, he offers a great amount of humanity. Diego Luna is very good as Valentin, the more cynical character who doesn’t like musicals. Together, they really grow to care for one another in such a harsh reality.
As audiences love to take their minds off the world at the movies, that segways into the musical within the film. Visually, it’s very reminiscent of old school MGM musicals in large part thanks to Scott Chambliss’ production design, Colleen Atwood & Christine L. Cantella’s costumes, and Tobias Schliesser’s cinematography. The latter in particular especially does several continuous shots of these big dance numbers (with such incredible choreography by Sergio Trujillo). The editing by Brian A. Kates thankfully doesn’t overcut like a majority of musicals nowadays. Jennifer Lopez gives a very glamorous star turn in her roles, showing everyone the true triple threat that she is.
To those who’d love to bring some of the more lesser known stage musicals to the big screen, please take notes from this film. Rather than trying to get one set up at a major studio with risks of executives either pulling the plug or messing it up, produce it independently. I felt that approach worked wonders for Kiss of the Spider Woman. With that being said, this is still worth seeing in theaters regardless.
Rating: 4/5
Based on Terrence McNally, John Kander, & Fred Ebb’s 1993 stage musical adaptation of Manuel Puig's 1976 novel of the same name. Kiss of the Spider Woman is set in an Argentinian prison during the Dirty War in 1983. Luis Molina (Tonatiuh), a gay window dresser, is serving an eight-year sentence for public indecency. He shares a cell with Valentin Arregui Paz (Diego Luna), a Marxist revolutionary. To escape the horrors of their imprisonment, Molina recounts the plot of a Hollywood musical starring his favorite actress, Ingrid Luna (Jennifer Lopez). One of the roles she plays in that is the spider woman, who kills her prey with a kiss.
The original production directed by Hal Prince opened on May 3rd, 1993 at the Broadhurst Theatre on Broadway. Despite receiving a mixed review from the New York Times, it ended up winning 7 Tony Awards (including Best Musical). About a year into the run, Vanessa Williams, Howard McGillin, and Brian Stokes Mitchell all joined the show, taking over for Chita Rivera, Brent Carver, and Anthony Crivello, respectively. Many critics felt they were superior to the original principals, which prompted the producers to record and release a second cast album featuring the replacements. Kiss of the Spider Woman later closed on July 1st, 1995 after 904 performances.
I’ve never seen the stage version in person myself. That’s pretty much due to it being such a rarely produced Tony winner for Best Musical. Although I am a fan of Kander & Ebb’s score from having listened to both cast recordings countless times. I actually did catch a bootleg of the original cast, and it really left an impression on me. I also have seen Héctor Babenco’s 1985 nonmusical film version starring William Hurt (who won an Oscar for his portrayal of Molina) and Raúl Juliá, which I found quite good. The fact that this movie adaptation of the musical was produced independently and is now being released in theaters should be considered a miracle.
Under Bill Condon’s direction, he takes inspiration from both prior stage-to-screen iterations of other Kander & Ebb musicals. 1972’s Cabaret from Bob Fosse, in that all but one of the book numbers from the source material aren’t used (and don’t feel missing); and 2002’s Chicago from Rob Marshall (which Condon wrote the screenplay for), in that most of the songs aren’t presented in the reality of the story. With this approach, two distinct worlds have been created quite effectively. One of them is very much a prison drama with most of the action taking place in Molina and Valentin’s cell. The other is the Hollywood musical Molina is recounting the plot of.
The prison storyline is quite a compelling one. It offers several emotionally enriching scenes as we follow the arc of Molina and Valentin’s relationship. Unlike William Hurt in the ‘85 film, the former character is played by a real-life queer latino. Actor Tonatiuh gives such a mesmerizing portrayal. On the outside, he’s just this flamboyant guy trying his best to stay positive during his sentence. Although on the inside, he offers a great amount of humanity. Diego Luna is very good as Valentin, the more cynical character who doesn’t like musicals. Together, they really grow to care for one another in such a harsh reality.
As audiences love to take their minds off the world at the movies, that segways into the musical within the film. Visually, it’s very reminiscent of old school MGM musicals in large part thanks to Scott Chambliss’ production design, Colleen Atwood & Christine L. Cantella’s costumes, and Tobias Schliesser’s cinematography. The latter in particular especially does several continuous shots of these big dance numbers (with such incredible choreography by Sergio Trujillo). The editing by Brian A. Kates thankfully doesn’t overcut like a majority of musicals nowadays. Jennifer Lopez gives a very glamorous star turn in her roles, showing everyone the true triple threat that she is.
To those who’d love to bring some of the more lesser known stage musicals to the big screen, please take notes from this film. Rather than trying to get one set up at a major studio with risks of executives either pulling the plug or messing it up, produce it independently. I felt that approach worked wonders for Kiss of the Spider Woman. With that being said, this is still worth seeing in theaters regardless.
Rating: 4/5