Pepi, Luci, Bom

Stars: Carmen Maura (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown; Ay, Carmela!), Eva Siva. Although Spanish director Pedro Almodovar has made a string of comic hits (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!, and High Heels are his most recent), his first film Pepi, Luci, Bom is a grainy, immature effort that, more than anything else, shows just how far Almodovar has come. The plot is paper-thin: Pepi (Carmen Maura), who is raped by a local policeman, takes her revenge by hooking up Luci (the policeman's sadomasochistic wife) with Bom (Pepi's dominating punk rocker/lesbian friend). Throw in some music, a party, and enough outrageous scenes to turn Tipper Gore's hair white, and that's Pepi, Luci, Bom. It takes a sure sense of direction to make rape the subject of a black comedy, or to turn a scene in which one woman urinates on another into a laughing situation. The Almodovar of 1992 might be able to do it; but the Almodovar of 1980 bit off more than he could chew back then. Traces of the imp director's wit are evident throughout the film, but the immature humor and unrelenting attempts to offend ultimately outweigh the few telling jokes. Audience: This won't appeal to general audiences or even many fans of good foreign films. FSO (film students only).