The Other Side of the Bed

A better title for this musical comedy about Madrid couples that rotate partners to supposedly humorous effect might be Musical Beds. Sad-faced Pedro gets dumped by his luscious girlfriend Paula, who is secretly having it on with Pedro's buddy Javier. Meanwhile, Javier tries to break things off with his significant other Sonia while fixing hapless Pedro up with oddball colleague Pilar, who has eyes for Javier. And the complications hardly end there. When Emilio Martinez-Lazaro's brightly colored confection sticks to narrative, it offers weak Almodovarian wackiness, and when it breaks into song, it's like VH1 with a Spanish soundtrack. Neither element is especially impressive on its own, and together they're even less so. To be sure, there are amusing, energetic moments here--a story thread about a PI partial to conspiracy theory is actually quite witty--but ultimately the parts can't compensate for the overall mediocre nature of the whole. Optional. [Note: DVD extras include a brief subtitled director's intro, and trailers. Bottom line: a skimpy extras package for a flashy but lightweight film.] (F. Swietek)