The opening credits of Queens (Reinas), a Spanish-language film set in present-day Madrid, sets the tone for the narrative to come. The jazzy, smart trumpets and perky animation hearken back to the elaborate romantic comedies of the 1960s, with their numerous characters, puns, and comedic shtick.

Queens differs from this plot structure by being set during a mass wedding celebrating the first legal gay marriages in Spain. By inserting queer content into a familiar, straight comedic context, director Manuel Gómez Pereira gives gay romance equal value. It's sort of like dragging your Catholic grandmother into a synagogue so she can see for herself that worship is pretty much the same wherever you go.

Focusing on the impending nuptials of three male couples, Queens unfolds like the play Six Degrees of Separation. By showing how each character's circle of contacts overlaps throughout the community, Pereira traces the presence of queer folks in every quarter. Rafa (Raúl Jiménez) is the son of Reyes (Marisa Paredes), an actress. Rafa's in love with Jonas (Hugo Silva), the son of the gardener hired by his mother. And so on times three.

The other two couples are Miguel (Unax Ugalde) and Óscar (Daniel Hendler), and Hugo (Gustavo Salmerón) and Narciso (Paco León). Miguel's mother, Magda (Carmen Maura), owns the hotel that is hosting the historical event, and Óscar's mother, Ofelia (Betiana Blum), comes to stay there for an extended visit, along with her shaggy canine companion, Malinia. Hugo's mother, Helena (Mercedes Sampietro), is the judge who unwillingly ends up presiding over the event, and Narciso's mother, Nuria (Verónica Forqué), flaky and flirtatious, comes on to Hugo's dad.

For the sake of intrigue, the movie goes back and forth in time, but Pereira might have omitted this for the value of clarity. As the various plots and subplots proceed, the characters' follies and foibles are revealed.

Future in-laws meet for drinks or meals. Indiscretions come to light. The same old ugly misconceptions that straight people clutch to so tenaciously about gay men have their moment: Hugo's mother accuses Narciso of converting him. Hugo's father is certain his son's complete lack of sexual history with women is some kind of red flag. Jonas' own father calls him “faggot.”

Along the way, Miguel abandons the insufferable pooch Malinia when he's asked to take her for a walk. Narciso's mother smacks the crap out of a recent trick. Óscar and Hugo's mothers pretend to be big old dykes, and Rafa's mama plays bed blanket bingo with Jonas' dad. Rampant amusement and moments of hilarity ensue.

Page 1 / 2 - Next