Hugo Silva, Raúl Jiménez (top) tie the knot; moms Betiana Blum and Carmen Maura (bottom) are on their side
In Manuel Gómez Pereira's fluffy 2005 Spanish comedy Reinas / Queens, a group of gay men and their mothers get ready for Spain's first mass gay wedding ceremony. That year, despite strong opposition from the Catholic Church and from religious and social traditionalists (many of whom still miss the good old traditional days of Franco's right-wing dictatorship), same-sex marriage became legal in Spain following the election of the socialist government led by prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. Shockingly, Spanish society hasn't collapsed under this heavy burden of sin and immorality — though I guess there's still time for that.
Anyhow, considering that today the Courage Campaign is organizing a "Light Up the Night" candlelight vigil to draw attention to the 18,000 couples that tied the knot before same-sex marriage became (once again) illegal in California, I felt it would be appropriate to post something about Queens, which has a number of funny moments.
Not funny at all, however, is the fact that Kenneth Starr, the grand inquisitor who rabidly pursued the Clintons in the 1990s, has filed a legal brief on behalf of the "Yes on 8" proponents seeking to nullify the aforementioned 18,000 same-sex marriages. (Read more about it.)
The first-rate female cast in Queens is composed of Carmen Maura, Betiana Blum, Marisa Paredes, Verónica Forqué, and Mercedes Sampietro. Among the gay men are: Unax Ugalde, Daniel Hendler, Hugo Silva, and Raúl Jiménez. Screenplay by Yolanda García Serrano and Joaquín Oristrell, with collaboration from Manuel Gómez Pereira.
And here's the link to a clip showing the mass gay wedding ceremony at the Queens finale.
Why isn't Almodovar making more movies with Carmen Maura?