Queens movie with Hugo Silva, Paco León, Daniel Hendler, Unax Ugalde, Gustavo Salmerón, and Raúl Jiménez.- Queens (2005) movie review: Fluffy but amusing and mostly well-acted gay marriage comedy.
Queens movie review
In Manuel Gómez Pereira’s fluffy 2005 Spanish comedy 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 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.
Queens / Reinas is Manuel Gómez Pereira’s dramatic comedy about five mothers (Verónica Forqué, Carmen Maura, Betiana Blum, Mercedes Sampietro, and Marisa Paredes) who must cope with their gay sons’ (and their own) romantic problems as they all get ready for Spain’s first mass gay wedding ceremony.
Made by Warner Bros. Spain, the movie has the look and feel of a glossy Hollywood flick – or of a non-English-language film begging for an American remake.
But cheesy commercialism and sentimentality aside, Queens boasts a couple of first-rate performances – Verónica Forqué as a nymphomaniac, Betiana Blum as a sweet-as-overripe-apple-pie Mom – and delivers more than a few good laughs.
As a plus, the climactic big-wedding finale is surprisingly touching.
Queens / Reinas (2005)
Director: Manuel Gómez Pereira.
Screenplay: Yolanda García Serrano, Joaquín Oristrell, and Manuel Gómez Pereira.
Cast: Betiana Blum. Carmen Maura. Verónica Forqué. Marisa Paredes. Mercedes Sampietro. Hugo Silva. Daniel Hendler. Paco León. Gustavo Salmerón. Unax Ugalde. Raúl Jiménez. Tito Valverde. Lluís Homar. Jorge Perugorría. Ginés García Millán. José Luis García Pérez. Andrea Occhipinti.
“Queens (2005) Movie Review” endnotes
Queens was reviewed at Los Angeles’ AFI FEST (website).
Daniel Hendler, Unax Ugalde, Gustavo Salmerón, Raúl Jiménez, Hugo Silva, and Paco León Queens movie image: Lucky Red | Warner Bros.
“Queens Movie Review: Gay Wedding Landmark + 5 Veteran Actresses” last updated in November 2021.