Mouth to Mouth Reviews

This manic Spanish farce is as charmless as its boorish and untalented hero, a hustler who dreams of being a movie star. Handsome struggling actor Victor (Javier Bardem), who worships at the altar of Robert De Niro, is reduced to working at the Hot Line adult phone service. While his long-suffering agent tries to land him a role in an expensive American feature, Victor takes quickly to hustling the gay men who make up most of his clientele. Things get complicated when he meets up with sultry go-go dancer Amanda (Aitana Sanchez-Gijon), who's been availing herself of his phone-sex services and -- sorprisa, sorprisa -- is not exactly what she seems. An comedy of erotic errors, rollicking thriller and contemporary rags-to-riches tale all rolled into one, Manuel Gomez Pereira's labored burlesque is undermined by the sour misogyny and homophobia that seep through its frenetic affectations. Pereira seems to have been aiming for the outrageous ebullience of Pedro Almodovar or Bigas Luna, but the frenzied result has a weary, desperate edge. And despite the fact that the action is liberally laced with racy phone trysts and slithery seduction scenes, it's all about as sexless as a rubber chicken.