I Love You Baby (2001)

Waste of Money.

People are voting emotionally.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

This typical story about a gay country boy called Marcos (Jorge Sanz) who meets a boy named Daniel (Santiago Magill) . But then boy gets hit in head while singing karaoke in a discotheque . Later on , boy loses boy to girl . As Marcos falls for attractive single mother called Marisol (Tiaré Scanda) , a likable Dominican girl who meets her good-looking suitor . But Daniel is unwilling to relinquish Marcos so easily and things go awry . What will he do? . Daniel does one last desperate effort to get his ex-boyfriend , now as transvestite to reclaim his sweetheart . Everything that you can imagine is far from the stupid things that may happen him , as it results in the happenings turn upside down . One story , two loves . Three lovers . Four dreams. Romantic Spanish Dramedy (Comedy and Drama) with nice actors , charming South American songs , love stories , and mediocre direction . Fun and uplifting Spanish romantic comedy with crazy events , amusement and absurd situations . This entertaining film packs amusement , comical as well as dramatic situations , tongue-in-cheek , surrealist comedy including conventional pitfalls and many other things . This is a slightly funny film with entertaining events , giggles , emotion , twists and triangular love stories . The film moves in fits and starts most of which would be desirable , with more traps the viewer resists any kind , and some moments of enjoyment and others quite a few ridiculous . Humor is sometimes cheesy and gross-out with numerous naughty and picaresque situations such as sex jokes , bad taste and adult scenes . This is a special Spanish comedy from the 2000s with the usual ingredients such as twisted humor topped with a little bit of original touches here and there and the tone of the film is light-hearted . It's an agreeable , moving as well as lightweight comedy with brief touches of drama , professionally acted and concerning the narration about the relationship among fiancée , fiancés and a transvestite . Sitting in a strange middle ground between the completely absurd and the stylishly cool . Main actors are acceptable , though Jorge Sanz is miscast . Support cast is frankly well such as Verónica Forque , Alicia Agut , Laura Ramos and cameo by two singers : Dani Martin of ¨El Canto Del Loco¨ and Boy George of ¨Culture Club¨. This is a fast crazy movie with lot of fun situations , antics , bemusement and with a bunch of offbeat roles . This is another Spanish drama/comedy romp , it is a bemusing story that contains lots of humor , entertainment , and involving gays , immigrants , lower class people , workers , stage actors and many other things . A film rich in troublesome loving stories , where love is the central theme seen from various points of view , as from homosexuality or ordinary Hispanic-South American couple . It has some moments of enjoyment as well as amusement and others quite a few embarrassing . Regular and unbalanced , but gaining the sympathy almost at all times . This is an agreeable as well as uneven comedy in less than 110 minutes of length and yet with an air of naturalness and credibility rarely match . Colorful photography in juicy atmosphere by Gonzalo Berridi , deemed to be one of the best Spanish cameramen , he has photographed successes such as ¨El Viaje De Carol¨, ¨Amantes Circulo Polar¨ , ¨Ardilla Roja¨ , ¨Camaron¨ and ¨8 Apellidos Vascos¨. Lively and catching musical score filled with marvelous songs , and Dominican music such as ¨Bachata¨and ¨Merengue¨ . The motion picture was middlingly directed by Alfonso Albacete and his partner David Menkes . They are good writers and directors , being expert on comedies and dramas dealing with gay world and young people . Both of whom are especially known for Más Que Amor, frenesí (1996), Atomica (1999) Sobreviviré (1999) and Mentiras y Gordas (2009).

Unexpected events take a while to digest. Some can eventually be understood as to cause and effect; some cannot. The latter is evident in two ways regarding this film: first, the main premise of the story just makes no sense at all, even after lengthy reflection and generous second-guessing; and second, one wonders why one bothered to watch the last half, which is something of a phenomenon for a viewer who should have known better.Still, it is well-made and technically proficient as a movie. The actors and the direction cannot be faulted. Set in modern Madrid, it presents us with believable characters involved in totally unbelievable interactions with each other. Marcos and Daniel are lovers, but the again maybe they're not. Marisol and Marcos are variously not attracted to each other, but then they are. Daniel and Maria are one and the same, but Daniel winds up with a Maria like-alike -- sort of. The sensible viewer will hit the off switch when the disco ball drops.It makes me think about a nightmare in which I am run over by a truck, then find the rewind button and make it all go away before I wake up.Watch it for the good job the actors do in spite of a lousy script.

I LOVE YOU BABY takes you places you don't expect in its own quiet way, never pushing, just coaxing you along via the four charming lead characters. Though its description (on both the IMDB and on netflix--where I rented the DVD) sounds Almodovarian, I LOVE YOU BABY is a gentle, wise, beautifully performed story of love in its many facets--gay, straight, parental, friendship--with particular emphasis on exploring the continuum from hetero to homosexuality. (The falling disco ball, rather than offering some magical means of transformation, simply shows how easily we can fall in or out of sexual attraction.) Set yourself up, not for a rolling-in-the-aisles comedy, but a sweetly believable story of four people whose connections withstand surprising complications, including one of the most engaging and credible cross-dressing stints in a long while. Santiago Magill (from the fine Peruvian film "Don't Tell Anybody"), Jorge Sanz and Veronica Forque (both quite different here from the funny "Why Do They Call it Love When They Mean Sex?") and the lovely, young Tiare Scanda all give lustrous performances that go deeper than most romantic comedies. Most surprising, given the bizarre events, there is not a false step in the entire film because everyone plays each moment for real. I LOVE YOU BABY is highly recommended to anyone interested in (or struggling with) issues of sexual preference, commitment, and the meaning of love (and who doesn't struggle now and again with one of those themes?). An added bonus is the interesting look at the Dominican community in Spain. Oh, yes--there's a special treat here for Boy George fans, too. Though I don't know the work of the two directors, I am going to search out their other films--fast!

This seems to appeal much more to women than to men, possibly because the ending is so much more satisfying for women (featuring lots of happy mothers with children!). I found it quite mediocre and formulaic, and it just barely held my attention to the end. It has a peculiarly "young-and-innocent" feel to it; although the plot involves a male-male-female sexual triangle, and the woman already has an illegitimate child, it is very chaste and there aren't even any sex scenes! The biggest problem is with the mis-casting of Jorge Sanz; he is supposed to be playing a highly-desirable guy in his early 20s, the same age-range as the other two leads. However he was 32 at the time this was filmed, and unfortunately he has aged rapidly and looks more like 40 on-screen. Also he seems to be sleepwalking through the role. So you end up with a once-hot rapidly-aging lead actor giving a low-energy performance, mis-matched with two young and energetic co-stars, a feeble child-like script, and mediocre direction and choppy editing. I generously gave it a 5. To really see Sanz in action, view his early works like the romantic "Belle Epoque" or the gritty electrifying "Amantes".