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Veronica Forque, Peter Coyote, Victoria Abril, Alex Casanovas, Rossy de Palma ... see more see more... , Anabel Alonso , Jesus Bonilla , Karra Elejalde , Charo Lopez , Manuel Bandera , Blanca Li , Bibiana Fernandez

Spanish director Pedro Almodovar returns to his recurring framework of offbeat sexuality and death with this colorful comedy. Kika (Veronica Forque) is a Madrid makeup artist who falls in love with Ra... read more read more...mon (Alex Casanovas), a dead man whose face Kika is hired to prepare for a funeral. Kika's attraction resurrects Ramon, and the two begin cohabiting. Kika becomes embroiled in a pair of criminal schemes, one involving her maid Juana (Rossy De Palma) and Juana's amorous, retarded brother Pablo (Santiago Lajusticia), the other involving Ramon's father, Nicholas (Peter Coyote). After Kika is raped by Pablo, she learns the incident was videotaped by Ramon, the footage ending up on a tabloid television program hosted by Andrea Scarface (Victoria Abril). Kika and Ramon split, but the latter discovers his father's complicity in the demise of his mother, leading to a violent confrontation. Because of Almodovar's humorous treatment of the film's rape, Kika was his third feature in a row that resulted in critical accusations of misogyny and exploitation. His subsequent material became more dramatic and less tinged with black humor. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

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70% want to see it

6,993 ratings

Critics

62% liked it

13 critics

R, 1 hr. 55 min.

Directed by: Pedro Almodóvar

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DVD Release Date: November 26, 1997

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Veronica Forque
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Flixster Reviews (308)

  • SirPant
    November 16, 2011
    SirPant
    For me, Kika represents the last of the trashy Almodóvar films that I think maybe he did to death. Granted there is enough of his signature humour and strong female performances to like but personally, I really tired of the tasteless 'rape humour'. I liked the character of Kika b... read moreut after a good start, it just went downhill, only peaking in the last minute, albeit a bit too late to save it.
  • 5oclockcoffee
    August 5, 2009
    5oclockcoffee
    Pointless. The trash being used to "make laugh". Stupid people, things and situations supposed to be funny. After half hour, I simply turned it off. What a waste of time!





  • 76Majikat
    March 1, 2009
    76Majikat
    My least favourite of Almodovar?s so far, the plot seemed quite weak and there was very little excitement to it.

    Almodovar gave some added controversy here, by making a rape scene into a bit of a comedy moment, I would be interested to see what people?s comments are and how ma... read moreny will feel it reached over the controversial line?
  • fernandorafael
    August 23, 2008
    fernandorafael
    Irreverent and hilarious, KIKA is Pedro Almodovar's craziest film. Back are the usual Almodovar elements: colors, dramedy, sexual deviation, murder. The film works thanks to the funny script by Pedro, and the amazing performance by Veronica Forqué as the title character. The rest... read more of the cast is very good too: Peter Coyote, Rossy De Palma, Victoria Abril (in a marvelous role) and Àlex Casanovas.
  • RCCLBC
    May 16, 2008
    RCCLBC
    Pedro Almodovar AND Jean-Paul Gautier, how can you go wrong?
  • fb1142797643
    November 12, 2011
    fb1142797643
    A mixed success, "Kika" juggles an erratic batch of characters and barely keeps its balls in the air. It's so confused that even the central role is disputable -- is it Kika or her boyfriend Ramón? Perhaps writer/director Pedro Almodóvar decided putting Kika's name in the title... read more was a necessary clarification.

    Kika is an effervescent makeup artist who pretties up the dead for funerals. She is summoned to work on the recently departed Ramón ("He'll turn green soon...get rid of the pallor before we take him to the morgue") but, surprise! He's merely having a cataleptic seizure. After he revives, he and Kika begin living together. But she's also having a casual affair with his stepfather Nicholas. Who is suspected of killing Ramón's mother years ago, even though her death was ruled a suicide. Nicholas is also pursued by Andrea, a scar-faced tabloid reporter who dresses like a dominatrix and wears a ridiculous helmet rigged with a TV camera. To complicate matters, she is his ex-girlfriend and also Ramón's ex-psychologist. Meanwhile, Kika and Ramón have a hatchet-faced maid whose brother is a former porn actor newly escaped from jail.

    Wow.

    Not even Almodóvar can give this mess a coherent dramatic shape, though he gives himself a break by writing the maid and her brother out of the story early (but not before using the latter for what could be the funniest rape scene in film history). Verónica Forquà (C) and Victoria Abril offer gutsy, uninhibited performances as the brazen Kika and Andrea, and Peter Coyote (Nicholas) gives Americans a familiar face to follow.
  • heybarbara
    June 15, 2007
    heybarbara
    Like all Almodovar films, this definitely isn't for all tastes, but if you like unconventional films, this is a pretty good choice.

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Critic Reviews

Janet Maslin
May 20, 2003
Janet Maslin, New York Times

Kika is actually one of this film maker's more buoyant recent efforts, a sly, rambunctious satire that moves along merrily until it collapses -- as many Almodovar films finally do -- under the weight ... Full Review

Joe Brown
January 1, 2000
Joe Brown, Washington Post

It doesn't matter that Kika doesn't make sense -- doesn't even try to make sense. It's just so much fun to watch. Full Review

Desson Thomson
January 1, 2000
Desson Thomson, Washington Post

Something alarming has happened to Almodovar: He has become commonplace and predictable. Full Review

James Berardinelli
January 1, 2000
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

Almodovar's central parody is strong enough to save this film from floundering too much or too often. It's daring and nasty, but rarely brilliant. Full Review

Susan Tavernetti
May 20, 2003
Susan Tavernetti, Palo Alto Weekly

Kika is a kinky post-modern pastiche fatally short on substance and energy. Full Review

Michael W. Phillips, Jr.
February 28, 2002
Michael W. Phillips, Jr., Goatdog's Movies

Painfully flat. Full Review

Stephen Farber
January 9, 2002
Stephen Farber, Movieline

Almodovar's latest movie, Kika, is...an outrageous campy comedy about the omnipresence of tabloid TV. Full Review

Marc Savlov
January 1, 2000
Marc Savlov, Austin Chronicle

A riot of colors, Kika is sometimes sick, sometimes playful, but consistently hilarious and entertaining in ways that few films have been lately. Full Review

January 1, 1800
Entertainment Weekly

Click to read the article Full Review

Emanuel Levy
June 26, 2005
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

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