Escuela de seducción (2004) Reviews

• Easy to watch, easy to forget

  newland802005-03-28

  Victoria Abril is probably one of the best actresses in Spanish cinema, and has provided plenty of unforgettable performances in the past ("Amantes", "Nadie hablará de nosotras cuando hayamos muerto" or "Átame", to name just a few), but lately she seems unable to find worthy projects. "Escuela de seducción" is an acceptable comedy which deals, for the umpteenth time, with the war of the sexes using misunderstandings and fake personalities as dramatic resources. The premise is by no means original, but this is something most films lack nowadays, and therefore the result could have been more than acceptable. However, the film, instead of focusing on delivering an entertaining screwball comedy, seems to focus more on making the most unapologetic publicity ever seen in recent cinema (a brand of yogurt is not only the name of a character but also a key gag)and on inserting pointless video-clips (two Alejandro Sanz songs for no reason). Thus, the aim of the story falls somewhere along the tracks leaving the viewers unsatisfied. In any case, I would like to remark that there is an extremely moving subplot in which an excellent Petra Martínez (also seen in Almodóvar's "La mala educación") shows once more that she can shine even with the smallest of characters. Her great skill certainly helps to raise the level of this comedy. "Escuela de seducción" is a lot like the yogurt it advertises: it's smooth, nice and easy to swallow. It's a shame this film is also very easy to forget.