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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
Universal acclaim
Based on 12 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 2 votes
Read user comments
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Movie Info
Genre(s): Comedy | Drama
Written by: Pedro Almodóvar
Directed by: Pedro Almodóvar
Release Date:
Theatrical: November 11, 1988
DVD: January 30, 2007
Running Time: 90 minutes, Color
Origin: Spain
Language(s): Spanish (with English subtitles)
Summary
RATING: R for restricted, under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian
Starring Antonio Banderas, Carmen Maura, Julieta Serrano, María Barranco, Rossy de Palma, Kiti Manver, Guillermo Montesinos, and Fernando Guillén
The wildly hysterical international box office hit, women on the verge of a nervous breakdown, introduces us to Pepa who has just been jilted by an answering machine. The love of her life, Ivan, has just ended their relationship and she is heartbroken. But misery does love company. (MGM)
Also On Metacritic
FILM: All About My Mother Bad Education High Heels Live Flesh Talk to Her The Flower of My Secret Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! Volver
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
TV Guide Staff (Not Credited)
The film is flushed with bright light and cartoon hues, nicely accenting the fast-paced stew of incidents.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Jay Carr
The women here aren't afraid to get extreme about love, but in the end, you sense that they are too sound to destroy themselves over the worthless man they have allowed to personify it. That's what lifts Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown from the amusing to the sublime. [23 Dec 1988, p.23]
Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas
The smiles don't fade until the finish of Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown when we witness Pepa's realization that she has, in fact, come into her own and taken charge of her own destiny. [20 Dec 1988, p.1]
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Jay Scott
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, is certainly indebted to the plastic and neon schlock of Hollywood director Frank Tashlin, but the farcical epic of actress Pepa Marcos is closer in innovative energy to the transformations of Fassbinder than to the recycling of Spielberg and De Palma. [20 Jan 1989, p.C1]
Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington
With Maura delivering an explosive performance, Almodovar presents Pepa's tale with real gusto--with vibrant colors, gaudy personality, mad jokes and a sexiness that erupts off the screen.
Read Full Review >Empire David Parkinson
An explosion of garish colour, wacky detail and surreal complications, Almodovar’s very funny, urban comedy overflows with the unexpected. See it!
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum
The results are high-spirited, with nice ensemble work from Almodovar's team of regulars, but the playlike structure (originally derived from Cocteau's The Human Voice but drastically reworked) is disappointingly conventional.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Rita Kempley
This is painless sexual politics, a fiendish comedy full of prickles and pain and the bright shiny pinks of a matador's cape. The farce falters from time to time, the pace is imperfect, but who can resist this "Twilight Zone" of limitless coincidences?
Read Full Review >Washington Post Desson Howe
Gorging on the bad, bad world of TV soap operas, tabloid news and those Roy Lichtenstein cartoons where anguished women lament their lives with "Brad," Spanish director Pedro Almodovar gets a wonderful rise out of life's lows in Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.
Read Full Review >Variety Staff (Not Credited)
This often hilarious, irreverent and offbeat comedy is the most coherent young Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar has limned thus far.
Read Full Review >Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt
There's some sexually tinged humor and a bit of foul language, but most of the action is lightheaded fun. The picture also has a striking visual style - showing what a strong talent Almod'ovar can be when he focuses his energy on cinematic values, instead of dreaming up provocative stunts that put his work beyond the pale for many moviegoers.
Read Full Review >Time Vincent Canby
The pace sometimes flags, and there are scenes in which the comic potential appears to be lost only because the camera is in the wrong place. Farce isn't easy to pull off, but Mr. Almodovar is well on his way to mastering this most difficult of all screen genres.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 7.0 (out of 10) based on 2 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
