Jennifer Lopez to Star in KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN Film- Page 24

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 10/3/25 at 8:30am

I think Dressing Them Up tells you everything you need to know about Molina and introduces you to the fantasy world he has created in his head to get through. Always a way to find how to do something.

[John Adams]

Posted: 10/3/25 at 8:47am

BrodyFosse123 said: "Based on her recent CBS Morning profile, she’s truly delusional and truly believes those enhanced vocals produced for the film are genuinely 100% coming out of her own lips."

Granted, I'm not as big a fan of this soundtrack as others (or JLo's vocals on the soundtrack), but is it really fair, or even accurate to describe her as "truly delusional and truly believes those enhanced vocals produced for the film are genuinely 100% coming out of her own lips"?

Even if we all (or many) suspect/know the truth of the matter, I think it's more delusional to expect her to say anything different while promoting the film. That's a big part of the job. 

[blaxx]

Posted: 10/3/25 at 9:26am

joevitus said: "blaxx said: "joevitus said: "blaxx said: "TheatreFan4 said: "I think it's supposed to be Hollywood, because Molina makes a big point about them white washing Ingrid Luna."

But it's obviously not Hollywood, as Hollywood in the era would not have had movies with 100% Latinos starring.

Anyway, too bad the budget didn't allow for more exciting musical numbers, both visually and choreographically."

It's almost like it's a fantasy sequence or something. I mean, you are familiar with the show, yes?"

More than most shows, love. This is one where the Prince production puts the film to shame when it comes to musical numbers. No electricity, no fear for her, just a bunch of clichés and stereotypes that the stage production is not.

If you think it's a masterpiece, so be it."

I may wind up hating it, who knows, but complaining that the staging of the musical numbersdoesn't have enough quick cuts and that the sequences can't be meant as MGM musicals because the cast is Latin is just...bizarre. We're seeing Molina's mental recreationof movies he's watched. And if Condon wants to imagine that MGM surrounded a Latina star with Latin extras (or that Molina is remembering them as such), I don't see that as any great failure on the part of the produciton. You could point out in terms of the stage versionthat musicals of the era never involved Russian countesses being shot on the streets of Moscow and no musical star of the era would have been cast asamonster/fatalelike the Spider Woman. In the world of this musical, one Hollywood stardid."

JLo groupies are exhausting.

[theatreguy]

Posted: 10/3/25 at 10:27am

Fandango has a promo code for $15 off showings October 9 through 12: SPIDERWOMAN.

[joevitus]

Posted: 10/3/25 at 11:39am

CarlosAlberto said: "joevitus said: "Quite love the soundrack with the exception of "Gimme Love," which, to be fair, is my absolute favorite song in the score, so my preferences are very much keyed to the stage orchestrations and of course the orignal dissonant ending/Act 1 curtain. But, wow, talk about recreating an era in sound! So lush and period specific. Creating a quite different vibe from that, the Spanish language "Dear One" with that lovely guitar accompaniment is wonderful."

I completely agree with you about “Gimme Love”. It’s my favorite song in the show and on this soundtrack it is a disappointment. Gone are the carnival whistles and tribal jungle beats. Her vocals lack energy, fire and character."

Perfectly put.

[joevitus]

Posted: 10/3/25 at 11:40am

BrodyFosse123 said: "Don’t care how or WTF technology they used on her, but Lopez sounds fantastic on this. For a film adaptation, this is glorious. It’s forgivable for it being an altered performance. We all know for a fact on stage she isn’t capable of giving these vocals live. Based on her recent CBS Morning profile, she’s truly delusional and truly believesthose enhanced vocals produced for the film are genuinely 100% coming out of her own lips."

Lol, I had no idea she isn't capable of this, but I agree that it doesn't matter when the result is this good. 

[joevitus]

Posted: 10/3/25 at 12:26pm

BrodyFosse123 said: "TheatreFan4 said: "Let us all live with the level of delusion and success that Jlo lives with...

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DPM_L1pDWBD/?igsh=MXI0MnlqbTUxODYwbg=="

The comments on that Instagram reel are beyond epic. They’re a Michelin rated 8 course meal."

I don't know how I missed these posts earlier, but frankly, I think maybe she's being misunderstood. When she talks about singing like Barbra Streisand, I think she means the style of singing, and specifically doing songs in the Broadway idiom, not that she's saying she did or does have a vocal instrument as powerful and pitch-perfect as Streisand. Similarly, when she says her voice is a better fit for musical theater than concerts, I think she's talking about the style of song, not about whether she at this point in her life has the vocal prowess to belt out an evening's worth of songs for eight performances a week for months on end. 

[joevitus]

Posted: 10/3/25 at 12:39pm

blaxx said: "joevitus said: "blaxx said: "joevitus said: "blaxx said: "TheatreFan4 said: "I think it's supposed to be Hollywood, because Molina makes a big point about them white washing Ingrid Luna."

But it's obviously not Hollywood, as Hollywood in the era would not have had movies with 100% Latinos starring.

Anyway, too bad the budget didn't allow for more exciting musical numbers, both visually and choreographically."

It's almost like it's a fantasy sequence or something. I mean, you are familiar with the show, yes?"

More than most shows, love. This is one where the Prince production puts the film to shame when it comes to musical numbers. No electricity, no fear for her, just a bunch of clichés and stereotypes that the stage production is not.

If you think it's a masterpiece, so be it."

I may wind up hating it, who knows, but complaining that the staging of the musical numbersdoesn't have enough quick cuts and that the sequences can't be meant as MGM musicals because the cast is Latin is just...bizarre. We're seeing Molina's mental recreationof movies he's watched. And if Condon wants to imagine that MGM surrounded a Latina star with Latin extras (or that Molina is remembering them as such), I don't see that as any great failure on the part of the produciton. You could point out in terms of the stage versionthat musicals of the era never involved Russian countesses being shot on the streets of Moscow and no musical star of the era would have been cast asamonster/fatalelike the Spider Woman. In the world of this musical, one Hollywood stardid."

JLo groupies are exhausting."

Tiresome queens are more so. I'm not remotely a JLo groupie. But it's fun to watch you sidestep my actual comments to lob an ad hominem. Indicates you can't face the inherant flaws of your original criticism (that the lack of quick cuts is odd for musical numbers in Latin American movies of the 40's, or that somehow these can't be Hollywood movies because the it's too great a suspension of disbelief this movie is asking us to make that either MGM actually surrouned a Latina star with a Latin chorus or we're watching Molina's memory of these movies, not what they literally looked like).

Updated On: 10/4/25 at 12:39 PM

[altonido]

Posted: 10/5/25 at 4:59pm

Video of all six numbers that were cut after the Purchase 1990 premiere.   Three of them have been restored for the movie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0hEYfBn5OY

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 10/5/25 at 7:15pm

Oh wow Aurora Spiderwoman to the rescue.  I've heard the audio but the only clips I've seen were from A&E's Breakfast with the Arts (where you get a feeling how wrongheaded that Purchase production was--everyone's too afraid to even say "gay") and the one other clip Aurora has put up.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 10/5/25 at 8:07pm

Far from Stroman (or Prince's) best work.  It's fascinating to see.  For anyone interested, here's the special that was done for A&E's Revue (I thought it was Breakfast with the Arts) where Prince seems to obsessively go out of his way to tell people the musical has everything they have been missing from Broadway--beautiful girls, tap dancing!  Everything that wasn't in the final production...  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqyV_WTKt20

[shomeika]

Posted: 10/6/25 at 11:20am

EricMontreal22 said: "Oh wow Aurora Spiderwoman to the rescue. I've heard the audio but the only clips I've seen were from A&E's Breakfast with the Arts (where you get a feeling how wrongheaded that Purchase production was--everyone's too afraid to even say "gay" and the one other clip Aurora has put up."

Yesssss....they don't even feel like the same show.  The first clips had me wondering if the video was mis-labeled. They don't feel KOTSW.  Yuck!

Updated On: 10/6/25 at 11:20 AM

[shomeika]

Posted: 10/6/25 at 11:22am

Tonatiuh and Jennifer were on the Today show today:   

 

   https://www.today.com/video/jennifer-lopez-and-tonatiuh-talk-kiss-of-the-spider-woman-249175109926

 

[MayAudraBlessYou2]

Posted: 10/6/25 at 12:21pm

Saw a screening of this and have to say I really enjoyed it! 

Some general thoughts while avoiding major spoilers: 
 

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

 

I couldn't stop thinking about it as I left the theater. While it's not perfect, there are musical numbers in here that musical theater afficionados are going to be returning to over and over again for years to come. And Tonatiuh is a damn star. 

Updated On: 10/6/25 at 12:21 PM

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 10/6/25 at 7:26pm

This reminded me of the remake of The Color Purple. Some pleasant moments but ultimately flat and totally forgettable.

 

[blaxx]

Posted: 10/6/25 at 9:47pm

TotallyEffed said: "This reminded me of the remake of The Color Purple. Some pleasant moments but ultimately flat and totally forgettable.

"

Shhhh, JLo lovers don't like when you call this film "flat". 

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 10/6/25 at 9:51pm

Well, she herself looked anything but flat. She was gorgeous both on screen and in person today.

[MayAudraBlessYou2]

Posted: 10/7/25 at 3:40pm

I've just realized that my above content is totally blank in the spoiler content area. Good grief...I've never known how to use it properly. Ah well.

My main points: The best things about the movie are Tonatiuh and the choreography. He's an incredible discovery, does a great job at selling both the camp and deep seated emotions of Molina. You root for him hard, and the actor develops a great rapport with Diego Luna. The choreo is stunning and I couldnt wait until the next dance number every time one ended. JLo hasn't danced this hard in ages and she looks fab doing it. They pay great homage to golden age movie musicals, with some latin flair. The moment where Aurora dances with the mobster is a stunningly brilliant piece of dance storytelling. 

The not so good: the pacing can be pretty rough at times. We definitely need quieter character moments in this story, but I think there's definitely a punchier edit for this film that would be more successful. There are several moments where the pacing drags and grinds to a halt. It also seems like Condon had no idea what to do with the opening bit of music from Aurora. Because the opening of the film is pretty lame, hearing her sing over all the production title cards instead of setting up some intrigue around her character and the world we are about to step into. Also lacking in a strong concept is sadly....the title number. I think Lopez actually sounds great on it and is really serving the proper amount of DRAMA in her performance, but then the cinematography, lighting, and scenic design around her totally fails the moment. A real shame because I found the other musical numbers to be gorgeously shot and staged. But for some reason the title song has no movement to the camera work and it looks like they plopped her into a schlocky 60s monster movie instead of a golden age hollywood musical (like all the other songs). 

All in all, I really enjoyed it. I'm sure theater purists will have plenty of nitpicks. But its honestly worth it for Tonatiuh's performance alone. I hope this really helps his career explode.

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 10/7/25 at 4:08pm

I don’t want to sound like a hater but I thought Tonatiuh was rather mediocre. He said after the screening that they shot his sequences in order which made sense to me because he seemed to settle in as the movie went on. In the beginning I was worried the film would be a steaming piece of garbage. I thought his first few scenes were pretty rough. I just didn’t believe him.

I wish they could have added some kind of filter or smoke, anything to soften the Golden Age scenes. I can’t stand that flat, digital look. There’s no grain, no depth, no texture. It takes me out of the fantasy because it looks like a commercial. There is a set near the end with the Spider Woman and a lot of smoke and mist that I really loved though.

It breaks my heart they cut so many glorious songs.

I could really have done without the poopy underpants scene which was very amateurish in its blocking and direction. They tried for gritty, they got camp.

They said at the screening that the film was shot in forty days and it shows.
 

I don’t get why you’d make a movie musical and be terrified to let the characters break out in song. Let it be a damn musical. We really need true visionaries to make successful stage to screen adaptations. The few directors I have ever found successful in this include Fosse, Elia Kazan, Mike Nichols, and John Mitchell’s Hedwig film.

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 10/7/25 at 4:23pm

Oh, and I hate hate HATED the font used on the opening titles and credits. And Aurora singing over the studio credits before the film has even begun?? It felt like an apology, like, "so sorry this is a musical! Let's get it going as soon as possible so y'all don't have to sit through too much of it."

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 10/7/25 at 6:57pm

TotallyEffed said: "
I couldreallyhave done without the poopy underpants scene which was very amateurish in its blocking and direction. They tried for gritty, they got camp.

They said at the screening that the film was shot in forty days and it shows.


I don’t get why you’d make a movie musical and be terrified to let the characters break out in song. Let it be a damn musical. We really need true visionaries to makesuccessful stage to screen adaptations. The few directors I have ever found successful in this include Fosse, Elia Kazan, Mike Nichols, and John Mitchell’s Hedwig film."

I remember being shocked as a 14 year old by the poopy underwear scene (lol) in the original tour but I later saw a largely successful college production where they absolutely had trouble with that scene and it just came off as bad camp...

Interesting you mention Elia Kazan in your list of theatre directors who made successful stage adaptations--Elia Kazan speaks a lot in his book about how he had zero interest in ever directing movie versions of his stage work (too bad for us--especially when we got Richard Brooks' soft peddling, misunderstood productions of two of his Williams plays)  He only agreed to Streetcar as he seemed it a personal challenge to see if he could get as much of the material as possible on screen.  (And Bob Fosse of course didn't have success the time he adapted his own show to a movie--I love Sweet Charity but most felt it showed him out of his depth.  It wasn't until adapting the stage work of someone else...)

 

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 10/7/25 at 7:09pm

With the exception of the incredibly unfortunate censorship (which they had no control over), I think Streetcar is about as perfect of an adaptation as anyone could have asked for. If only they’d had foresight to shoot the censored parts as written to tuck away in the vault until they could be shown.

There was no way Sweet Charity could ever work successfully as a film (or even fully as a stage show) as long as the masterpiece Nights of Cabiria exists. What was the point of ever trying to remake it?! I love the score but for me, Sweet Charity has never been able to creep out of the shadow of the Fellini film. You can’t improve upon perfection.

Updated On: 10/7/25 at 07:09 PM

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 10/7/25 at 7:25pm

I agree about censorship.  The one thing I don't get is Kazan made a deal with the studio that he had the option to release the film without the Code approval (something I didn't even really know could happen) but in the end decided against that as it would severely cut down distribution.  But it's a great film.

I'm a big Sweet Charity defender but I have to admit that's mainly just for the production numbers...

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 10/7/25 at 8:23pm

TotallyEffed said: "I don’t want to sound like a hater but I thoughtTonatiuh was rather mediocre. He said after the screening that they shot his sequences in order which made sense to me because he seemed to settle in as the movie went on. In the beginning I was worried the film would be a steaming piece of garbage. I thought his first few scenes were pretty rough. I just didn’t believe him.

I wish they could have added some kind of filter or smoke,anythingto soften the Golden Age scenes. I can’t stand that flat, digital look. There’s no grain, nodepth, no texture. It takes me out of the fantasy because it looks like a commercial. There is a set near the end with the Spider Woman and a lot of smoke and mist that I really loved though.

It breaks my heart they cut so many glorious songs.

I couldreallyhave done without the poopy underpants scene which was very amateurish in its blocking and direction. They tried for gritty, they got camp.

They said at the screening that the film was shot in forty days and it shows.


I don’t get why you’d make a movie musical and be terrified to let the characters break out in song. Let it be a damn musical. We really need true visionaries to makesuccessful stage to screen adaptations. The few directors I have ever found successful in this include Fosse, Elia Kazan, Mike Nichols, and John Mitchell’s Hedwig film."

Nobody breaks into song in Hedwig, they are all performances or illusions/fantasies Hedwig is having. 

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 10/7/25 at 8:42pm

TheatreFan4 said: "Nobody breaks into song in Hedwig, they are all performances or illusions/fantasies Hedwig is having."

 

Well, yes, because the stage show is written as a concert. Every song written for that show with the exception of a few at the end are live concert style performances. Reality begins to bend with "Exquisite Corpse" and the show's form begins to melt and shift into something much more theatrical and open to interpretation. The changes for the film works brilliantly. Hedwig is either singing live for an audience or reality bends and we are see the surreal fantasy numbers.

Spider Woman is totally different. It's traditional musical theatre. The characters on stage are bursting into song, not performing a number for an audience. There is a fourth wall. These songs have been cut from the film.

I think the Cabaret film is very successful but I find that filmmakers too often try to replicate what Fosse did with that film. In fact, I'd love to see a remake of Cabaret with the "book songs" (as I call them) in the film. I'm over movie musicals where the singing is "just a fantasy in someone's mind." It worked with Chicago but let's move on. One of the Wicked movie's strongest successes is that it has no shame in being a musical. People burst into song in the film and no apologies are made.