Jennifer Lopez to Star in KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN Film- Page 26

[BJR]

Posted: 10/9/25 at 5:52pm

MezzA101 said: "NYT (Elisabeth Vincentelli)

‘Kiss of the Spider Woman’ Review: Play Their Favorite Song

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/09/movies/kiss-of-the-spider-woman-review.html?unlocked_article_code=1.sE8.4liI.fBYdT_xDWQkF&smid=nytcore-android-share"

What a poorly written review. Almost zero insight, into the material or this version of it. 

[MezzA101]

Posted: 10/10/25 at 10:24am

'Kiss of the Spider Woman' review: A timely, evocative web

https://www.npr.org/2025/10/10/nx-s1-5565235/kiss-of-the-spider-woman-review

[uncageg]

Posted: 10/10/25 at 1:21pm

Vincentelli nailed my thoughts about Lopez's vocals. After listening to her and going back to listen to Chita, I decided I would rather wait and watch this at home.  JMO

[kadu335]

Posted: 10/10/25 at 2:47pm

I haven’t seen the movie yet, but judging from the soundtrack, Lopez sounds totally fine to me. She’s no Chita, of course, but I’ve never thought of this as a role that requires a major vocal showcase anyway. I’ve always loved the Vanessa Williams version too and her voice, while beautiful to me, is also somewhat limited.

[BJR]

Posted: 10/10/25 at 3:50pm

kadu335 said: "I haven’t seen the movie yet, but judging from the soundtrack, Lopez sounds totally fine to me. She’s no Chita, of course, but I’ve never thought of this as a role that requires a major vocal showcase anyway. I’ve always loved the Vanessa Williams version too and her voice, while beautiful to me, is also somewhat limited."

Those are my thoughts, too. And J Lo and Vanessa. Both charismatic and expressive all the same. 

[Marlothom]

Posted: 10/10/25 at 6:15pm

Saw this today and, having loved the musical since I was in high school, I was going to have a great/emotional time no matter what.  I was slightly concerned when I heard the soundtrack earlier this week but I think with the glorious visuals and choreo, Jlo's voice fits fine.  It will def. be a film that I come back to, but not necessarily a soundtrack I will keep on replay,. 

Updated On: 10/10/25 at 06:15 PM

[theatretenor2]

Posted: 10/10/25 at 6:43pm

For me, the film works best in the moments between Tonatiuh and Diego Luna. While the dreamier musical numbers remind me a bit of Chicago and the other sequences feel like classic movie musicals, Jennifer Lopez as Aurora feels miscast. She looks stunning, but her acting feels hollow next to Molina and Valentin, leaving Aurora underwhelming in a story that needed her to shine. Honestly, she is fine, but a better actress would have made this film great.

Updated On: 10/10/25 at 06:43 PM

[joevitus]

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

TotallyEffed said: "Don’t get me wrong, I love Sweet Charity! But IloveNights of Cabiria."

Kinda embarrassed I haven't seen more early Fellini. La Dolce Vita, 8 1/2, the short Toby Dammit and Satyricon are the movies I've seen (not even Juliet of the Spirits!). 

[nmartin]

Posted: 10/10/25 at 8:02pm

I was a huge fan of the Broadway musical, which I flew to NYC to see the OBC twice.

From the moment the movie started with "Come and find me...", all I could hear was Chita.

I agree with theatretenor2 that the films works best with the Molina/Valentin prison scenes.

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

I waited eagerly for the tango at the end and was very surprised that Molina dances it with Valentin instead of the Spider Woman. That disappointed me.

Chita and Brent Carver doing the tango is one of my treasured Broadway memories.

Edit: I unabashedly teared up during the end credits that said: For Fred, Terrence, and Chita. 

 

Updated On: 10/10/25 at 08:02 PM

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 10/10/25 at 8:14pm

joevitus said: "TotallyEffed said: "Don’t get me wrong, I love Sweet Charity! But IloveNights of Cabiria."

Kinda embarrassed I haven't seenmore early Fellini. La Dolce Vita, 8 1/2, the short Toby Dammit and Satyricon are the movies I've seen (not even Juliet of the Spirits!)."


Do yourself a favor and watch Cabiria. Tonight! One of the best films ever made with the best ending in cinematic history.

[Marlothom]

Posted: 10/10/25 at 8:17pm

Having sat with the experience now for a few hours, I do wonder why . . .

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

They didn't have Molina being killed in the prison, in front of Valentin.  That scene is so iconic/cinematic and the stakes are so high and it would have given both actors an additional "Oscar" moment.  While I appreciated the poetic justice of his death happening inside/outside a movie theatre, Valentin finding out about Molina's death via a newspaper was a let down.  

 

Updated On: 10/10/25 at 08:17 PM

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 10/10/25 at 9:07pm

^Agreed. There weren’t any emotional stakes in the ending. What a highly sanitized letdown. 

[joevitus]

Posted: 10/10/25 at 11:01pm

^^ Biggest mistake in the movie (and there were more than a few).

Updated On: 10/10/25 at 11:01 PM

[joevitus]

Posted: 10/10/25 at 11:28pm

JLo is no Rita Hayworth, and Bill Condon is no director of musicals. He doesn't understand how to effectively shoot a number most of the time, and I don't think the fantasy sequences recreated MGM much at all, apart from "Gimme Love" which reminded me a little of the Gene Kelly/Cyd Charisse portion of the "Broadway Rythm/Broadway Melody" sequence in Singin' in the Rain (maybe the ending of "Only in the Movies" had a touch of the Faust number in The Band Wagon). Actually, the first number reminded me--if anything--of "Think Pink" from Paramount's Funny Face. And the prison scenes are often pretty bad, too, as "roughed up" prisoners look no worse than you'd have seen in a 70's t.v. movie. Not a lot of grit there. For the first half hour, I thought I was going to hate the movie, but it got better.

Even at it's best, though, it left me with mixed feelings. For the record, the best is "Where You Are," and it is such a blatant rip-off of "Cell Block Tango" that it's kinda embarrassing. Not just the concept--which, to be fair, can be at least partially attributed to Condon's screenplay, but the look, costuming and editing, which more rightly are Rob Marshall's. That number, "Gimme Love"--which disappointed me on the soundtrack but works very efffectivey on screen, even if it's not a patch on the original stage version--and "Only in the Movies" are the only numbers that really pop. I was hoping I'd love the reinstated numbers better in the actual film, but they are pretty mediocre and I can't see why Condon returned to them (other than being able to force them into his concept of one movie plot rather than scenes from various films). It's interseting that Tonatiuh in drag at the end looks reminiscent of JLo as Aurora. That's a doubling that works.

A much less effective doubling is making Aurora and the Spider Woman duo roles. Did we really need Kiss of the Spider Woman to become Cobra Woman: The Musical? But then, of all Hollywood performers, Maria Montez is the probably the highest JLo can aspire to. 

Why on earth does Condon always mute the emotional impact of his movie musicals with drabber endings that the stage shows they are based on? He did it with Dreamgirls (really? cutting away from the singers' reunion to Curtis Taylor, Jr. recognizing his daughter in the audience is where he thinks the climax to that story needed to be placed???) and damn it, he did it again here. The most powerful moment imaginable, and he throws it away for something not even half as moving.

And yet, I did find myself moved. Tonatiuh is amazing. Diego Luna is pretty good, too. I believed in their growing bond, if not much else, and their final scene together in the prison got to me. I'll probably want to see it again on the big screen at least one more time before it leaves theaters--which I expect to be very soon.

Updated On: 10/13/25 at 11:28 PM

[jimmycurry01]

Posted: 10/10/25 at 11:36pm

Marlothom said: "Having sat with the experience now for a few hours, I do wonder why . . .

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

They didn't have Molina being killed in the prison, in front of Valentin. That scene is so iconic/cinematic and the stakes are so high and it would have given both actors an additional "Oscar" moment. While I appreciated the poetic justice of his death happening inside/outside amovie theatre, Valentin finding out about Molina's death via a newspaper was a let down.

"

Yeah, but this is more similar to the original ending. It still works.

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 10/11/25 at 6:46am

I saw the film in theaters last night. I’ve never seen the stage version in person myself. That’s pretty much due to it being such a rarely produced Tony winner for Best Musical. Although I am a fan of Kander & Ebb’s score from having listened to both cast recordings countless times. I actually did catch a bootleg of the original cast, and it really left an impression on me. I also have seen Héctor Babenco’s 1985 nonmusical film version starring William Hurt and Raúl Juliá, which I found quite good. The fact that this movie adaptation of the musical was produced independently and is now being released in theaters should be considered a miracle.

Under Bill Condon’s direction, he creates two distinct worlds quite effectively. The prison storyline is quite a compelling one. It offers several emotionally enriching scenes as we follow the arc of Molina and Valentin’s relationship. Unlike William Hurt in the ‘85 film, the former character is played by a real-life queer latino. Tonatiuh gives such a mesmerizing portrayal. On the outside, he’s just this flamboyant guy trying his best to stay positive during his sentence. Although on the inside, he offers a great amount of humanity. Diego Luna is very good as Valentin, the more cynical character who doesn’t like musicals. Together, they really grow to care for one another in such a harsh reality.

As audiences love to take their minds off the world at the movies, that segways into the musical within the film. Visually, it’s very reminiscent of old school MGM musicals in large part thanks to Scott Chambliss’ production design, Colleen Atwood & Christine L. Cantella’s costumes, and Tobias Schliesser’s cinematography. The latter in particular especially does several continuous shots of these big dance numbers (with such incredible choreography by Sergio Trujillo). The editing by Brian A. Kates thankfully doesn’t overcut like a majority of musicals nowadays. Jennifer Lopez gives a very glamorous star turn in her roles, showing everyone the true triple threat that she is.

To those who’d love to bring some of the more lesser known stage musicals to the big screen, please take notes from this film. Rather than trying to get one set up at a major studio with risks of executives either pulling the plug or messing it up, produce it independently. I felt that approach worked wonders for Kiss of the Spider Woman. With that being said, this is still worth seeing in theaters regardless.

Click Here for My Full Review

[Marlothom]

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

Reflecting on this a bit more.  Because they focus one ONE movie, it keeps Aurora pretty contained and doesn't allow for "more rangy" stuff from Jlo and the "Aurora" character is not the most dynamic.  Also, did I miss the "Viva La Guerra" bit earlier in the movie? It comes out of nowhere in the end and it's meant to reference a specific scene/joke from a different Aurora film.  

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 10/11/25 at 11:48am

 avoided most press/reviews beforehand. I give this a 5/10. Its slow pacing is deadly in the ASMR-style prison scenes. The musical sequences at least have some life, but as with SCHMIGADOON, I wish they were shot on film and more resembling golden age musicals in their design.

I was moved by the ending and found the three lead performances solid but never revelatory. Perhaps a different director might have got better work out of them.

I missed the cut songs. Which could be said about any stage-to-screen musical.

I’d like to see Jamie Lloyd and Scherzinger attack this on stage sometime.

[KrupYou]

Posted: 10/11/25 at 2:05pm

Box office is so bad studio have not released numbers yet. very unusual 

[JSquared2]

Posted: 10/11/25 at 2:30pm

KrupYou said: "Box office is so bad studio have not released numbers yet. very unusual"

Ya mean like here??

https://deadline.com/2025/10/box-office-tron-ares-1236577172/

It’s clear the miovie has bombed. Big time. Stop being such a fvcking moron — and do not DM me to ask me to buy tickets from you. 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 10/11/25 at 2:38pm

JSquared2 said: "and do not DM me to ask me to buy tickets from you."

So are CreamPuff, BirdieBoy, and KrupYou all the same person? Because they've all tried to pawn off tickets of late.

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 10/11/25 at 2:50pm

"did I miss the "Viva La Guerra" bit earlier in the movie?"

Yeah, that really bugged me too-- the lines come from "Good Times", the Anna Karenina-adjacent sequence in the play which is of course missing from the film. Very odd that in his invented old-movie script, Condon didn't include a character singing the Viva La Guerra lines early on, so the callback in the finale would landed stronger. 

[shomeika]

Posted: 10/11/25 at 5:14pm

I saw a 10:15am screening of the film. I hold the Vanessa and Chita versions in such high regard, I was expecting the worst.

Tonatiuh was outstanding and he deserves a long, healthy career.

Diego Luna was great and well cast.

Jennifer had great gowns, beautiful gowns.

Jokes aside, I thought Jennifer was efficient and pretty good.   I like the film and would recommend it.    I heard the film within the film was hard to follow but that wasn't the case for me.  This is definitely not going to burn up the box office.   

[uncageg]

Posted: 10/11/25 at 5:27pm

Just an aside in between the reports on the movie, which I am enjoying reading, I stumbled on this earlier today. Thought it was cool to watch Sergio then and now seeing him Choreograph the movie. He is interviewed in this special broadcast live from the stage show's opening night in L.A.

 

https://youtu.be/QChhwNq84FE?si=UcEE4h7UySaPLjkp

Updated On: 10/11/25 at 05:27 PM

[DAME]

Posted: 10/11/25 at 5:40pm

Sitting in a theater .  I am the only one here.