Jennifer Lopez to Star in KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN Film- Page 29

[nmartin]

Posted: 10/14/25 at 5:41pm

I went to see this again today and was surprised by how much more I liked it the second time.

There are many flaws to this film: the movie-within-a-movie needs to have more of an MGM musical look or at least 20th Century Fox, Molina only describing one film, making Tonatiuh and Diego Luna characters in the movie, Molina doing the tango with Valentin instead of the Spider Woman, and many others: however, there are some really good moments: the prison scenes, "Dear One", "A Visit", "I Do Miracles", and other moments as well.

Even though I knew it was coming, I still choked-up during the end credits when I saw "For Fred, Terrence, and Chita."

I asked this earlier in the thread but got no response, so I'm going to ask it again. 

Did anyone else notice Graciela Daniele as Clemencia? 

[willep]

Posted: 10/14/25 at 7:00pm

I’m honestly a bit surprised that people are having such an opposite reaction to me re: Tonatiuh’s performance. I thought he came off best in the “dream” sequences, but his performance as Molina was just so big and broad and theatrical that I found it absolutely didn’t work on film for me.

[bwayobsessed]

Posted: 10/14/25 at 8:34pm

Saw the movie today. I really liked a lot of it. I hope to see it onstage as I feel like the Aurora/Spider woman device works better onstage than on film. I thought Tonatiuh was really amazing. The film within a film moments were generally a little lacking for me. 

[joevitus]

Posted: 10/14/25 at 9:03pm

nmartin said: "I went to see this again today and was surprised by how much more I liked it the second time.

There are many flaws to this film: the movie-within-a-movie needs to have more of an MGM musical look or at least 20th Century Fox, Molina only describing one film, makingTonatiuh and Diego Luna characters in the movie, Molina doing the tango with Valentin instead of the Spider Woman, and many others: however, there are some really good moments: the prison scenes, "Dear One", "A Visit", "I Do Miracles", and other moments as well.

Even though I knew it was coming, I still choked-up during the end credits when I saw "For Fred, Terrence, and Chita."

I asked this earlier in the thread but got no response, so I'm going to ask it again.

Did anyone else notice Graciela Daniele as Clemencia?"

I, too, enjoyed it more on second viewing. May go back for a third...

One thing that bothered me more than the first time, though: why oh why have JLo sining the Prologue over a series of logos for the companies releasing this? Why not all that in silence and then let the picture proper start off with this bit, either accompanied by an atmospheric visual or even just with the screen dark? It's a kind of key moment to set up the importance of La Luna/Aurora/the Spider Woman as a figure larger than just an idolized movie star, as a figure who hovers over the action--in Molina's mind, if nothing else. Just seems like such a lazy, unimaginative choice the way it was done.

Updated On: 10/14/25 at 09:03 PM

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 10/14/25 at 9:39pm

I said the same thing in my early review, Joe. That felt so tacky to me.

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 10/14/25 at 10:23pm

Sadly it wasn’t a box office hit this weekend. 

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 10/14/25 at 11:04pm

To put it mildly--under 1 million domestic (although as mentioned they didn't have the Canada market like most wide openings, but that wouldn't make much of a difference.

[bwayobsessed]

Posted: 10/15/25 at 5:23pm

Having since been exposed to the movie yesterday as my first exposure to the property and listening to the OBCR and the movie soundtrack since-I can’t help but feel like JLo’s voice is almost too pretty. Chita’s voice has a depth and imperfection that feels a lot like the aging stars of the day-Judy, Liza, etc. I vastly prefer the OBCR. 
 

Another thing I realize on reflection is that it’s really hard for me to remember which of her songs go with what was happening on screen for quite a few numbers. The book scenes leave so much more impact.

 

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 10/15/25 at 7:40pm

bwayobsessed said: "Having since been exposed to the movie yesterday as my first exposure to the property and listening to the OBCR and the movie soundtrack since-I can’t help but feel like JLo’s voice is almost too pretty. Chita’s voice has a depth and imperfection that feels a lot like the aging stars of the day-Judy, Liza, etc. I vastly prefer the OBCR.
"

I mean to be fair, off the top of my head I can't think of one movie soundtrack I prefer over the OBCR, even when I love the movie version in and of itself.  *Maybe* Cabaret to hear Liza in her prime.  If you're interested in exploring this score more (and it sounds like you are) I do recommend tracking down the replacement/Vanessa Williams cast album.  It's better produced (by the great Thomas Z Shapard) and I feel gives a better sense of the show overall (a bit more music, etc.)  I know we already discussed this somewhere weeks back in this thread, but...  The original leads are irreplaceable to me (it helped that I saw Chita on tour as a young teen) but the replacement cast is all good, and I assume Vanessa Williams' voice is closer to JLo's so that could be interesting to compare (I haven't checked out the soundtrack and won't until I can finally see the movie on Friday here in Canada.)

[bwayobsessed]

Posted: 10/15/25 at 10:17pm

EricMontreal22 said: "bwayobsessed said: "Having since been exposed to the movie yesterday as my first exposure to the property and listening to the OBCR and the movie soundtrack since-I can’t help but feel like JLo’s voice is almost too pretty. Chita’s voice has a depth and imperfection that feels a lot like the aging stars of the day-Judy, Liza, etc. I vastly prefer the OBCR.
"

I mean to be fair, off the top of my head I can't think of one movie soundtrack I prefer over the OBCR, even when I love the movie version in and of itself. *Maybe* Cabaret to hear Liza in her prime. If you're interested in exploring this score more (and it sounds like you are) I do recommend tracking down the replacement/Vanessa Williams cast album. It's better produced (by the great Thomas Z Shapard) and I feel gives a better sense of the show overall (a bit more music, etc.) I know we already discussed this somewhere weeks back in this thread, but... The original leads are irreplaceable to me (it helped that I saw Chita on tour as a young teen) but the replacement cast is all good, and I assume Vanessa Williams' voice is closer to JLo's so that could be interesting to compare (I haven't checked out the soundtrack and won't until I can finally see the movie on Friday here in Canada.)"

Totally fair. I’ll def give it a listen tomorrow at work. It’s a show I just really want to see onstage now (and honestly want to work on). I wish more place produced it. I’m interesting in reading the book too. It seems like an interesting structure.

Chicago and Hairspray are both ones where I listen to the movie more than the OBCR 

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 10/16/25 at 2:22am

Oh I actually do prefer the Hairspray soundtrack (though I have been obsessed with the Chicago OBCR--even with all the missing music--since I was 12 when it was still impossible to find on CD and I found a used vinyl, so that has my heart.)

If you do listen to the Vanessa Kiss I'd be interested to hear what you think.  (Also, you probably know this, but there is a good, for its time, bootleg of the original Broadway production on YT--I think if you search for the title and subtitles.  At the least it gives some sense of the performances and how inventive for the time the staging was--use of projections, which when I saw the original tour was something I had never seen before, etc.  And if you do a deep dive, as mentioned earlier in this thread, Aurora Spiderwoman also has about 25 minutes from the completely wrongheaded 1990 Puchase version.)  

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 10/16/25 at 6:22am

So, all these screenings with Q&A panels, and all these countless TV talk show appearances and heck, even a CBS Morning Show profile didn’t stir any excitement onto the mass mainstream audiences and the film sadly was ignored. I’m sure this totally is upsetting to all involved as they were all obviously riding the wave of praise the film was receiving during their countless post-screening appearances. JLo’s delusional comments about her true singing voice was always meant for musical theater is what happens when… never mind. And I watched a handful of YouTube reviews and every single one weren’t thrilled with the film and many saying JLo’s potential moment was ruined by the intercutting of her sequences as had they kept the full one-take dance numbers uninterrupted, she would have been a huge revelation. The intercuts ruin the flow so the dance numbers never build. Whatever. I’m sure it’ll find its audience once it starts streaming. A few YouTube reviewers who never had seen the stage version watched the slime tutorial of the original Broadway production afterwards and found it miles superior in every way to this film adaptation. 

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 10/16/25 at 9:04am

Also of note, Sergio Trujillo did not choreograph the "Gimme Love" number - Christopher Scott did. Luckily, he's credited in the film.