Kika (1993)

62% of critics liked it
(13 reviews)
70% of users liked it
(6,993 ratings)

Spanish director Pedro Almodovar returns to his recurring framework of offbeat sexuality and death with this colorful comedy. Kika (Veronica Forque) is a Madrid makeup artist who falls in love with Ramon (Alex Casanovas), a dead man whose face Kika is hired to prepare for a funeral. Kika's… More Spanish director Pedro Almodovar returns to his recurring framework of offbeat sexuality and death with this colorful comedy. Kika (Veronica Forque) is a Madrid makeup artist who falls in love with Ramon (Alex Casanovas), a dead man whose face Kika is hired to prepare for a funeral. Kika's attraction resurrects Ramon, and the two begin cohabiting. Kika becomes embroiled in a pair of criminal schemes, one involving her maid Juana (Rossy De Palma) and Juana's amorous, retarded brother Pablo (Santiago Lajusticia), the other involving Ramon's father, Nicholas (Peter Coyote). After Kika is raped by Pablo, she learns the incident was videotaped by Ramon, the footage ending up on a tabloid television program hosted by Andrea Scarface (Victoria Abril). Kika and Ramon split, but the latter discovers his father's complicity in the demise of his mother, leading to a violent confrontation. Because of Almodovar's humorous treatment of the film's rape, Kika was his third feature in a row that resulted in critical accusations of misogyny and exploitation. His subsequent material became more dramatic and less tinged with black humor. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 55 min.
Directed By: Pedro Almodóvar
Written By: Pedro Almodóvar
Genres: Drama, Art House & International, Comedy

On DVD: Nov 26, 1997
Studio: Trimark

Critic Reviews

Janet Maslin, New York Times
Kika is actually one of this film maker's more buoyant recent efforts, a sly, rambunctious satire that moves along merrily until it collapses -- as many Almodovar films finally do -- under the weight of its own clutter.
Joe Brown, Washington Post
It doesn't matter that Kika doesn't make sense -- doesn't even try to make sense. It's just so much fun to watch.
Desson Thomson, Washington Post
Something alarming has happened to Almodovar: He has become commonplace and predictable.
James Berardinelli, ReelViews
Almodovar's central parody is strong enough to save this film from floundering too much or too often. It's daring and nasty, but rarely brilliant.
Susan Tavernetti, Palo Alto Weekly
Kika is a kinky post-modern pastiche fatally short on substance and energy.
Michael W. Phillips, Jr., Goatdog's Movies
Painfully flat.
Stephen Farber, Movieline
Almodovar's latest movie, Kika, is...an outrageous campy comedy about the omnipresence of tabloid TV.
Marc Savlov, Austin Chronicle
A riot of colors, Kika is sometimes sick, sometimes playful, but consistently hilarious and entertaining in ways that few films have been lately.

Read all 8 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Anthony L

For me, Kika represents the last of the trashy Almodóvar films that I think maybe he did to death. Granted there is enough of his signature humour and strong female performances to like but personally, I really tired of the tasteless 'rape humour'. I liked the character of… More
For me, Kika represents the last of the trashy Almodóvar films that I think maybe he did to death. Granted there is enough of his signature humour and strong female performances to like but personally, I really tired of the tasteless 'rape humour'. I liked the character of Kika but after a good start, it just went downhill, only peaking in the last minute, albeit a bit too late to save it.
Rubia Carolina .

Pointless. The trash being used to "make laugh". Stupid people, things and situations supposed to be funny. After half hour, I simply turned it off. What a waste of time! <br> <br>
Lady D

My least favourite of Almodovar?s so far, the plot seemed quite weak and there was very little excitement to it. Almodovar gave some added controversy here, by making a rape scene into a bit of a comedy moment, I would be interested to see what people?s comments are and how many… More
My least favourite of Almodovar?s so far, the plot seemed quite weak and there was very little excitement to it. Almodovar gave some added controversy here, by making a rape scene into a bit of a comedy moment, I would be interested to see what people?s comments are and how many will feel it reached over the controversial line?
Fernando Rafael Q

Irreverent and hilarious, KIKA is Pedro Almodovar's craziest film. Back are the usual Almodovar elements: colors, dramedy, sexual deviation, murder. The film works thanks to the funny script by Pedro, and the amazing performance by Veronica Forqué as the title character. The rest… More
Irreverent and hilarious, KIKA is Pedro Almodovar's craziest film. Back are the usual Almodovar elements: colors, dramedy, sexual deviation, murder. The film works thanks to the funny script by Pedro, and the amazing performance by Veronica Forqué as the title character. The rest of the cast is very good too: Peter Coyote, Rossy De Palma, Victoria Abril (in a marvelous role) and Àlex Casanovas.
Robert C

Pedro Almodovar AND Jean-Paul Gautier, how can you go wrong?
Eric B

A mixed success, "Kika" juggles an erratic batch of characters and barely keeps its balls in the air. It's so confused that even the central role is disputable -- is it Kika or her boyfriend RamÃ³n? Perhaps writer/director Pedro AlmodÃ³var decided putting Kika's… More
A mixed success, "Kika" juggles an erratic batch of characters and barely keeps its balls in the air. It's so confused that even the central role is disputable -- is it Kika or her boyfriend RamÃ³n? Perhaps writer/director Pedro AlmodÃ³var decided putting Kika's name in the title was a necessary clarification. Kika is an effervescent makeup artist who pretties up the dead for funerals. She is summoned to work on the recently departed RamÃ³n ("He'll turn green soon...get rid of the pallor before we take him to the morgue") but, surprise! He's merely having a cataleptic seizure. After he revives, he and Kika begin living together. But she's also having a casual affair with his stepfather Nicholas. Who is suspected of killing RamÃ³n's mother years ago, even though her death was ruled a suicide. Nicholas is also pursued by Andrea, a scar-faced tabloid reporter who dresses like a dominatrix and wears a ridiculous helmet rigged with a TV camera. To complicate matters, she is his ex-girlfriend and also RamÃ³n's ex-psychologist. Meanwhile, Kika and RamÃ³n have a hatchet-faced maid whose brother is a former porn actor newly escaped from jail. Wow. Not even AlmodÃ³var can give this mess a coherent dramatic shape, though he gives himself a break by writing the maid and her brother out of the story early (but not before using the latter for what could be the funniest rape scene in film history). VerÃ³nica ForquÃ (C) and Victoria Abril offer gutsy, uninhibited performances as the brazen Kika and Andrea, and Peter Coyote (Nicholas) gives Americans a familiar face to follow.