What Have I Done to Deserve This? (Qu he hecho yo para merecer esto!!) (1984)

100% of critics liked it
(7 reviews)
79% of users liked it
(5,781 ratings)

Filmmaker Pedro Almodvar, the Luis Buuel of the 1980s, cooks up another perversely funny descent into urban hell in What Have I Done to Deserve This? Carmen Maura plays a middle-class housewife hemmed in by her wildly eccentric relatives. Her principal purpose in life is a balancing act: to keep her… More Filmmaker Pedro Almodvar, the Luis Buuel of the 1980s, cooks up another perversely funny descent into urban hell in What Have I Done to Deserve This? Carmen Maura plays a middle-class housewife hemmed in by her wildly eccentric relatives. Her principal purpose in life is a balancing act: to keep her head fastened on securely while all others are losing theirs. Film buffs will have a field day toting up Almodvar's visual and verbal allusions to the works of Buuel, Brian De Palma, Billy Wilder, John Waters, and even Andy Warhol. What Have I Done to Deserve This? was originally titled Que He Hecho Yo Para Merecer Esto? ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 40 min.
Directed By: Pedro Almodóvar
Genres: Drama, Art House & International, Comedy

In Theaters: Jan 1, 1984 Wide
On DVD: Sep 9, 2003

Critic Reviews

Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
Diverting, with a light suggestion of talent.
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Almodovar's fourth feature (but the first to be released in the US) may be one of his most realistic films, an offbeat, darkly humorous feminist comedy with a great performance by Carmen Maura.
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
It's all a lot like early period John Waters -- only better acted and set in Madrid.
Nick Schager, Lessons of Darkness
A somewhat harsh critique of a Spanish culture that dooms women to indentured servitude.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Randy T

Hitler, a lizard, a prostitute, a telekinetic neighbor and a dead body in the kitchen. I suppose it wouldn't be a Pedro Almodóvar film if it didn't make you say "WTF?" at least once. Deliciously weird.
Anthony L

I see What Have I Done to Deserve This? as a slightly weaker version of Women on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Different story when it comes to the family situation but essentially the same film. The comedy is fast and furious as you'd expect, Murder, Lizards, prostitutes etc… More
I see What Have I Done to Deserve This? as a slightly weaker version of Women on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Different story when it comes to the family situation but essentially the same film. The comedy is fast and furious as you'd expect, Murder, Lizards, prostitutes etc it is definitely an Almodvar film but I would say it was more Billy Wilder than Luis Bunuel on this occasion. I think only someone like Carmen Maura could have pulled it off as the central character though, much like Women on the verge of a nervous breakdown, she really is the glue that hold it together. She does have great support from Chus Lampreave and Veronica Forque too but for me, the hints at paedophilia cheapen the whole film that little bit too much for my tastes.
Matheus C

It's a mish mash of the typical Almodóvar plot lines and characters, and though the stew never comes as consistent as it should and many of the threads are left hanging up in the air at the end, it's still a worthy entry in his oeuvre.
Megan S

I'm still trying to decide about this movie. I think I'm trying to make it have more of a point than it did. When I think about it just as a movie about a struggling family I enjoy it but for some reason I keep trying to figure out the meaning or the significance of it.
Fernando Rafael Q

Not a bad movie by any means, just not very interesting. It's also one of the first Almodovar films where you can actually notice his mark. QUE HE HECHO YO PARA MERECER ESTO! suffers from a few plot holes and sensitive subject matter treated incorrectly. On the other hand, the… More
Not a bad movie by any means, just not very interesting. It's also one of the first Almodovar films where you can actually notice his mark. QUE HE HECHO YO PARA MERECER ESTO! suffers from a few plot holes and sensitive subject matter treated incorrectly. On the other hand, the score is great, as well as the cast, where Carmen Maura and Verónica Forqué stand out.
Quinto W

Personally, I find this to be Pedro Almodovar's funniest film and overall an excellent experience. The performances are all terrific, especially Carmen Maura and Veronica Forque, and the characters all stand out.
Patrick D

This is just a wonderful, disturbing, sad, weird and hilarious film. Good Almodovar fare.