Dreams still come true, it seems. On Sunday night in Park City, Utah, the big “hot ticket” screening was the world premiere Bill Condon’s long-awaited “Kiss of the Spider Woman”, A dazzling big-screen adaptation of Terrence McNally, John Kander and Fred Ebb’s 1992 Broadway musical of the same name (itself a take on Manuel Puig’s 1976 novel of the same name). While the story, about a pair of Argentine prisoners who come together during the “dirty war”, was previously made into a feature film 1995 with stars William Hurt, Raul Julia and Sônia Braga marks Condon’s first big screen film musical spin on the original material.
And too star Jennifer Lopezstarring in a musical – Her very first, if you can believe it – was the culmination of decades of dreams. The film, which stars Breakout star Tonatiuh as Luis Molina (a flamboyant young Argentine sent to prison for inappropriate acts with another man, but who dreams of one day being a woman) and Diego Luna as a political prisoner named Valentin Arregui ( Molina’s initially reserved Cellmate), debuted at the Eccles Theater to massive applause during the film and a standing ovation after. Afterwards, a visibly moved and tearful Lopez took the stage with Condon and Tonatiuh to chat with festival director Eugene Hernandez.
“I’ve been waiting for this moment my whole life,” Lopez said, choking up. “The reason I even wanted to be in this business is because my mom would sit me in front of the TV and (‘West Side Story’) would come on once a year, at Thanksgiving. I was fascinated and was like, “That’s what I want to do. It’s always been my goal, and this is the first time I’ve actually gotten to do it. This man made my dream come true.”
In the film, Molina tries to bond with the reluctant Valentin by sharing a story about his favorite movie (the titular “Kiss of the Spider Woman”) and screen siren Ingrid Luna (Lopez) who starred in this Razzle-dazzle musical that has So Fond of him. As Molina shares her vivid memories of the film, Lopez (and Luna and Tonatiuh in other roles) play Ingrid as she plays the adorable screen character Aurora in the spoof. (We promise that all this meta-entertainment makes sense in context.) Thus, Condon’s film is both a crapshoot drama and a full-blooded techno musical.
Like Indiewires Ryan Lattanzio wrote in his review of the film“There aren’t that many true divas left in the world, so Lopez, an American-born Latina who is ever adept at Shapeshifting for any role that requires singing and dancing, is probably the only person playing Ingrid Luna right now. Ingrid is supposed to be an out-of-this-world big star, one that might only exist in our dreams. Lopez is one of those stars who hovers just above the ground and rarely comes down to earth (even in “hustlers,” her most decorated performance, she’s just a little out of reach in that fur coat as a veteran stripper mentoring genuflects). “
Of the film’s message, Lopez later added, “Love can somehow shorten the gap for every gap between people. We could just look at each other … as individuals, as people, as people and not worry about who you like, who you don’t like, what your political beliefs are. It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter. There is another person on the other side of you and you find something in common with them. You are both human and you both have a heart. And that to me is something that was so important when I read the film and why I wanted to be a part of it. “
“Kiss of the Spider Woman” premiered in 2025 Sundance Film Festival. It is currently seeking US distribution.
