Spanish Fly

Written, directed, and starring Daphne Kastner, this smart, sexy comedy may not be perfect, but it is quite good; moreover, it's a film both men and women might enjoy. Zoe, a writer dissatisfied with her relationships with men, goes to Spain to write a book about machismo, where despite of her feminist leanings and general wariness of men she finds there's something she likes about being seen as a sex object, and she's aware of her attraction to some of the more macho men she encounters. Not everything in the film works. For instance, I found it hard to believe a smart woman would come to interview men in Spain when she herself speaks no Spanish. Wouldn't she have lined up a translator beforehand? More importantly, I thought an elaborate dramatic subplot about Zoe coming to terms with her mother and father's history was ham-handed and overdone. On the other hand, Zoe's uncomfortable self-recognition of her longing for unbridled, lusty, passionate romance and her dubious efforts to experience it produce many funny moments. Along the way, the film also pokes fun both at stereotypes of Spanish machismo and at the romantic fantasies they can stir in some women. For this male viewer, it also didn't hurt that Kastner the director makes sure Kastner the actress keeps getting sexier as the movie progresses.