Original caricature by Jeff York of Tonatiuh, Diego Luna, and Jennifer Lopez in KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN (copyright 2025).
The 1975 novel Kiss of the Spider Woman by Manuel Puig concerned two Argentine prisoners –Molina, in for corrupting a male minor, and Valentin, incarcerated for being a revolutionary. Puig’s prose was written in a stream-of-consciousness style that was both intimate and (ahem) arresting, placing us in the heads of the two very different men. The 1985 film adaptation by director Hector Babenco was a more straight-forward narrative, albeit one with fantasy sequences, and it starred Oscar-winner William Hurt as Molina and Raul Julia as Valentin. The 1992 Broadway musical adaptation by John Kander and Fred Ebb won seven Tonys, including Best Musical and Best Actress for the legendary Chita Rivera in the title role. Now, famed writer/director Bill Condon (GODS & MONSTERS, KINSEY) has adapted the Broadway musical for the big screen, and he’s made the most successful version of the material yet. Condon has shrewdly combined the best of all the previous versions to deliver a beautifully rendered and acted film with gorgeous musical numbers juxtaposed against the gritty setting of a dilapidated prison. His take on KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN has been heaped with praise since its debut at Sundance this past January and should be a strong contender during the upcoming awards season. It might just net Jennifer Lopez a Best Supporting Actress Oscar as well.
The core of the story finds macho anarchist Valetin (Diego Luna) learning to get along with new cellmate Molina (Tonatiuh), a gay window dresser arrested for public indecency. At first, they’re like oil and water, with Valentin being put off by Molina’s homosexuality, but eventually they bond, becoming friends and confidants during their shared cell time. To help take their minds off brutal prison life, Molina spools out the story from his favorite movie musical as a means of escape. His favorite flick, sharing the same title as this one, starred the singing and dancing Ingrid Luna (a fictional blend of Lupe Vélez, Cyd Charisse, and Judy Garland, played by Lopez). She’s his idol and the story he conjures for Valentin echoes their lives with its themes of revolution, the Latin community, and unrequited love. Thus, the film gets to vamp the glossy, Technicolor musical numbers like those so prevalent in the 1950s, while grounding its core story in the dank and dangerous existence of the two men’s prison life.
Condon shoots and edits those musical numbers as if they were indeed done in the 50s, paying homage to THE BAND WAGON, SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN, and many more. The costuming by Colleen Atwood and Christine L. Cantella, production design by Scott Chambliss, and saturated cinematography courtesy of Tobias Schliessler, are all a marvel to watch, matched by lush orchestrations, period dance steps, and Lopez bringing the house down in scene after scene. However, the filmmaker does two things differently from the original Broadway show that only deepen the story more and connect us exponentially to the starring trio. First, Condon takes a page from Bob Fosse’s treatment of CABARET in 1972, cutting almost every song set in the story’s reality. In CABARET that meant only the Kit Kat Club numbers survived and here, only the movie musical numbers do. No prisoner artificially sings to another one although a few numbers have the prison setting but they are played as fantasies within the mind of Molina.
Condon’s second deviation in his adaptation concerns expanding the roles of his two male leads. Here, Tonatiuh and Luna not only pay their prison characters, but the two male leads in the movie musical as well. This conceit underlines the shared themes, and it gives these two incredibly talented gentlemen a golden opportunity to strut their stuff even more.
Tonatiuh is outstanding – funny, sexy, moody, and moving. It’s a star-making performance and if there is justice in the world, he’ll nab a Best Actor nomination come Oscar time. Luna’s role isn’t as flashy, but he is superb in it. Valentin has the truest arc in the story as his character learns to park his obstinance and express his vulnerabilities, and Luna conveys every step with clarity and warmth. The two actors have great chemistry together too, and they handle the singing and dancing numbers with aplomb. Lopez does her best screen work since OUT OF SIGHT, playing many shades, from wide-eyed ingenue in the movie within a movie, as well as the serpentine Spider Woman there trying to egg on all comers to their doom.
Condon never forgets the grit of the dramatic parts and those scenes hit fiercely. And by keeping such a tight focus on his trio, everything here feels exceptionally intimate and wholly empathetic. I enjoyed the book, movie, and musical, but this take really slayed me. I’m a musical fan too, but I dare say, this one might be the perfect antidote for those movie audiences not inclined to smile when characters break into song. By isolating most of the musical numbers into the fantasy parts of the film here, Condon allows the song and dance to comment on the grounded parts, not work against them.
Finally, at the time of the release of both the first movie and the Broadway musical, the property was seen as a timely commentary on the AIDS epidemic and discrimination against a gay community literally fighting for their lives. Here, some 30 years later, the themes of this KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN touch more upon the acceptance of all stripes of people, let alone a timely commentary on the travails of the Latino community hoping to escape incarceration in their home countries or here. That makes this film even more ideal for 2025, not to mention a cinematic experience waiting to be cherished.
