The Other side of the Bed

A big box-office hit in Spain, The Other side of the Bed is a musical ensemble sex comedy about a young man Javier, who not content with his own girlfriend Sonia, decides to secretly to bed his best friend’s girlfriend, Paula too. Cue a light-hearted plot of infidelity and subterfuge, involving sex, lies and a videotape as first the young man gets up to no good, and then his girlfriend does too, as two couples fraternize with each other secretly.

Nominated for 6 Goyas (the Spanish equivalent of the British Baftas) in its own country, the blend of musical numbers and clandestine bedroom antics, was an instantly appealing one in Spain. It’s a farce that should have mileage elsewhere too, particularly amongst audiences receptive towards light-hearted Friends-type comedies encompassing love, romance, dance, songs and sex.

Arguably the songs (which come intermittently as actors just launch into testing their vocal chords) are not quite as appealing as the plot, because the songs themselves are a bit bland and the storyline has stronger merits since the dialogue is full of witty and instinctive plotting behind partners’ backs.

Naturally with affairs running their course, secrets can’t remain secrets forever and there is an hilarious scene late on when the two best friends have learned important things about each other and then immediately take their disquiet onto a tennis court where they’re about to play a doubles’ match. Wimbledon it isn’t.

Overall, this is an engaging little movie with a lot of farcical dangerous liaisons and an oft-repeated line about the fact that ‘we’re all underneath just a little bisexual’ – we may not be but we’re asked often enough if it may be true.

Matt Arnoldi