This ridiculously contrived movie sprawls over almost two hours when it's essentially a 50-minute flick at best, and 'best' is not a good adjective to use in the company of this clunker, which bills itself as a 'comedy'. There might be about two laughs in the entire movie, and they're unintentional. It's also rated 'R' for alleged sexual content, which consists, as far as I could tell, of fleeting scenes of decidedly UNerotic strippers doing what strippers are supposed to do. Other than this questionable titillation, there is no sex in this movie at all. Take away the brief nudity of the strippers, and this is easily a PG flick acceptable for 11 years and younger (they might be the only ones who would enjoy it).To try to explain the 'plot' of this movie would be futile: there IS a plot (more or less), but it suffocates under a flurry of red herrings, laborious dialogue and truly forced contrivances. Living It Up (La Gran Vida) is so dumb that I, for one, am left with only one conclusion: it started with what seemed like a good idea, and it went downhill from there. I think a committee was brought in to work on the script, and each member of the committee had a different idea of how the 'story' (you should excuse the expression) should unfold. That's how the movie presents itself: a whacking dog's breakfast of confusion. The viewer is left in befuddled head-scratching throughout. I kept asking the screen: 'what in the name of God is going on here?'Salma Hayek is just too ultra-glamorous to be taken seriously as a smart-mouthed member of the lumpen proletariat, which we are somehow expected to believe here. She plays a waitress, but she really isn't a waitress. Carmelo Gomez is a gormless would-be suicide who becomes a jet-setting millionaire, but he really isn't a jet-setting millionaire. Tito Valverde is an agent of the Spanish Mafia who 'arranges' for Gomez to live life to the fullest, except he's really not an agent of the Spanish Mafia.You learn all these things in one of the sloppiest, most awkward and self-conscious denouements I have seen in a long time. The 'explanation' is just plain silly, but, of course, don't ya know, everyone lives happily ever after. Columbia-Tristar distributed this bomb with fanfare, pretending it was loaded with sexy stuff, explosive hijinks and ripping comedy, when all three commodities just aren't there. I felt cheated spending $3.00 (Canadian) just to rent it. Imagine how the poor saps who paid for premier seats in a theatre felt.I can't really buy Hayek in any film she makes. She just isn't believable. She never really acts: she poses, she pouts, she looks gorgeous and tells the camera: 'hey, am I gorgeous or what?'. She's sexy, but you'd never know it from this flick. Gomez and Valverde are good actors who unfortunately end up slumming here. I can only hope they felt embarrassed when they saw the finished product.This is the kind of 'European' movie that could drive me back to watching equally stupid Hollywood movies -- at least I wouldn't have to labour over subtitles.

Imagine, you feel as though life has lost all meaning. You want to end yours because you see no hope, no exit, no reason to go on living. Then a fairy godfather appears, with an unlikely proposition: I will give you 100 million pesetas (how many dollars is that? About 1 million?). The money will be loaned to you by a firm, which will ask you to refund it within a week, with 50% interest. If you don't refund, they will kill you.So instead of dying a quick and painless death, you get to live The Big Life for a week, before dying. So why would you say no? Such is the plot of this movie. Cinderella is Martin, the fairy godmother is Salva and Prince Charming is... wait, should there be a Prince Charming, when you're on the verge of dying?Well, that question and others are answered during the course of this movie. The concept is great. It actually reminds me slightly of Brewster's Millions. In a shorter time frame. And with Salma Hayek.I thought the movie was fine. The actors were very decent, especially the actor who plays Martin. He has a pitiful face that plays well with the character. Salma Hayek was fine also, as the fiery and sexy Lola. Of course Martin and Lola will fall in love. It will cause Martin to think twice about dying, and set things up for the grand finale.*possible spoiler ahead* And I guess the ending is what made me rate this movie a 7 instead of an 8. I can't really say what happens, unfortunately. But I found it somewhat unsatisfying. Too Hollywoodish, I found. But then again, if it is a fairy tale, it should have a happy ending. I'm sure I would have preferred an opera-like ending better.

I don't know what to say about this movie. In the end I was confused. There are so many very good moments, and yet so many very bad ones, that I don't even know if I liked it or not.The idea is very good. A poor bus driver on the verge of killing himself is persuaded by another person to "postpone" his death for a week, borrow 100 million dollars from the Mob and live like the rich men. And after the week is up, when he'll have to pay back the loaned money, he can easily kill himself. That's the concept. You have to admit, it's pretty damn interesting. But from this point everything changes.Sometimes the characters are very interesting. Both the bus driver and his new love are okay, well built, you get to care from them a lot. They have strong life concepts, opinions about the rich and the poor, and they follow these concepts. But... Sometimes the characters change so much and so fast... it almost becomes awful. Both Lola and Martin are different from one scene to another. And if in Lola's case that's pretty understandable, after you "really" get to know who she is, in Martin's case it's just wrong. Sometimes the action is great. Memorable scenes, funny moments, witty dialog. A great, pleasant watch. But... Sometimes the plot holes are bigger then Swiss cheese. There are moments where the characters choose exactly the worst option they have, just because they need to, to keep the plot moving forward. And one of the most interesting themes that could have been used is totally left out: the moments BEFORE Martin's time expires. The scenes could have been great, the tension could have been high. Still we jump exactly to 12:01, and I just felt a bit betrayed. Sometimes the actors are great. The guy that plays Martin (which i have never seen before) is very good. Salma Hayek is at her best. They have some sort of weird chemistry between them and everything works fine. But... Sometimes the acting is almost pathetic. Take the "first kiss" scene, for instance. When Salma says "Not today". It was so ridiculously acted, that I actually started laughing out loud. And that's not the only moment. All in all, La Gran Vida is an enjoyable movie. An enjoyable movie with pathetic, stupid moments. A great concept that could have been done so much better. Vote: 5 out of 10.

I came across La Gran vida at a friend's place, when I was asking him to suggest a movie for me. I am glad he recommended this. This is like a breath of fresh air! It is a light movie, about how desperate life can become, or... how interesting it can be. It all depends on how much money you have as the movie suggests. So Carmelo Gómez (Martin), a bus driver with not much of a life figures out that its not worth it ... Suicide is the answer. But as he attempts to commit suicide, some guy tries to make him change his decision, with a very tempting question: How about Living for one week with 100 million dollars in your hands then die after that? -- Now that is an interesting offer for sure. He will take 100 million dollars, but he must return them as 150 after one week, or else he gets killed, well he is about to commit suicide so why not delay it for a week? And so ... we join the ride, one poor man's 7 day journey with excessive wealth! Salma Hayek (Lola), looking better than ever, is very convincing in her role. Don't look for a great script with twists, look for a warm and interesting story! Avoid some draw backs from the writers and you will enjoy this. Enjoy Carmelo Gómez's acting, very good! It doesn't demand much, so don't ask for a lot! 7/10