Don't Tempt Me

The voluptuous Penelope Cruz stars as Carmen, a man turned into a woman upon her arrival in Hell. However, when the corporate kingpins of the Underworld conspire to seize control of the real 'Land Down Under,' she's given a chance to return to Earth (in heavenly form) for a battle of wits against Lola (played by the equally sultry Victoria Abril), an angel starting to grow weary of always serving as a do-gooder who happens to be sent to Earth to claim the same misguided soul. Together, the two have a quirky comic chemistry (watch the scenes of Carmen trying to teach Lola how to hold a gun) that keeps the picture moving, despite some plotholes along the way.

While TEMPT borders on a kind of comic genius, it never quite reaches the pearly gates of comedy. Again, the script (or the story) is the key, and, while many elements are played very tightly against one another in unique parallels, writer (and director) Agustin Diaz Yanes just keeps missing the mark to raise the bar from the predictable to the unpredictable ... the true benchmark of any great comedy.

I would not say this movie is bad. It should be given credit for the ambitiousness of its subject matter. But it was handled poorly. The filmaker has lots of potential. This movie doesn't live up to its potential.