Jennifer Lopez Dazzles in Technicolor in ‘Kiss of the Spider Woman’

BY NATE DAY

A few months ago, I thought to myself, “the world really needs another Bill Condon musical.” This weekend, ‘Kiss of the Spider Woman’ fell in my lap and affirmed that very notion.

‘Spider Woman’ follows two prisoners (Tonatiuh, Diego Luna) in 1980s Argentina who pass the time by recounting a fictional movie starring a Latina icon (Jennifer Lopez) in dual roles as a woman torn between love and fate that shines a peculiar light on the relationship between the cellmates.

The piece of this film that is going to draw everyone’s attention is the musical numbers. Bright, bold and beautiful in Technicolor, they pay homage to classic MGM grandeur and movie musicals of Hollywood’s Golden Age in every way possible: Head-to-toe dance sequences, surreal set design, stunning costumes and a megawatt superstar at their center.

While the musical sequences themselves are lush and ravishing, the songs often leave something to be desired, which is a fairly big deal for a song-and-dance musical like this one. I’m listening to the soundtrack as I write this and am finding myself hitting the skip button a few too many times. The title track is a certified banger (and is Lopez’s best moment in the movie), while “Where You Are” and “I Do Miracles” are other standouts.

Most of the remaining songs feel stale – perhaps because they exist at the intersection of ‘40s movie musicals and ‘90s Broadway showtunes. Considering the songwriting duo (John Kander and Fred Ebb) behind these tunes was the same one behind ‘Chicago,’ however, makes these duds all the more surprising.

Condon, a creative force behind musical films ‘Dreamgirls,’ ‘Chicago,’ ‘Beauty and the Beast’ (2017) and ‘The Greatest Showman,’ clearly knows how to put one of these together, training an adoring camera on Lopez during her showstopping numbers, particularly the titular song. Furthermore, his screenplay elevates the material from the 1985 non-musical film as he navigates a smoother connection between the narrative of the fictional film and that of the film itself – that’s to say that Ingrid Luna’s movie nicely mirrors what Molina experiences in real life.

Few movies in 2025 (or the ten or so years prior) have been as dazzlingly colorful as ‘Kiss of the Spider Woman,’ giving it a refreshing feel despite coming 40 years after the first adaptation of its source material. Many reviews have pointed out that the Technicolor sequences leave viewers with both visual and tonal whiplash when they end and the movie cuts back to the bland color palette of the South American political prison, where Valentin is tortured and poisoned by the guards, who want information about his revolutionary movement.

That whiplash certainly isn’t non-existent, but I believe it’s exactly what the audience is supposed to feel – the prisoners turn to the story when they’re bored, scared, in need of distraction; a true testament to the power of cinema, even when cinema is inaccessible.

I did find a snag in the narrative-switching, however, and that was that I wanted to see both movies. I found myself equally invested in both halves of the story – the gritty prison drama and the lush fantasy musical. Each time we cut between the two, I found myself wishing we’d stayed in the other lane.

The movie’s technical aspects are nothing to shake a stick at, however, the cinematography offers plenty to chew on, from wide shots of dancers to heartbreaking closeups of the inmates, with striking angles and lighting peppered in between. Costumes, hair and makeup are all also fascinating here, as they ace their efforts to reproduce the glamour of the Hollywood musical spectacle.

The performances from the main trio (Tonatiuh, Luna and Lopez) are spectacular, each worthy of individual praise and recognition. Lopez navigates the sub-metatextual layers of her character with a precision that we rarely see from her, all while tapping into her superstar stage persona to bring down the house with dance numbers. For all of the jokes about JLo being overrated or less talented than she’s posed to be, she can really display true artistry when she’s willing to step outside of herself and surrender to the story.

Tonatiuh gives a riveting performance as Molina and bravely portrays a character that some will (unfortunately) see as controversial with the charisma of a bona fide movie star. Luna also taps into his best-known on-screen persona (‘Andor’) to play a genuine and open-minded revolutionary, though his vocals do waver a bit next to those of Tonatiuh and even Lopez.

Finally, this story is a very timely one, which is a narrative spun around many films these days between political turmoil, climate crises, pandemics, et cetera – but ‘Spider Woman’ offers a unique perspective, highlighting how change and revolution can exist alongside other sweeping emotions like love and passion.

‘Kiss of the Spider Woman’ isn’t perfect, but it’s a lavish reminder that the movie musical still has the power to dazzle, and perhaps even liberate.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ + 🧡