I'm So Excited!

In the many films we have seen where an airplane full of passengers will meet their impending doom by some sort of electrical malfunction, we tend to see the crew and passengers scream in terror, awaiting their untimely demise. That's the standard case scenario for these types of movies. But in a big leap from his normal style, director Pedro Almodóvar (Talk to Her, Volver), explores this same scenario with 'I'm So Excited!', but instead of screaming and praying to not perish in a plane accident, he has this colorful cast of characters spend their seemingly final hours engaging in sex, drugs, and rock n' roll to end their lives with a big-bang party.

It's a fun enough premise with some slap-stick comedy moments, and an underlying tone where almost every character finds something out about themselves. The problem is, the characters are cliche's of many others we've seen before it, and the flow of the film seems a bit uncoordinated. And I don't think you'll ever be in a state of suspense while watching this, as this is a more comical and light-hearted film with simple plots and characters, rather than a thriller, which is strange, considering the film's premise.

We travel with a large group of passengers bound for Mexico, who are told that the phones and televisions on the plane have experienced a glitch and will not be able to be entertained during the long flight. Something that I wouldn't mind happening in every flight I took, the main cabin passengers are drugged with muscle relaxers and lay in their seats like somber sleeping puppy dogs, while the first class passengers, crew, and pilots engage in some debauchery and decadence.

However, during the flight, the landing gear malfunctions, sending this airplane full of people to an impending doom. So the flight attendants and pilots do their best to not just comfort the passengers, but to entertain with drugs, alcohol, and sex with their final hours. Through these oddball passengers and cooky flight attendants, we find out about their lives and conflicts, whether it be same-sex marital affairs, psychic visions, dance routines, or drugs. One thing is for sure, they are not going to let a little thing like crashing and burning get in the way of having a good time.

These characters we are with for over 90 minutes are a lot of fun, but they run into being only one note, and never move past having any real depth. If you've seen any Almodóvar movie before, you will see some familiar faces along with Penelope Cruz and Antonio Banderas. 'I'm So Excited!' isn't for everyone, as you probably will see and hear some things that will scare conservatives, but overall, this is a fun and easy going film, despite its drawbacks.

'Im So Excited!' has an impressive 1080p HD transfer and is presented in 1.78:1 aspect ratio. Like its characters, the film itself is very colorful. Every shade of colorful just pops right off screen. The uniforms and costumes are very vibrant with the details of the plane and seats being well-saturated and balanced.

The detail is very sharp and well-defined in every instance. We can see every individual hair on each actor's face and every fine stitch in the costumes. Black levels run deep and inky with the skin tones running natural and smooth. sure this isn't a big action film at all, but this video presentation is definitely demo-worthy.

This release comes with a great lossless DTS-HD 5.1 audio mix and sounds wonderful. Dialogue is always crystal clear and easy to understand if you speak Spanish. Great subtitles help us English speakers out. There are no pops, cracks, or hissing during the film. The musical numbers and songs in the movie sound robust and full with good highs and lows.

The bass rubles a bit in these instances as well. Since the film takes place on a plane mostly, there isn't a whole lot of big sound effects or ambient noises, other than airplane engine sounds, but when those noises do sound off, they come through the surrounds nicely. This is a well-balanced audio track.

• Presenting 'I'm So Excited!' (HD, 30 mins) - Here is a Q&A session with Pedro Almodóvar and some of the actors from the film, as the answer some questions on the movie. There is some good info here, but not exactly the best extra.
  
• Making 'I'm So Excited!' (HD, 6 mins) - A short look at the making of some of the scenes from the movie with actual movie footage cut in. Nothing really of importance to see here.
  

• Trailers (HD, 8 mins) - Trailer for the film and other Sony movies.
  

'I'm So Excited' is very different from Almodóvar's previous work, which is a good thing. This is a fun and light-hearted film, but has some flaws to it. The video is demo worthy here with the audio coming in strong as well. But the extras are less than desired. I enjoyed the film quite a bit, but I know this won't be for everyone. Rent this first, but if you enjoy it, definitely give this a purchase.