THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BED
Directed by: Emilio Martínez-Lázaro.
Produced by: Tomás Cimadevella & José Antonio Sáinz de Vicuña.
Written by: David Serrano.
Director of Photography: Juan Molina Temboury.
Edited by: Ángel Hernández-Zoido.
Music by: Roque Baños.
Released by: Sundance Channel.
Country of Origin: Spain. 114 min. Not Rated.
With: Ernest Alterio, Paz Vega, Guillermo Toledo & Natalie Verbeke.

Sad sack Pedro (Toledo) loves Paula (Verbeke), but she breaks up with him because she loves someone else, his best friend, Javier (Alterio). Afraid of being caught, Javier creates scenarios in Pedro’s head about who might be Paula’s lover--maybe it’s one of her exes (but she only has two, one in Mexico and the other is gay...or is he?) Javier and Paula carry on their affair as Pedro tries to uncover the other man's identity, even going to the lengths of hiring a private detective. Meanwhile, Javier’s neglected girlfriend, Sonia (Vega), in her efforts to comfort Pedro, falls for him instead. The Other Side of the Bed is a wonderful, often silly, and sexy romp of a movie that explores sex, friendship and love. Sometimes what the foursome find on the other side of the bed is not what they expect or want. They miss the familiar, yet crave the new and exciting. Their predicaments inspire Euro-pop songs, which are seamlessly integrated into the chaos. Each character has his/her own number complete with choreographed background dancers. The actors seem to be having so much fun it’s contagious. Director Martinez-Lazaro keeps the pace moving and gets great performances from the ensemble cast. Guillermo Toledo has perfect comedic timing, while Alterio, with his huge eyes (looking like the love child of Buster Keaton and Sean Penn), is charming as his lies and cover-ups cause him to fall deeper and deeper into desperation. And Vega delivers a slyly confident performance as Sonia, who is amused by the men’s antics. But told from a male point of view, there’s plenty of female nudity, but alas, very little of the men.
Yetta Gottesman, Actor, is a member of LAByrinth Theater Company and The Actors Studio in New York City
September 5, 2003