Rating: 
Summary: You cannot resist the power of the mambo taxi!
Review: I think that the other reviewers covered the plot details very well, so I will just make a few brief comments here. Before I saw a Pedro Almodovar film, a friend of mine cautioned me, saying that people either love or despise his films. I think that is a true statement & definitely one to keep in mind if you have never seen one of his movies. I have now seen two Almodovar movies, this one & 'All About My Mother.' Apparently, I am destined to be a fan. I absolutely loved both of these films. Why? I love the characters--offbeat, indescribably bizarre, but somehow very real at the same time. Although his characters are modern--maybe even postmodern(larger than life women, drag queens, mambo taxi drivers), his films have that old Hollywood feel to them. Almodoar obviously loves old movies (there are plenty of references to old movies & stars) & he seems to sprinkle a little of the old school glamour over his very modern women. I love his use of colors, the bright vivid clothes & backdrops. I love the music, which again, reminds me of old movies. I love the dry humor--the low key responses to the ridiculous situations these characters often find themselves in. There were several parts of "Women On The Verge' that made me laugh out loud. My favorite line is when Pepa says that understanding mechanics is easier than understanding male psychology--you may eventually understand a motorcycle, but you will never understand a man. By the time Pepa says this in the movie, it is easy to understand why she feels this way. :) If you are looking for something a little different, then you should give this movie a shot. And you will either love it or hate it. But if you love it, you will find yourself seeking out more of Almodovar's movies. You may become a fan for life.
Rating:
Summary: Universal Shennanigans
Review: In 'Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown', Pedro Almodovar subtley overturns traditional gender stereotypes. Outside of the shennanigans she encounters from place to place, Pepa takes stock of her situation in the taxi that carries her between buildings. Its here she recognizes that the mechanics of motorcycles are much easier to fathom than those of male psychology. Ivan's first wife Lucia, remains in the 60's fashion she was wearing when he left her. It's almost as if time stopped for her the moment he left. The array of colours seem to be used as a metaphor for the full and intense emotions of the women involved, compared to the grey and black of Carlos and Ivan. Apparently Almodovar had to film the balcony scenes in a studio because the downtown skyline of Madrid is now just a sea of office and apartment buildings. Almodovar has never made any secret of the fact that a director should "never borrow, but steal if it is justified" from another director. Witness his homage to Hitchcock's 'Rear Window' when Pepa looks across the street into Lucia's apartment building. It's ironic that in his native Spain, Pedro Almodovar finally broke free from being described as a 'cult' director to being appreciated by a wider audience with the massive success of this film. Meanwhile in the U.S., the film was specifically marketed by Orion as a 'minority' picture aimed at an Hispanic and female audience. They must have been pleasantly surprised when the audiences for this film crossed racial and gender barriers.
Rating: 
Summary: My favorite move ever!
Review: In 1988 i was watching a TV Show about hollywood and I heard the name "Pedro Almodóvar" and they were talking about his movie "Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios". The movie was nominated for an Oscar as the best Foreing Movie,and I remember seen Lucia on top of the motorcicle and the wind was blowing on her face. Since that moment i knew that I have to see that movie. In 1993 opend the first Blockbuster Video in my home town and I went there asking for Almodóvar's movies and they gave me five movies "Matador", "high heels", "Law of desire" and "Women on the verge of a nervous breakdown" i liked all of them but I got perplexed when I saw " the law of desire" because that was the first time that i saw to men together on a bed and i the same time the movie was very good. But when I saw "women on the verge of a nervious breakdown" i got facinated with Carmen Maura's (Pepa) performens it was extraordinary beautiful, funny, sad and at the end the movie got the right end. You must see this movie!
Rating:
Summary: My favorite move ever!
Review: In 1988 i was watching a TV Show about hollywood and I heard the name "Pedro Almodóvar" and they were talking about his movie "Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios". The movie was nominated for an Oscar as the best Foreing Movie,and I remember seen Lucia on top of the motorcicle and the wind was blowing on her face. Since that moment i knew that I have to see that movie. In 1993 opend the first Blockbuster Video in my home town and I went there asking for Almodóvar's movies and they gave me five movies "Matador", "high heels", "Law of desire" and "Women on the verge of a nervous breakdown" i liked all of them but I got perplexed when I saw " the law of desire" because that was the first time that i saw to men together on a bed and i the same time the movie was very good. But when I saw "women on the verge of a nervious breakdown" i got facinated with Carmen Maura's (Pepa) performens it was extraordinary beautiful, funny, sad and at the end the movie got the right end. You must see this movie!
Rating:
Summary: One of the funniest movies ever.
Review: It's a riot. You'll spit soda out of your nose.
Rating:
Summary: A complete hoot!
Review: Long ago I saw this movie many times on the big screen. Now that I finally have the video, I am a very happy camper. It's my favorite ever! And now that Antonio is a big star, it's fun to watch what he does as a stuttering youngster. Maura and the rest of the cast are super. I still laugh every time I see it, and I also really enjoy the music!
Rating: 
Summary: Am I crazy?
Review: Or was this movie not ALL THAT!?!? I don't know if the other reviewers here were lavishing praise over something that they heard was supposed to be so good, but knowing this going in and thus prepared to love it I found myself thinking, if I didn't know this was supposed to be good I would be thinking it was terrible, and therefore I thought it was ... fine. Certainly not a classic. Mildly amusing. Not at all memorable. Perhaps it was significant re historical era in which it appeared and its place re Spanish politics etc. etc. but I wouldn't know. Standing alone, it was nothing at all special.
Rating:
Summary: Am I crazy?
Review: Pepa is having a crisis. Her lover is leaving her and now her doctor tells her she is pregnant. Her best friend may be wanted by the police for her association with a Shiite terrorist. And now her lover's psychotic wife is knocking at the door. Can she catch up with her lover, protect her friend, arrange a new romance for her lover's son, dodge the police, and disarm her lover's wife in time to foil an international terrorist plot? Well... maybe after she serves her guests some gazpacho. In any other hands WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN would collapse into mere frantic farce, but Almodovar directs Carmen Marua and an ensemble cast to a brilliant series of plausible performances that allows the viewer to buy into the story, improbabilities and all--and the result is a hilarious, touching, and fascinating film that is considerably more than the sum of its parts. This is certainly comedy at its most sophistocated, splashed with social satire and spangled with a touch of symbolism for those inclined to seek it. A number of motifs run through the film--recorded voices, telephones, and the color red are but a few examples--but Almodovar doesn't force his audience to deconstruct his film in order to enjoy it, and WOMEN ON THE VERGE is easily one of the funniest European films of the past fifty years. Those who expect farce plain and simple or who like their movies to tie up into a neat package by the time the credits roll may be disappointed--but if you can make a leap of faith and meet the film on its own terms you'll find it sly, witty, often laugh-out-loud funny... and it will leave you with a feel-good afterglow too. Strongly, strongly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Funniest European Films of the Past 50 Years
Review: Pepa is having a crisis. Her lover is leaving her and now her doctor tells her she is pregnant. Her best friend may be wanted by the police for her association with a Shiite terrorist. And now her lover's psychotic wife is knocking at the door. Can she catch up with her lover, protect her friend, arrange a new romance for her lover's son, dodge the police, and disarm her lover's wife in time to foil an international terrorist plot? Well... maybe after she serves her guests some gazpacho. In any other hands WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN would collapse into mere frantic farce, but Almodovar directs Carmen Marua and an ensemble cast to a brilliant series of plausible performances that allows the viewer to buy into the story, improbabilities and all--and the result is a hilarious, touching, and fascinating film that is considerably more than the sum of its parts. This is certainly comedy at its most sophistocated, splashed with social satire and spangled with a touch of symbolism for those inclined to seek it. A number of motifs run through the film--recorded voices, telephones, and the color red are but a few examples--but Almodovar doesn't force his audience to deconstruct his film in order to enjoy it, and WOMEN ON THE VERGE is easily one of the funniest European films of the past fifty years. Those who expect farce plain and simple or who like their movies to tie up into a neat package by the time the credits roll may be disappointed--but if you can make a leap of faith and meet the film on its own terms you'll find it sly, witty, often laugh-out-loud funny... and it will leave you with a feel-good afterglow too. Strongly, strongly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: not so good
Review: The actors have charm, and the taxi-driver is hilarious. But he only has two brief scenes. I took a friend to see this when it was in the theaters. At the end of the film, I felt bad that I'd dragged him to see it. Plus, the film is very clunky technically.
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