WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN (1988, SPAIN)

Let’s face it. Pedro Almodovar’s film, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown is a chick flick. It doesn’t have the subversive twists that the two other Almodovar films I’ve seen(Talk to Her, The Skin I’m In) have. Of course, for many American filmgoers, watching any film in Spanish may constitute subversion on at least some level.

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown is a comedy about a middle aged woman who is coping with the breakup of her (married) boyfriend.

Now this film is in the 1001 movie book. But if this same plot had been in English and was directed by Garry Marshall and starred Sandra Bullock, I’d probably dismiss it as fluff. I realize that isn't particularly fair, but we all have our preconceived biases.

So this month, I've decided that I’m watching movies designed for the fairer sex and making up my own rules as I go along as to why it’s OK for a guy to watch it (other that it is in the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die book).

So here’s the first rule.
It’s OK for a guy to watch a Romance/Chick flick/ Women’s picture if...

Pedro Almodovar directed it.

That may seem like a pretty narrow rule and only pertains to a handful of films, but I'm new at this and I'm sticking with it.