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 MAD
LOVE. DVD. 2003. aka Juana
la Loca Drama. 120 minutes.
Rated R, brief nudity, sexual situation. In Spanish with English or French
subtitles. Shortly after sending Columbus on his voyage for the new world,
Spain’s Queen Isabella sends her young (and hot) daughter, Joan, away
for an arranged marriage to Archduke Phillip. Reluctant at first, Joan
quickly accepts her position as Phillip’s wife and almost instantly
begins to have babies. Falling more and more passionately in love with
Phillip, Joan is devastated to learn of her husband’s sexual escapades
with other women. Over come with jealousy and anger, Joan’s behavior
turns a bit obsessive and at times, unruly. Worried about her mental
wellness, Phillip and his “people” try to have Joan, now a Queen,
dethroned and locked away forever.
Perplexing movie, indeed. The acting, production, and over all
quality is stunning. However, the story absolutely crawled and is
basically redundant. Phil would cheat, Joan would get jealous and pissed.
Phil would cheat, Joan would get even more jealous and pissed. This
happened over and over. Honestly, what did Joan expect? Like Bill Clinton,
didn’t all royalty screw everything within reach back in those days?
Aside from a few, minor side stories (where we get to witness Joan and
Phil at their worst) and an all too quick ending, Mad Love has a
storyline, albeit more eloquent, fit for The Jerry Springer Show. Pilar López
de Ayala is absolutely stunning, while also being a great psycho wife, as
Joan. If you like movies dealing with this time period, you’ll dig Mad
Love. If you love movies that depict men as over sexed womanizers,
you’ll dig Mad Love. If you love action packed movies with more twists
and turns than a drunken Britney Spears slipping on a banana peel, you
won’t dig Mad Love. – Denis Sheehan
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