As a big fan of Penelope Cruz (check her out also in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides), I am surprised it has taken me this long to finally watch, Don’t Tempt Me (know also as No News from God, while in the Spanish speaking countries as Bendito Infierno or Sin noticias de Dios – wow, that’s a lot of title for one movie). This is a fun comedy movie that puts Hell and Heaven at odds with each other. It is a fantastic premise and one that is brought to life with some clever writing and some fantastic performances.
How to Stream or Download Don’t Tempt Me (2001)
To stream or to download the movie from Google Play Store, click on the Download button at the end of the review.
The Movie Review
The story of the movie is that heaven and hell are like warring corporations and they are fighting for souls. Heaven is taking a bit of a beating and is close to going under, which would leave only Hell. There is one soul that is more important than any other at the moment and that is the soul that belongs to a boxer, Manny who is played by Demian Bichir.
Manny is pretty much at the end; he has suffered brain damage in a fight and one more fight could kill him. Manny is in loads of debt and has cops and bad guys after him and he is pretty much a dude with one foot in the grave already. Heaven decides to send Lola (Victoria Abril) who works in a nightclub in heaven to try and save his soul.
Hell is having none of this and they send Carmen (Penelope Cruz) who is a waitress in hell to try and get him to end it all so they can get his soul. It is a very amusing premise and the way these two try and win him over with their bodies, as well as their minds, is great stuff indeed. Lola and Carmen both get to play people from Manny’s life they try to get his soul.
As well as the three main leads, Don’t Tempt Me has a great supporting cast that really does help bring the whole movie to life. I thought that the performances here were great and watching Cruz and Abril go after this poor guy’s soul was hilarious. While the movie is most certainly a comedy it is also very smart.
The writing here is great and the writer/director Agustín Díaz Yanes did an awesome job in bringing his story to life. I really like the way they have made heaven and hell look so different. Heaven is not as “nice” as you would think, but its Parisian style is pretty neat. Hell, on the other hand, is like a big American corporation that has been missing its master for a while.
While the movie is going to make you laugh. The movie also does a great job of making you connect with and care about the characters. Getting to see Manny become a better man and Carmen and Lola improve their own standings is great stuff. It is the kind of movie that makes you laugh while you watch it, but then it really makes you think as you process it all long after.
I had a great time with this movie and I highly recommend it if you are looking for something fun. Not only is the movie fun, but it also has a lot of soul (literally) too. It has great performances and it is a very interesting take on the whole Heaven vs Hell thing as well.
