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Sounds Like Love
By Jennifer Green,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Lots of language and sex in predictable Spanish romcom.
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Sounds Like Love
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What's the Story?
Maca (Maria Valverde) has never quite gotten over being abandoned by her one true love, Leo (Alex Gonzalez), in SOUNDS LIKE LOVE. She's stuck in a dead-end job working for a spoiled influencer (Miri Perez-Cabrero, who came to fame on Spain's MasterChef reality show), and avoids emotional involvement with other men. Her two best friends are no less stuck: the love of Jime's (Elisabet Casanovas) life died 11 years ago and she's been obsessed ever since with finding his reincarnated spirit in another man, while Adriana (Susana Abaiuta) is in a loveless marriage. When Leo comes back into Maca's life, sparks fly, and she -- like her besties -- will have to figure out next steps that are right for them as individuals.
Is It Any Good?
This Spanish film has the look and feel of yet another Sex and the City knock-off, but with less of the exuberance or charm. Sounds like Love is based on a book by Elisabet Benavent, a trendy Spanish author whose work has also been adapted into the very similar Netflix series Valeria. Love is full of pseudo-feminist messages about self empowerment among a friend group of three young female professionals grappling with relationships, careers, and identity. It boasts the expected mix of stylish outfits, urban settings, hip music, Instagram influencers, and lots of sex. Astute viewers will even detect some of the same settings and music as Valeria.
But it's missing the youthful joy of these other iterations, and though its characters are young, they're surprisingly bitter. The up-and-coming cast does their best with the material, but some effects forced on them fall flat, like flashbacks set in present-day scenes or multiple versions of Maca talking to herself. Maca also talks to the camera throughout, sharing knowing glances. But rather than pulling the viewer in as complicit (or as the missing fourth friend in a Sex or Valeria-like set-up), they have an acidic "told you so" vibe instead. When the main character winds up in Paris, Love also steps on the couture heels of Netflix's Emily in Paris. In sum, the material and ideas here feel overly familiar, and better versions are already streaming.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how Sounds Like Love is similar to and/or different from other films and series you've watched about 20- and 30-something women.
In one scene, Maca interrupts Leo's college seminar and tries to turn his students against him. What was her main message? What did you think of this?
Did Jime's belief in Santi reincarnating feel realistic? Why or why not? What does she learn at the end?
How are sex and sexuality portrayed in a variety of ways in this movie?
The film is set in Madrid, Spain. Could it have been set elsewhere? What makes the setting important to the story?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming: September 28, 2021
- Cast: Maria Valverde , Alex Gonzalez , Susana Abaitua
- Director: Juana Macias
- Studio: Netflix
- Genre: Romance
- Topics: Book Characters , Friendship
- Run time: 111 minutes
- MPAA rating: NR
- Last updated: February 17, 2023
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