“Official Competition” (M) *****

FROM Spain, Mariano Cohn and Gastón Duprat’s comedy “Official Competition” casts Antonio Banderas, Oscar Martinez and Penelope Cruz skewering the business of movie making while falling victim to some of the bloat it seeks to satirise.

As his legacy, ageing millionaire Humberto Suarez (José Luis Gómez) decides to finance a great movie with the best people. So he hires pretentious art-house filmmaker Lola Cuevas to direct an adaptation of “Rivalry”, a novel about two warring brothers that Suarez has bought, complete with publishers. Wanting to do it her way, Lola casts actors who couldn’t be more different – self-centred playboy Félix Rivero (Banderas), and “serious actor” Ivan Torres (Martinez).

Conflicts emerge because of everyone’s rigid personality types. Lola will go to any lengths to capture a moment of “truth”, which stirs up the heat between Felix and Ivan about who is the better actor, and they go to extreme lengths to prove it at the cost of the production.

In one hilarious practice session, Lola barks at both men, forcing them to use their fear by acting out a grieving moment while a giant rock hovers ominously over their heads. Later, Felix, fed up that his devil-may-care attitude and mainstream success paint him as an unserious performer, just to prove he’s the better actor, convinces the others that an absolutely horrendous lie is true.

The cast of “Rivalry” plays up aspects of their own personas, Banderas recapturing some of his first forays into Hollywood, Martinez a stodgy bore obsessed with his own reputation. Penelope Cruz displays great skin dancing “The Floss” in a sequence quite unconnected with the plot and Lola, with disdain for awards symbolising supposed excellence, literally grinds the production to a standstill.

Gently nibbling the hand that feeds it, “Official Competition” makes effective use of its 114 minutes of subtly satirical comedy in an industry that everyone involved clearly loves enough to make fun of.

At Dendy and Palace Electric