KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN movie poster | ©2025 Roadside Attractions/Lionsgate

Rating: R
Stars: Diego Luna, Tonatiuh, Jennifer Lopez
Writer: Bill Condon, based on the stage play musical book by Terrence McNally, music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, based on the novel by Manuel Puig
Director: Bill Condon
Distributor: Roadside Attractions/Lionsgate
Release Date: October 10, 2025

The new musical film KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN, directed and scripted by Bill Condon, with music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb, is based on the stage musical of the same name, which ran on Broadway 1993-1995 with a script by Terrence McNally and score by Kander and Ebb, which was in turn based on Manuel Puig’s 1976 novel. The musical is not based on the 1985 non-musical film adaptation of the novel. Got all that?

The setting has been moved from Brazil to 1983 Argentina, to better align with real-world history in that country. A military dictatorship is running the country, arresting people for all sorts of “revolutionary” crimes, like peaceful protest. They are also arresting men for being gay.

This is how political prisoner Valentin Arregui (Diego Luna) and gay window dresser Luis Molina (Tonatiuh) wind up sharing a cell together. Even though the space is tiny, the food is terrible and the threat of beatings by the guards and torture by the prison administrators is ever-present, both men are allowed reading material Molina is even permitted to put up movie posters, showcasing his idol, Ingrid Luna (Jennifer Lopez).

While Valentin maintains a gruff front, Molina is compulsively chatty. We learn early on that he’s been planted in Valentin’s cell by the authorities, who hope that the seemingly harmless Molina can get the revolutionary to confide in him.

Molina would rather not be in this position. To pass the time, he insists on recounting the plot of his favorite movie, the musical KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN, starring La Luna in a dual role. She plays glamorous magazine editor Aurora, a beautiful woman strangely unable to love, and the supernatural Spider Woman, who protects a tiny forest village in exchange for a sacrifice of true love once every ten years.

We’re not sure how much of this is the story of the actual (fictional) film, and how much is what Molina remembers/wishes it to be. In his mind’s eye, Molina himself replaces the actor playing Aurora’s assistant/confidante, a character whom Molina assures Valentin is secretly gay. For Aurora’s love interest, Molina pictures Valentin.

The script by director Condon finds parallels between the yarn Molina is spinning and the situation of the two prisoners, although their slow bonding does not resemble the immediate ‘50s musical-style swings of Molina’s KISS.

Condon, who has directed other film adaptations of stage musicals (DREAMGIRLS, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST) demonstrates the ability to recreate the look and feel of big MGM Hollywood movies with scenes showcasing Luna/Aurora, while also working in a few Bob Fosse-style numbers (Kander and Ebb wrote the score and lyrics for the Fosse-directed CABARET).

These sequences highlight Lopez’s singing and dancing skills, which are on par with most of the leading ladies from the fictional Luna’s era. She also effectively conveys the lethal, anguished allure of the Spider Woman, alone on her web. The actors Luna and Tonatiuh both deftly step into the period and are fine foils for star Aurora.

However, while we understand what Molina sees in his KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN, to us it doesn’t have the soulfulness he imparts to it. Lopez is the headlined performer in the cast, but her function is to support the framing story.

We are far more invested in the non-singing relationship between the nervously candid Molina and the guarded but painfully honest Valentin. We root for their friendship and are in real suspense over Molina’s priorities when it comes to regaining his freedom. Luna and Tonatiuh give heartfelt, engrossing performances.

KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN, while set in 1983, speaks to our own political times. Where it arguably gets a little tricky is Molina’s conflating being gay with being trans. We can’t tell if Molina really feels like he (not to misgender the character, but this is where the confusion comes in) is a woman – he doesn’t express an innate sense that he’s in the wrong body – or if he just specifically wants to be Aurora. We can hardly expect the insulated character to think, much less speak, in terms we’re used to in 2025, but when Molina makes broad statements about the natures of both women and gay men, lots of viewers may want to argue with him. (Valentin tries, but Molina shuts him down.)

Mostly, KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN is an emotionally engaging tale, illuminated with flashes of operatic brightness, but affecting us more when it is quiet and dark.

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