Jamon Jamon

Released Sep 4, 1992

1h 33m

Comedy

Drama

List

69%

16 Reviews

Tomatometer

64%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Jose Luis (Jordi Mollà) has a cushy corporate job at the lingerie factory his mom, Conchita (Stefania Sandrelli), owns. Jose Luis makes the acquaintance of Silvia (Penélope Cruz), a beautiful laborer on the underwear assembly line, and he is instantly lovestruck. When he announces his intention to marry this blue-collar woman, Conchita is quite displeased, so she enlists the hunky Raul (Javier Bardem) to take Silvia's mind off her son. The plan works, until Conchita also falls for Raul.

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Critics Consensus

It isn't as provocative or amusing as it pretends to be, but Jamón Jamón's cheerfully overheated melodrama is often its own reward.

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Geoff Andrew

Time Out

The sex scenes are so bizarre as to be parodic and it all looks terribly ugly. But wonderful vignettes of rural life, and a terrific performance from Pablito the piglet. Ham indeed.

Jun 24, 2006

Full Review

Vincent Canby

New York Times

"Jamon Jamon" is not quite pop art, and it's not surprising or witty enough to work as satire. It's on a wavelength not easy to tune in.

Rated: 2.5/5

Aug 30, 2004

Full Review

Rita Kempley

Washington Post

A coarse muddle of melodrama, romance and cautionary tale, the film is chiefly a tribute to throbbing Latin manhood, as cretinous and sophomoric as it is pretentiously surreal.

Jan 1, 2000

Full Review

Jas Keimig

The Stranger (Seattle, WA)

While Spanish machismo is on full display in the picture, it's a fun erotic romp that features two early performances from Spain's leading actors.

Jan 5, 2022

Full Review

Nicholas Bell

IONCINEMA.com

A surreal soap opera which remains joyously frivolous with content so potent you can almost smell its musky pheromones, Jamon, Jamon is an excellent blast from the past and features Cruz and Bardem in all their untouched youthfulness.

Rated: 3.5/5

Aug 26, 2020

Full Review

Cole Smithey

ColeSmithey.com

Rated: 4/5

Jun 24, 2008

Full Review

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Maria

I loved the introductory speech that gave us a sense of what to expect from the movie. Even though it is 30 years old the symbology and themes are still a part of our every day lives. A must see movie!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/21/22

Full Review

colin m

E n j o y a b l e t a l e.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Had to turn the movie off when not only her boyfriend was forcing himself on her repeatedly, but also the guy that was harassing her nonstop in the most demeaning ways starts being a love interest of hers. This movie is not only full of toxic masculinity but also female characters obviously written by a man.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

Full Review

слободан е

By now a classic, though many moments in the film are not so convincing.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

simon d

A couple of the worlds acting elite in a very early film for both of them. This is an excelent story of love and lust in the middle of nowhere, Spain. It's pretty funny and, of course, pretty raunchy, so much so I had to abandon my plans to watch this on a flight about two minutes in.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

All I can say is that if this is anything to go by, then the Spanish sense of humour is very different to mine. There are some great performances in the film, in fact, the whole cast (lead by Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem) are very good but my, is this an odd film. It's a bizarre tale of sex, jealousy and pork that I think has a potentially good, if twisted plot hidden in there. Sadly, this just doesn't shine through and many of the scenes are jarring and unnatural. The convoluted plot of the love triangles that exist between two families, one wealthy, one poor has some very dark and twisted moments and some that are completely unexplored. I can't, for example, for the life of me fathom why Bardem and his best friend feel it necessary to go an fight a bull naked in the middle of the night. It's a scene that just seems plonked in the middle oft he action with no real consequence. Maybe I'm missing the point but I'm afraid Jamón Jamón didn't really do much for me and certainly didn't make me laugh enough.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/13/23

Full Review

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Bigas Luna

Director

Penélope Cruz

Silvia

Stefania Sandrelli

Conchita, Jose Luis' Mother

Anna Galiena

Carmen, Silvia's Mother

Juan Diego

Manuel, Jose Luis' Father

Javier Bardem

Raul

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Synopsis

Jose Luis (Jordi Mollà) has a cushy corporate job at the lingerie factory his mom, Conchita (Stefania Sandrelli), owns. Jose Luis makes the acquaintance of Silvia (Penélope Cruz), a beautiful laborer on the underwear assembly line, and he is instantly lovestruck. When he announces his intention to marry this blue-collar woman, Conchita is quite displeased, so she enlists the hunky Raul (Javier Bardem) to take Silvia's mind off her son. The plan works, until Conchita also falls for Raul.

Director: Bigas Luna
Screenwriter: Bigas Luna, Cuca Canals, Quim Monzó
Distributor: Academy Entertainment
Production Co: Lolafilms S.A., Ovídeo TV S.A., Sogepaq
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: Spanish (Spain)
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 4, 1992, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 24, 2019
Box Office (Gross USA): $14.8K
Runtime: 1h 33m
Sound Mix: Dolby