In Annie Hall, Woody Allen's character compared a relationship to a shark: it has to keep moving forward in order to avoid dying out. The Other Side of the Bed, a romantic comedy/drama/musical is filled to the brim with characters dedicated to performing such a feat -- and often with more than one partner -- but it boasts more light-hearted aspirations than Allen's masterpiece. The film doesn't pretend to make any poignant observations on the state of love in modern times, preferring instead to entertain the audience with its characters and the sheer romantic chaos their stories end up generating.

Javier (Ernesto Alterio) enjoys a loving relationship with his girlfriend Sonia (Paz Vega), a serenity that seems to be shared between his buddy Pedro (Guillermo Toledo) and his significant other, Paula (Natalia Verbeke). That  peace is soon shattered when Paula unceremoniously dumps Pedro, announcing she's found true love in the arms of another. Pedro seeks some much-needed consolation from Javier, unaware that he's the man Paula ditched him for. However, now that her relationship with Pedro is kaput, Paula is putting the pressure on Javier to leave Sonia, but that's something he's not quite ready and willing to do. As Javier tries to stall Paula from spilling the beans, he also finds himself having to prevent Pedro from finding out about their tryst, not realizing his efforts to do so may end up driving Pedro into Sonia's arms.

If a Bollywood musical collided with a Spanish telenovela, The Other Side of the Bed would be the result. There are enough people falling in and out of love (and lust) with one another here to fill at least a couple of seasons of soap operas, and on top of that, these characters have a tendency to launch themselves into ballads concerning what's wrong with women on a moment's notice. This might sound a bit chauvinistic, but keep in mind The Other Side of the Bed is being played as a complete farce, a purposefully complicated battle of the sexes in which neither side is  the innocent. All you have to do is sit back and let the insanity carry you away, and on this level, The Other Side of the Bed works pretty well. The script knows when to carry on certain plot threads and when to introduce new ones, never letting the story grow too stale.

Fortunately, The Other Side of the Bed maintains a pretty relaxed attitude toward sex. It's not a prudish film, but it doesn't throw in sex arbitrarily either. The movie keeps such matters fairly grounded, so when certain characters do engage in hanky-panky, it feels natural, as opposed to being there simply as an incentive for the guys whose girlfriends demand they rent the film. The actors succeed in maintaining the film's down-to-earth feel, with Alterio and Toledo delivering solid turns as the beleagured men trying to keep the lid on their respective affairs, as well as Vega and Verbeke doing a fine job playing a pair of real beauties who aren't as monogamous as they claim to be. What doesn't work for me, though, are the purposeless song-and-dance numbers, which fail to be entertaining. They seem choreographed by someone who saw Grease as a kid. Also, while I didn't expect the story to wrap itself with a completely tidy bow, the film's ending defines the term "anti-climactic," stopping itself so abruptly, I had to check my DVD copy to see if it was busted.

The Other Side of the Bed may be nothing groundbreaking when it comes to relationship comedies; everything this movie does, Woody Allen has done better. But despite its flaws, this is a fun film. The drama is absurdly complicated, the ladies are most certainly lovely, and the film's general demeanor combines "smart" with a nice hint of silliness.

MY RATING: *** (out of ****)

(Released by Swipe Films and rated "R" for sexuality/nudity and language.)

Review also posted on: www.passportcinema.com.