It’s October, and one week into the never-ending taping of a fatuous, disaster-plagued New Year’s Eve song-and-dance extravaganza — the type even Dick Clark would have frowned upon — an extra seated at table 21 gets flattened by a runaway crane shot. One man’s tragedy is another man’s big break. Professional seat-filler José (Pepón Nieto) has been perched next to the phone for three months waiting for a call from the temp agency that would bring work. The middle-aged, unemployed mama’s boy picks up on the first ring, and within minutes, he is strapped into a tuxedo and out the door. Outside the studio walls, a violent protest rages against the pending dismissal of 500 employees, while inside, boredom reigns supreme, the only drama coming in the form of pop-culture titans butting heads. The success of a multicharacter comedy such as this hinges on its handling of secondary characters and background action. No surprise, the glitzy dress TV ball soon takes a backseat to the tawdry, behind-the-scenes goings on of a group of dress extras. José’s mother may show up still clutching the crucifix she years ago ripped from her husband’s coffin, but don’t expect the type of single-trait stick figuresses often associated with this type of production. My Big Night borrows more from the atmospheric appointment work of Peter Bogdanovich or Jonathan Demme than it does from Telemundo. Director and co-writer Álex de la Iglesia keeps the action and laughter flowing at a breakneck pace, brilliantly choreographing the rapid-fire dialogue while putting cinematographer Ángel Amorós’s camera through its rigorous paces. (2015) — Scott Marks
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