I'm So Excited!
Something has gone wrong with the landing gear of a plane en route from Madrid to Mexico City. The group of eccentric travelers on the flight, defenseless in the face of danger, indulge in colourful confessionals, while the outlandish crew attempts to find ways to entertain them.
Despite its limited budget of $5.0M, I'm So Excited! became a commercial success, earning $11.7M worldwide—a 134% return.
3 wins & 10 nominations
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
I'm So Excited! (2013) demonstrates strategically placed narrative architecture, characteristic of Pedro Almodóvar's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 30 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 6.8, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Characters
Cast & narrative archetypes
Joserra
Álex Acero
Ulloa
Fajas
Bruna
Norma Boss
Ricardo Galán
Infante
Main Cast & Characters
Joserra
Played by Javier Cámara
The flamboyant chief flight attendant who tries to maintain order and morale during the crisis.
Álex Acero
Played by Antonio de la Torre
The pilot struggling with a personal crisis while trying to land the plane safely.
Ulloa
Played by Raúl Arévalo
The extravagant and dramatic flight attendant who revels in the chaos and excitement.
Fajas
Played by Carlos Areces
The younger, more reserved flight attendant who struggles with his sexuality and feelings.
Bruna
Played by Lola Dueñas
A high-class dominatrix passenger trying to escape legal troubles while maintaining her dignity.
Norma Boss
Played by Cecilia Roth
A famous psychic and medium passenger who attempts to communicate with the spirit world.
Ricardo Galán
Played by Guillermo Toledo
A corrupt businessman passenger involved in financial scandals and cover-ups.
Infante
Played by Hugo Silva
The co-pilot who is drugged and unconscious for most of the flight.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes The Peninsula flight crew prepares for takeoff in their routine professional world - flight attendants performing safety checks, pilots going through pre-flight procedures, presenting the ordinary world of commercial aviation.. Structural examination shows that this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 10 minutes when The pilots discover the landing gear is broken and cannot be deployed. The plane cannot land safely, forcing them into a holding pattern and transforming the routine flight into a potential death trap.. At 11% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 22 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 25% of the runtime. This illustrates the protagonist's commitment to The flight attendants actively choose to embrace the chaos, beginning to drink heavily, confess truths to passengers, and abandon professional pretense. They decide to live authentically in their final hours rather than maintain facades., moving from reaction to action.
At 44 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 49% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Structural examination shows that this crucial beat The crew learns that all emergency landing options have failed and the mechanics cannot fix the landing gear remotely. The stakes raise as they realize there may be no technical solution - death becomes more certain than possible., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 67 minutes (74% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Final confirmation that they're going to attempt a crash landing with no landing gear. The moment of accepting death arrives - all hope for technical salvation dies. Characters face their mortality directly., illustrates the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 72 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 80% of the runtime. A psychic passenger has a vision that they will survive. Characters choose to believe in miraculous salvation, combining their newfound authentic selves with hope. They prepare for landing with transformed perspective., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
I'm So Excited!'s emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs proven narrative structure principles that track dramatic progression. By mapping I'm So Excited! against these established plot points, we can identify how Pedro Almodóvar utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish I'm So Excited! within the comedy genre.
Pedro Almodóvar's Structural Approach
Among the 13 Pedro Almodóvar films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 7.1, reflecting strong command of classical structure. I'm So Excited! takes a more unconventional approach compared to the director's typical style. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Pedro Almodóvar filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional comedy films include The Bad Guys, Ella Enchanted and The Evening Star. For more Pedro Almodóvar analyses, see Live Flesh, All About My Mother and Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
The Peninsula flight crew prepares for takeoff in their routine professional world - flight attendants performing safety checks, pilots going through pre-flight procedures, presenting the ordinary world of commercial aviation.
Theme
A passenger mentions being afraid but trying to face fears, establishing the film's theme about confronting truth and embracing chaos rather than maintaining false control and facades.
Worldbuilding
Introduction to the flight crew dynamics, passenger personalities, and relationships. We learn about affairs, secrets, and the various personal dramas of both crew and business class passengers before crisis hits.
Disruption
The pilots discover the landing gear is broken and cannot be deployed. The plane cannot land safely, forcing them into a holding pattern and transforming the routine flight into a potential death trap.
Resistance
The crew debates how to handle the crisis - whether to tell passengers, how to maintain control, attempts to find technical solutions. They drug the economy passengers and isolate themselves with business class, resisting full transparency.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
The flight attendants actively choose to embrace the chaos, beginning to drink heavily, confess truths to passengers, and abandon professional pretense. They decide to live authentically in their final hours rather than maintain facades.
Mirror World
The relationship dynamics between crew and passengers deepen as they begin sharing intimate secrets and true selves. Characters who represent different responses to mortality (honesty vs. denial) interact, mirroring the thematic exploration.
Premise
The promised premise delivers: outrageous confessions, drug-fueled hijinks, musical numbers, sexual encounters, and absurd revelations as the crew and passengers abandon inhibitions while circling in the air awaiting death.
Midpoint
The crew learns that all emergency landing options have failed and the mechanics cannot fix the landing gear remotely. The stakes raise as they realize there may be no technical solution - death becomes more certain than possible.
Opposition
Increasing desperation as various rescue attempts fail. Personal conflicts intensify, drug effects worsen judgment, passengers' psychological states deteriorate. The party atmosphere darkens as mortality becomes undeniable and time runs out.
Collapse
Final confirmation that they're going to attempt a crash landing with no landing gear. The moment of accepting death arrives - all hope for technical salvation dies. Characters face their mortality directly.
Crisis
The dark night before landing as characters make final confessions, seek forgiveness, attempt last connections. Processing grief, fear, and regret while preparing emotionally and spiritually for death.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
A psychic passenger has a vision that they will survive. Characters choose to believe in miraculous salvation, combining their newfound authentic selves with hope. They prepare for landing with transformed perspective.
Synthesis
The emergency landing sequence. Characters execute crash procedures while maintaining their transformed authentic selves - synthesizing professional competence with personal truth. The plane lands successfully against all odds.
Transformation
Survivors emerge from the plane transformed - having faced death honestly and survived. They exit as authentic selves rather than the masked professionals and passengers from the opening, celebrating life and truth.