Bem Bom is a 2021 Portuguese biographical drama film directed by Patrícia Sequeira.
It tells the story of the girl band Doce and how they challenged attitudes in their country. Their beginnings by the hand of their manager Tozé Brito are chronicled, as well as their attempts to go to the Eurovision Song Contest.
Despite being released first, the film is essentially a compilation of a seven-episode mini-series titled Doce which debuted on TV a couple of months later. Consequently, the mini-series will also be troped here.
Tropes:
- Abortion Fallout Drama: In the mini-series, Teresa decides to terminate her pregnancy so it doesn't affect the band at a critical point (they're preparing to participate in the next Festival da Canção). Abortion was not legal in Portugal at the time, so she goes to a back-alley doctor, but it has dire consequences for her and she's hospitalized two weeks before the Festival (she gets better in time).
- Artistic License – History: The movie depicts Lena's mother dying just before the band's performance at the 1980 Festival da Canção, and Lena learning about it and needing to get herself together. The real Lena pointed out her mother actually died afterwards, although her impending death was very much on Lena's mind during the show.
- Attempted Rape: In the mini-series, episode 3, Doce are staying at a small hotel and three men decide to invade their rooms, with Teresa and Laura nearly getting raped. Fortunately, the others and their boyfriends hear the ruckus and the three are sent running after getting their asses kicked.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Laura is the nicest of the quartet, but don't try to pull one over on her, or she'll make your skin crawl while wearing a smile on her face, something the victim-blaming mayor learned the hard way.
- Biopic: The film's story follows Doce from its creation in 1979 until their participation in Eurovision in 1982. The mini-series goes further, following the band until its end.
- Chilly Reception: Fá, and to a lesser extent Lena and Teresa, are initially very annoyed at having to work with Laura, who has no experience in the music business, and they make a few disparaging comments about her amateurishness and being a beauty pageant winner. Not helping matters any is the managers admitting they picked Laura mainly because she's blonde. This treatment almost wears Laura down, but Teresa encourages her not to give up, while Lena gets Fá to stop grousing and teach her how to sing, which Fá concedes to.
- Downer Ending: The mini-series ends on a very bitter note, with the band splitting after their relationships with each other deteriorate from the stress of touring. Teresa in particular gets the harshest conclusion, as her romantic relationships go up in flames and she is unable to be with her best friend or properly say goodbye to him as he dies from AIDS.
- Drag Queen: Teresa's best friend and later roommate Sebastião (only seen in the mini-series) works as a drag queen.
- Fantasy-Forbidding Father: Downplayed with Lena's mother, who doesn't outright forbid Lena from being in the band, but thinks it will never go anywhere and suggests that Lena find a more down-to-earth occupation, such as hairdressing.
- Fiery Redhead: Teresa is a redhead and definitely not one to keep quiet when she's displeased (though she's still second to the brunette Fá in hotheadedness).
- Fire-Forged Friends: Things are pretty tense among Doce at first. Laura is an inexperienced newcomer, Lena is stressed over her ill mother, Fá complains a lot and so does Teresa, who's saddled with late rent fees and thinks she's regressing in her career. Lena's mother's death is when they first show a sense of camaraderie. After a collective visit to the cemetery, Lena herself leads the charge into Tozé's office to demand that the four get paid what the label owes them, which is the first time they're all on the same page and working together towards a common goal.
- Gilligan Cut: While getting dressed in the Bedlah Babe outfits to perform "Ali-Bábá", it's discovered that the bottoms won't be delivered in time, meaning Doce have to perform practically in underwear. Fá says there's no way she's going on stage dressed like that, followed by an immediate cut to the next scene where she's waiting with the rest of the band, wearing the maligned outfits, for their turn at performing.
- Group Hug: Lena is hugged by all of her bandmates at once when she's crying at the news of her mother's death.
- The Heart: Lena, in an understated way. It's established early on that the abrasive Fá has a soft spot for her. Lena is the one who most easily accepts Laura into the band and convinces Fá, who's very reluctant, to mentor her. It's a personal tragedy of Lena's that first gets all four of them on the same page. She even gets Fá and Teresa to stop complaining about Zé Carlos' outfits once and for all.
- Logo Joke: The Santa Rita Filmes logo is rendered in the same pink neon lights as the film's logo.
- Loves Me Not: Teresa plucks the petals of one of the many flowers sent to Doce after their first performance at the Festival da Canção. She is sarcastically attempting to predict whether Polygram will pay them or not.
- Malicious Slander: While Doce are touring in the USA, a rumor starts back home in Portugal, claiming that Laura was brought to a hospital in Lisbon, supposedly injured from a sexual encounter with football player Reinaldo. The Portuguese media milk this for all it's worth and people buy it, harming the reputation of Doce, and of Laura in particular.
- Maligned Mixed Marriage: Laura has a romantic relationship with medical student Jota, who's black. When a nasty rumor starts that Laura wound up in the hospital from engaging in violent intercourse with football player Reinaldo, who's also black, their relationship comes under scrutiny. Zé Carlos lampshades that a blonde girl like Laura being with a black man feeds into people's imaginations in the worst ways.
- Mama's Baby, Papa's Maybe: Teresa tells her boyfriend she's pregnant, but he refuses responsibility, claiming he can't know for sure it's his when she's always on tour and partying, in his view (which is horsecrap). She accordingly tells him to get the fuck out of her house.
- Out of Focus: The vast majority of Teresa's storyline was cut from the film, resulting in her being the least-developed of the four in that version of the story. The mini-series spends more time on her.
- Performance Anxiety: Laura explains that she doesn't do very well on a stage when Tozé hires her. She gets a panic attack when Doce are getting ready to perform in their first Festival da Canção, but Teresa helps her calm down and things go smoothly.
- Pillow Pregnancy: Zé Carlos needs to go to London to buy specific fabrics to make flashy clothes for Doce, but for some reason that's not elaborated on in the film, he needs Laura so that they can pass through customs. The mini-series shows that Laura hides the fabrics by wrapping them around her belly, giving off the impression she's pregnant.
- Platonic Life-Partners: Laura and the band's stylist Zé Carlos live together for years, but are just friends, as Laura explains when her bandmates assume they're dating (it's later clarified that Zé Carlos is gay). Laura sticks up for Zé Carlos' creations when they are derided by the rest of the band and he also supports her when she is plagued by false rumors.
- Produce Pelting: At one concert, Teresa is suddenly hit in the face with a tomato, followed by some other things getting thrown on stage before some rowdy males invade it and try to get handsy with the band.
- The Promise: Lena promises her mother that they'll go to Fátima
together after the Festival da Canção is over. Sadly, Lena cannot keep it since her mother dies literal minutes before the performance. - Reluctant Fanservice Girl: Fá, Lena and Teresa are decidedly not fond of the sexy image their managers have chosen for the band and often complain about the outrageous outfits they have to wear, with Fá being particularly vocal about her discontent.
- Rousing Speech:
- Zé Carlos' "Scheherazade speech" before the band performs "Ali-Bábá", where he revs up the band by telling them they are setting an example for what women can do and teaching them to take control of their lives.
- Towards the end, Doce are considering disbanding because of the controversy surrounding Laura's sex scandal. Then Tozé's secretary talks to them about how they have inspired her and other women across the country and that they can get past this.
- Shameless Fanservice Girl: Laura is much more willing to wear the sexy outfits mandated by the managers than her bandmates are, partly because it's her friend who designed said outfits.
- The Show Must Go On: Lena's mother dies just before a show. Tozé wants to hide it from her so it doesn't affect her performance, but she overhears it and runs out onto the street to cry, with the other members following to comfort her. The show still happens and she gives it her all.
- Slut-Shaming: Doce are constant targets of this due to their overtly sexy image, which was a novelty in Portugal at the time. They are attacked and harassed by rowdy men in some shows and in one instance, are victim-blamed by the organizer who accuses them of dressing like sluts (Laura puts the guy in his place by coldly threatening to sic the media on him). Sadly Portugal in the 80s was still very steeped in old-fashioned Catholic mores as a result of having abandoned a very conservative dictatorship just a few years before.
- Tragic AIDS Story: Teresa's best friend Sebastião becomes sick with AIDS and steadily wastes away before dying in the final episode. Teresa is unable to be with him in his final moments due to touring.
- What the Hell, Hero?:
- Teresa snaps at Lena for "moping"note during rehearsals, causing Fá to call Teresa out and remind her that Lena's mother is dying.
- When Tozé wants to keep Lena's mother's death from her until after the band's performance, his secretary is outraged and points out that if it were her, she'd want to know immediately.
- "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue: Both the film and the mini-series end with some texts detailing what the members of Doce did after the band ended.
