Vicky
Cristina Barcelona
Sitting there in the theater, listening to the
rumbling of The Dark
Knight beckoning me to leave this theater and sneak
in next door for my third viewing of the best film of the summer, I was
left wondering, “Why does anyone want to see a Woody Allen
movie anymore?”
Scarlett Johansson stars as Cristina and Rebecca Hall stars as Vicky
– two friends off to Barcelona for the summer. One night, a
sexy, overly forward and scandalous painter, Juan Antonio (Javier
Bardem), approaches them and asks the two beauties to take off for the
weekend with
him. Of course, they go (would they go if Bardem looked like Meat
Loaf?).
Will the
ladies fall prey to Juan Antonio's charms?
Can he sing Two
Out Out Of Three Ain't Bad?
Get rid of the Vicky and this movie would be passable. Writer/director
Woody Allen has a great deal of trouble finding the narrative in Vicky Cristina Barcelona as we follow the much less interesting Vicky and her humdrum
problems until Allen tosses
her overboard for the more compelling Penelope Cruz, who appears as
Maria Elena. It's not Hall's fault that Vicky is boring, but Cruz saves
the movie from the garbage heap by injecting some
electricity, sexiness and bold acting.
Allen is one of the best comedy writers of all time, but Vicky
Cristina
Barcelona is not crazy enough to be consistently funny, and
not
dramatic enough to be compelling. It’s stuck in that weird
middle zone I often complain about, and it hurts the movie. Plus, for a
film that has a great deal of buzz for being provocative because of
the relationships that develop between various characters (and a quick
locking of lips between Johansson and another female), it’s
just not as sexy as you
have been led to believe.
Anything not related to Maria Elena, Juan Antonio and Cristina is just
boring and unnecessary, and we get too much of this other sleep
inducing stuff to make
Vicky Cristina Barcelona worth
seeking out.
Vicky Cristina Barcelona is rated
PG-13 for mature thematic material involving sexuality, and smoking.
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