Vicky Christina Barcelona

[RobinFinderson]

If you like WOody Allen films, then you will probably like this one quite a lot. And if you liked Y tu Mama Tambien AND you like WOody Allen films, which I did, then you will definitely like this film. On top of having all of the things that make WOody Allen films good, VCB has great acting. Javier Bardem plays this heartthrob Spanish artist bigamist who wears his heart on his sleeve and who believes that the key to a woman's heart is honesty (he says to the two titular women, "And then we will drink wine and see this sculpture, and you will sleep with me... both of you." (or something like that)). To think how this figure menaced the screen with a pneumatic bolt gun and a bad hair cut, and you realize this dude is one of the greatest actors of our times. I am a devotee. I will see every movie he is in. The women both do fine (isn't the one who isn't Scarlett Johansson nominated for an Oscar?). Woody Allen's films are always like a cross between the movies and theater. He is a genius who could have gone either way (he dabbled in both), but I'm glad he went with the movies, or I'm sure I wouldn't see as much of his work.

[MarkGrace]

I saw this last Sunday and thought it was decent. Allen seems to be enjoying a bit of a late career renaissance and I've seen his last three films. Among those I thought Match Point was the best, Scoop the worst, and VCB right in the middle.

I wasn't as high on the acting. I never think Johansson is good and I really wish Allen would stop using her. I thought Cruz was much better than her. As for Bardem, I thought he sounded nearly identical to Old Country. He may have had a haircut and tried to act like a suave Spaniard, but I was still just seeing Anton Chigurh and waiting for him to blow someone's head off with a cattle gun. That role could have very well ruined his career for me -- at this point, every time I see him, I can't picture anything else.

Oh yeah, the Mormon joke was totally lame. Since Mormons jokes seem to be rather in vogue in Hollywood right now, at least come up with a good one like Burn After Reading.

[RobinFinderson]

I saw this last Sunday and thought it was decent. Allen seems to be enjoying a bit of a late career renaissance and I've seen his last three films. Among those I thought Match Point was the best, Scoop the worst, and VCB right in the middle.

I wasn't as high on the acting. I never think Johansson is good and I really wish Allen would stop using her. I thought Cruz was much better than her. As for Bardem, I thought he sounded nearly identical to Old Country. He may have had a haircut and tried to act like a suave Spaniard, but I was still just seeing Anton Chigurh and waiting for him to blow someone's head off with a cattle gun. That role could have very well ruined his career for me -- at this point, every time I see him, I can't picture anything else.

Oh yeah, the Mormon joke was totally lame. Since Mormons jokes seem to be rather in vogue in Hollywood right now, at least come up with a good one like Burn After Reading.

I enjoyed Match Point, but I think I liked VCB a bit more. It is less of a morality play than Match Point, and more of a study in themes about human relationships. What are those themes? The idea that relationships take on a life of their own, where the participants are like organs in the body of that relationship. The life and health of the body is then subject to the whim and whimsy of the individuals. Another theme is WOody Allen's continuing study of American culture, as seen through the eyes of Europe. ScarJo continues to stand in as Allen's symbol of America, and what is great about it, and what isn't so great about it. I think WOody works with her, not so much for her acting chops (adequate, but not sublime) but for what she represents in the world's eyes. She is our generation's Marilyn Monroe, isn't she? The other actress, who plays Vicky, was very good in her role.

I think it is interesting how Woody is cranking out these little gems, theater-like studies about life and relationships. A common thread in many of them is the social class of the characters -- these are worlds of privilege where people do things like summer in Barcelona and choose relationships based on social status as much as love and passion. WOody Allen is sort of the Jane Austen of our times.

As for the lame Mormon joke, yes it was lame, but I saw it more as a nod to the fact that Mormons were the original American bigamists, and know one can think they are exploring new territory in bigamy without acknowledging the pioneering efforts of our religious forebears. Early Mormon culture, like jazz and hip hop, is one of America's unique cultural endowments.

[Tim]

If you like WOody Allen films, then you will probably like this one quite a lot. And if you liked Y tu Mama Tambien AND you like WOody Allen films, which I did, then you will definitely like this film. On top of having all of the things that make WOody Allen films good, VCB has great acting. Javier Bardem plays this heartthrob Spanish artist bigamist who wears his heart on his sleeve and who believes that the key to a woman's heart is honesty (he says to the two titular women, "And then we will drink wine and see this sculpture, and you will sleep with me... both of you." (or something like that)). To think how this figure menaced the screen with a pneumatic bolt gun and a bad hair cut, and you realize this dude is one of the greatest actors of our times. I am a devotee. I will see every movie he is in. The women both do fine (isn't the one who isn't Scarlett Johansson nominated for an Oscar?). Woody Allen's films are always like a cross between the movies and theater. He is a genius who could have gone either way (he dabbled in both), but I'm glad he went with the movies, or I'm sure I wouldn't see as much of his work.

I loved it. I'm a Woody Allen devotee as well, and I agree with MarkGrace that these last few have been a nice little renaissance. And Javier Bardem is indeed a great actor.