VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA
Movie (2008), 96 min
Director & Writer: Woody Allen
STORY CAUTION Don't read the following entry if you don't want to know pretty much what happens in this story. Please return after you've read the book or seen the movie and leave a comment to tell us what you thought.
OK. This is a Woody Allen film. But (against expectations) I expected something more.
Indecisive women (OK). Sexy man beyond their limited dreams (OK). Flamenco guitar heard in a garden (Yes!) But a bisexual angle for no particular reason or useful part in the story? (Gimme a break.)
Javier Bardem plays Juan Antonio, a painter who finds Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) beautiful, sexy, desirable. The trio plays out a stupid weekend adventure during which Cristina drinks herself too sick for sex, which she seems earnestly to desire. To get to the destination, the two women jump in a plane piloted by the painter. Right there you know they're both stupid enough to get into serious trouble.
Both women fall for Juan Antonio. But Vicky is already engaged to be married. Cristina only wants to play. Juan Antonio looks like a good guy to play with. Bardem wears his hair short and it is a treat to see him looking very attractive, in contrast with the dark murderer he played in "No Country for Old Men" (remember the pageboy haircut?). Turns out Juan Antonio's ex-wife Maria Elena (Penelope Cruz) is still what I guess you'd call his best friend. Juan Antonio nobly cares for Maria Elena after a suicide attempt. Cristina, who is by then living with him, tries to act accepting and sort of does, which is not believable in the least. "Believable" is not a word I'd use for this movie. But guess what? Cruz is a nominee for a supporting-actress Oscar. I don't get it.
This is a boring, sepia-toned (even if it isn't) movie about self-important people who go to Spain and then they go home. Barcelona! Music! Handsome men, beautiful women! Tapas! Too much wine! Thank you, Woody, but how about a story?
How could anyone in this dumb hodge-podge get nominated for an Oscar? Beats me. It must be Hollywood "politics."
I agree - there was nothing Oscar-worthy in this B movie. It was somewhat entertaining, but I also had problems with the overall premise. Spain was pretty, though!
ReplyDeleteI agree - there was nothing Oscar-worthy in this B movie. It was somewhat entertaining, but I also had problems with the overall premise. Spain was pretty, though!
ReplyDelete