Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Woody Allen is at his best not necessarily in Manhattan, but at least when he tries to break the norm of story, or structure, or both. When he's good, he's really good (Match Point, Annie Hall, The Purple Rose of Cairo, etc.), and when he's not so ambitious it's a complete drag (Cassandra's Dream, Hollywood Ending, Anything Else, etc.). Vicky Cristina Barcelona (henceforth known as VCB) falls into the latter category.

I like to think that 'even a bad Woody Allen film is still pretty good.' Yes. True, but only when he's also acting as the neurotic we've all come to know and love. When he's not actually in his films the bar is much higher.

VCB is a drama about two girls with opposite outlooks on love (Vicky is in love with being in love, while Cristina "isn't exactly hard to maneuver into the sack."). They are both approached by Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem), who proposes a weekend vacation and some three-way action. He's rich, charming, and holds a power over women -- including his ex-wife, who he still loves, and who love him. The movie funnels to a three-way relationship, all right. It's just between Juan Antonio, Cristina, and his ex-wife (Penelope Cruz as Maria Elena).

The fundamental problem with the film is the excessive use of narration. Woody Allen has chosen to tell, not show, and that is a elementary mistake in storytelling. Yes, it cuts down the film's runtime considerably, but I would much rather learn about the characters by observing them, as opposed to being told how they feel and why they feel it.

The most interesting aspect of the film is Vicky, and her relationship with Juan Antonio. They are exactly the opposite of one-another, and as Paula Abdul sings, Opposites Attract. Vicky tries to fight it, but we can all see how they are still similar, the least of which is that Vicky plans to be wed (and does become so), while Juan Antonio also was once married. Marriage is not something Cristina plans to think about for a long time, and because of that, perhaps Vicky is the better match for Juan Antonio than she thinks.

But the film cuts too much out and explains to us trivial plot elements that we couldn't care less about. Woody Allen doesn't seem to know what he wanted to accomplish with this movie (other than a tour of Barcelona and various other Spanish regions). I feel that he was on the right track, but just as we begin to develop feelings for the characters, we're cut off. Disappointing, and hopefully his next trip to Europe is more poignant.

Rating: 4/7