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Austin360 blogs > Austin Movie Blog > Archives > 2008 > May > 18 > Entry
Our Man in Cannes: ‘Vicky Cristina Barcelona’ a return to form for Allen
CANNES, France — When you’re watching one movie after another showing every side of depression and gloom around the globe, it’s a welcome relief to see something fluffy and fun.
Woody Allen’s “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” provides such relief. It probably won’t go down as a classic comedy, like Allen’s “Annie Hall.” But it far surpasses some recent efforts and will reward the Allen faithful.
The movie is set in Barcelona and focuses on two American women who are visiting, staying at the villa of one of their distant relatives. Vicky (Rebecca Hall) is straight-laced in all things romantic and is engaged to be married to a rich, young man. Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) is romantically flighty and is on the rebound from yet another failed affair.
Vicky has arranged the trip and has secured lodgings with two distant relatives. She is there to work on her master’s thesis, and is majoring in “Catalan identity.” When she explains this to her relatives, the wicked Allen humor kicks in. “What do you plan to do with that,” asks one of the relatives. Vicky, of course, doesn’t plan to do anything with it. She’s rich, she’s American, and she’ll marry well.
The setup is right out of a Henry James novel.
When the impetuous artist Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem) approaches Vicky and Cristina one night at a restaurant, he’s so suave that he is actually able to pull off a proposal for a menage a trois within the first minute.
But throughout his seduction of the two women, he continues to talk about his former wife, a talented spitfire portrayed by Penelope Cruz.
The chemistry between Cruz and Bardem is electric, and it’s hard to think of a better romantic comedy team than these two.
So, if you’ve been staying away from Allen comedies because of recent disappointments, you may want to give this one a try.
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