Woody Allen and his crew enjoying a free trip to Barcelona

Rating: 7/10 (30 May 2009)

The Spanish National Tourist Office, The Agency for Tourism in Catalonia, The Antoni Gaudi Association and Woody Allen proudly presents Vicky Christina Barcelona, the latest promotional movie targeted for the US market. The list of Golden Sponsors for this movie is the following: The Vacation Department of Hollywood Trade Union, The Macho Lover Guild, The Love-seeking American Girls Club, The Society of Idiotic But Wealthy American Husbands and finally the Merriam-Webster Dictionary of Stereotypes.
So the story goes that Woody and his crew got bored in foggy Albion and aspired to warmer climate for a while. They also got allies, as the Spanish contingent in Hollywood wanted a free trip home. They quickly assembled a script, managed to convince some film managers (also just considering a Spanish vacation) and soon they started the shooting in the warm, sunny and lovable city of Barcelona. They also included a few excursions into the script, just to prevent getting bored in the same city for such a long time. Everyone enjoyed staying there, the siesta, the excellent wine, the tourist attractions, the friendly locals, the possibility of flirting and everything. In the end, somehow they even managed to put the film together.
And it's not that bad, after all. The story passes as an easy-going comedy: the main line is that two American girls spend some time in Spain and have affairs with a charming Spanish womanizer. This is an ideal story for single female audience, but obviously alienates young and wealthy Gringos: unfortunately they are presented as boring idiots. Not exactly an ideal program to take your girlfriend out on Valentine-Day. Luckily, with non-US male audience the problem is absent, for they can easily identify themselves as the Latin womanizer and can also practice their anti-yankee sentiments.
The movie is saved by the fairly good cast and the usual Woody Allen irony. A little bit everyone plays his or her parody, which gives just enough spice to the otherwise rather calculable story.
Woody Allen has made much better movies than this one. Still, this is far more enjoyable than the the latest Adam Sandler or Ben Stiller effort or anything else Hollywood nowadays releases under the comedy tag.