Nowadays, going to see a Woody Allen movie is like watching a great fighter nearing the end of his career. While he may be a mere shadow of his former self, you still go in with anticipation that maybe he still has some magic left in him. Perhaps this is the time that he'll throw some more haymakers like in his heyday. In "
Match Point" Woody flashed some glimmers of greatness but as enjoyable as it was, it didn't feel like a Woody Allen movie.
This time he returns to comedy and the results are the best he has come up with in what seems like forever. No, it's not "Crimes and Misdemeanors" or "Annie Hall" or whatever your favorite might be. "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" is a lighthearted look at love and sex and how they are viewed in America and Europe.
Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) are two young American ladies off to Spain for the summer. Vicky is the serious one. She is engaged to a very sensible and successful man and is interested in learning more about her field of study, Spanish art. Cristina is a wanderer who is along for the adventure.
Soon after their arrival they meet José Antonio (Javier Bardem), a suavely blunt artist who is quite successful. Within minutes he suggests that the three of them share lovemaking together. Vicky is repulsed and scoffs at such a brazen suggestion. Cristina takes a nanosecond to accept the offer and they are quickly in a small plane piloted by José. Vicky is along to help "protect" Cristina from José and herself. The audience knows that Vicky's motives are a bit different than what she is claiming.
The rest of "Vicky Cristy Barcelona" is filled with bed-hopping and an examination of cultural attitudes toward sex. In the middle of all of this appears Maria Elena (Penélope Cruz), the ex-wife of José. She is one part beauty, one part full of life and one part lunatic. Every scene she is in belongs solely to her. Everyone else becomes stage props next to how brightly she shines here. A lot of Woody Allen films have yielded Oscars for his female characters. If there is one to be earned here it will no doubt go to Ms. Cruz.
Woody has always loved European films far more than their American counterparts and I think he has finally attained his goal of making his own European film. Yes, it is still Woody-lite, but there is enough here to satisfy all but his most harsh critics who incessantly whine that they want him to make films like "Sleeper" again. Those days are forever gone. Enjoy what an acknowledged master is still tossing out there because he can still do it better than the vast majority of writers and directors currently working.
