Another Woody Allen movie that is entertaining and has lots of good messages. When it was over the audience clapped. I loved everything about it the scenery, the dialog, and all the interesting things Woody says that makes you think about your own life. The characters were good and the acting was wonderful and of course Woody wrote and directed it and he is a genius.

After walking out of raunchy Tropic Thunder last week, I savored every minute of Vicky Cristina Barcelona. As a single mom, I only get a couple hours to myself every week. I feel so cheated if the movie I choose disappoints me because I have to wait another week to see another one. Vicky Cristina Barcelona blissfully transported me to Spain for two hours. I felt the Barcelona sunshine on my skin and wished I could reach out and touch Javier Bardem. His tortured artist character would make a poor husband but I would love to meet him during a carefree summer in Spain. If you liked Under the Tuscan Sun, you will probably enjoy Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

I did like the movie, the beautiful scenes of Barcelona and environs and the architecture of Gaudi was one important part of the film, Another was the amusing story of American and European culture clashes and attitudes towards sex and romance. But for me the most important part were the insights into relationships. Why do they work or not work; what are the magic ingredients that make us satisfied with our lives, our choices... or are we ever satisfied? Can one make the RIGHT decision or are we doomed to always questioning the choices we have made. And, of course, how much of our lives is influenced by where we come from and where we think we are going. I am sure there are a dozen different perceptions of what the movie is about from seeing a wonderful analysis of human nature, as I did, to the shallow view that this is just about a guy trying to get a couple of chicks into bed.

I'm not a Woody Allen fan. And I thought this film was wonderful. It begins slowly and then just keeps building in a quiet, humorous, thought provoking way. One comes away thinking about trying to figure out what you want or don't, what love is (transient?), how long one must live within the bounds one's childhood or genes (biochemistry) have set, whether or not one is truly free to choose a life, what's the measure of success, what boundaries (polygamy?) are functional or dysfunctional, how Bohemians live (surely not so well), why humans haven't evolved more (Grandpa's way of getting back), what it means to make a contribution to the world (tangible, traditional, intangible), and how society can destroy a person's innate creativity--or not. Put all of that reflection on the nature of life amidst the hilarity of plane rides, romantic Spain, and Penelope Cruz's craziness and the film was, for me, hilarious and very thought provoking.

This movie was NOTHING like I expected. The media had me joking that it was Woody Allen's "venture into soft core porn," but nothing could be further from the truth. There was definitely a sexual theme to the movie, as well as a few sex scenes, but nothing graphic-and no nudity of any kind. As for my opinion of the movie, I found it to be very funny. I thought it was one of Woody Allen's rare dramas, with some comedic moments sprinkled in, but it was a lot closer to a typical Woody Allen comedy than that (though not exactly the same as a typical Woody Allen comedy). Penelope Cruz was the best part of the movie as Javier Bardem's crazy and unbalanced ex-wife. People often say that Cruz is only good in Spanish-language films, and she speaks a lot of Spanish in this movie, so there might be something to that theory. Javier Bardem was very charming and witty. Scarlett Johansson and (particularly) Rebecca Hall were also very good and funny. If you like Woody Allen movies, go see this.