Vicky Cristina Barcelona (***1/2)

Woody Allen makes me laugh. I mean that sincerely, I found myself shaking my head with laughter throughout this film silently saying to myself, "Woody Allen". It's not funny in the hunched over belly-aching-lose-your-mind kind of way, it's more the uncomfortable-I-don't-know-what-the-hell-to-do-but-laugh way. Either way, it was a great time and just when you think Woody is just amusing himself you come to find out that there is a much deeper ironic twist that leaves your mouth agape yet somehow still completely satisfied. Dare I say there's a method to his madness. Woody Allen the writer gives the film a nice snowballing effect that builds our feelings for each character as we discover their layers, almost on a scene to scene basis. Then Woody Allen the Director shoots the film in such a warm and fuzzy upbeat manner that he actually makes the most awkward encounters and peculiar circumstances appear as cozy as a night by the fire watching "It's a Wonderful Life" on the Lifetime Channel. There in lies the humor.

Allen's story in "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" is simple enough superficially, and by design I might add. Two friends, Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) decide to spend the summer in Barcelona. See what I mean? Of course, the subtext of the story really being self discovery. As pointed out by the films Narrator (voice of Christopher Evan Welch), although Vicky and Cristina are best of friends they do have vastly different perceptions of what love is and should be. Vicky, engaged to be married, is very structured, rational and seeks the traditional married life with security. Cristina is free-spirited, adventurous, impulsive, romantic and looking to be seductively swept away. Vicky knows exactly what she wants, Cristina hasn't a clue. On the night of their arrival, while enjoying an elegant evening drinking wine, a few glances are exchanged across the restaurant with Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem), the artist they had seen earlier in the evening showing his works at an Art Gallery. Assuming a mutual interest the self assured Juan approaches their table mincing no words as he quickly expresses his attraction to each woman and subsequently invites them on a short plane ride to Oviedo for the weekend. He politely offers them the experience of sight seeing, fine wines, exquisite dining, oh yeah, and hopefully a threesome, which is says as if he were offering to take their order. After this exchange Vicky is repulsed and Cristina is intrigued. Cristina wins and Vicky reluctantly rides along as a source of company to her friend.

They spend the next day indulging in the wining, dining and sight seeing and as the end of the night arrives Juan again proposes a night cap with the ladies. Vicky, offended by his offering, declines and retires to her room while Cristina agrees to go to his room. Moments after things begin to get hot and heavy, Cristina becomes violently ill and rushes to the restroom to vomit. The next morning we learn that due to a reaction from her ulcer Cristina will be bed ridden for the day forcing Vicky and Juan to spend the day together sight seeing. As the hours pass and the two of them move from one venue to another, the romantic atmosphere and setting of each soon take it's toll on Vicky, as she now is beginning to grow fond of Juan. As her feelings grow the passion grows thus leading to a complicating cluster of emotions between the three of them that only grows as each day passes. Vicky is still scheduled to be married and her simpleton fiance, Doug (Chris Messina) moves plans ahead and decides to come to Barcelona and get married there for the aura of it all. Vicky gets married, Cristina and Juan move in together and all is well. If only it were that easy.

A little over an hour into the film we finally meet Juan's ex-wife, Marie Elena (Penélope Cruz), which he has been referring to a numerous occasions to this point, obviously feelings remain. Maria Elena and Juan share a deeply passionate relationship that teeters on love and hate, as evidenced by their crystal clear eternal love for one another sprinkled in with the fact that she stabbed him in one of their many verbal, and sometimes physical, feuds. Maria Elena is clearly unstable and a detriment to herself so Juan takes her into his home, now shared with Cristina, where he can help her pull herself back together. What follows is the differing dynamics between the three of them which inevitably leads to an open love triangle. Predictably, complications arise eventually causing friction between the three lovers leading to a parting of ways.

The beauty of the film comes via spoiler and I hate to do it, this is the very reason I refuse to read reviews prior to actually seeing the film for myself, but I'm doing it anyway. Consider yourself warned. The pieces have all been strategically and brilliantly put into place by Allen. The setting, the city, the timing, the dynamically different personalities, the circumstances and so on, nothing is missed and it all comes full circle so gracefully that your actually surprised after the fact of what you just witnessed. The structured Vicky knowing exactly what she wants in life discovers through her marriage that what she really wants is the free spirited life. The free spirited Cristina discovers through her openly sexual threesome that she can't live like that and realizes what she really seeks is the structure. What each thought they wanted was what the other had. The grass is always greener.

Allen does an amazing job and this script is very intelligent yet feels like another day in the life that you hardly realize it's intellectual prowess until it comes full circle in the closing moment and sinks in causing you to replay the entire movie in your head in fast forward to see it unfold mentally. The casting of the film is as equally important, if not more so, than the actual witty script and smooth direction. It took the dynamically different on screen personalities of each integral character to support and drive the story, you really find yourself caring for each character. A casting flaw could have proved to be a fatal flaw to the success or failure of the film. Penelope Cruz steals every scene she is in with a whirlwind performance, she may be beautiful and petite but she is an absolute powerhouse in every single scene as an emotional wreck and you can't take your eyes off her. It's also hilarious that at one point Scarlett Johansson's character, Cristina, feels as if she has no talent and nothing within her will ever inspire Juan like Maria Elena continually does. Sadly for Johansson, that couldn't ring more true and is quite obvious in her scenes with Cruz. In her defense, they were written as such and maybe Johansson is giving a strong performance being talentless but Cruz certainly makes her job that much easier.