Vicky Christina Barcelona

Vicky Christina Barcelona ***

Once again, Woody Allen lives out his fantasies through the silver screen (although he has surely achieved at least some of these in real life). As a girl, I initially felt somewhat insulted by the outrageous female stereotypes presented to me: the fun, flirty, outgoing blonde; and the stuffy, reserved brunette. The male character was also laughable, particularly his ease of wooing beautiful girls! However, as with most of Woody's films, as I continued watching, I soon forgot about all these gender issues and instead got caught up with the light-hearted and witty fun of the film. The Spanish setting provided some pretty aesthetics, and the imagery worked well within the narrative (Littleman informs me Woody was commissioned to make this by the Spanish tourist board). Penelope Cruz's entrance into the story spices things up nicely, her character is feisty and mental, and she completely overshadows the other two women acting-wise, and in every other way . The voice-over commentary (THROUGHOUT!) is horribly annoying (sometimes even patronising) and the movie would've been a lot better off without it, but then it would have been less signature 'Woody'. Funny in occasional places, this is an easy and pleasant watch, but there is nothing particularly special, and certainly nothing new, here (apart, of course, from the passionate kiss shared by Scarlett Johanssen and Penelope Cruz, which is guaranteed to cause a stir of excitement for many).