One of the world’s most beautiful cities provides a stunning backdrop for a fairly routine comedy about a culture clash between Americans on holiday and their Spanish hosts.
Comment
12/19/08
Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)
82
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:185
Fresh:151
Rotten:34
Average Rating:6.9/10
Consensus: A beguiling tragicomedy, Vicky Cristina Barcelona charms with beautiful views of the Spanish city and a marvelously well-matched cast.
Genre: Dramas
US Box Office: $23,164,041
Synopsis: Two young Americans spend a summer in Spain and meet a flamboyant artist (Javier Bardem) and his beautiful but insane ex-wife (Penelope Cruz). Vicky (Rebecca Hall) is straight-laced and about to... [More]
Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Penélope Cruz, Rebecca Hall, Javier Bardem
Director: Woody Allen
Reviews for Vicky Cristina Barcelona
1 - 20 (sorted by source; Australian critics are listed first)
Top Critic[Allen's] best film in years.
12/26/08
Top CriticThe humour is more situational, less assertive, less reliant on wisecracks and obvious punchlines.
01/15/09
Top CriticJohansson, fast becoming the Diane Keaton or Mia Farrow of Allen's mature years, treads a deft path between sensuousness, vulnerability and self-delusion.
01/02/09
Top CriticLove has never been so complicated as in Woody Allen's scrumptious Vicky Cristina Barcelona, a sexy romp involving a ménage a trois that keeps changing like the ever-changing tide of love itself
12/19/08
Top CriticOccasionally endearingly audacious, Woody Allen's screenplay for Vicky Cristina Barcelona is a further riff on the unique, unpredictable nature of romantic relationships among the human race
12/19/08
Top CriticIf you like watching privileged beautiful people flitting from expensive homes to fancy restaurants to dazzling tourist attractions to plush hotel rooms and gala gallery openings, you're likely to find something to enjoy in this movie.
08/15/08
Allen stages a late-career coup, placing his finely sketched characters in an ideal milieu of comedy, romance and madness.
08/22/08
Vicky Cristina Barcelona comes closer than anything to exploring Allen's famous quote (made in a time of personal scandal), "the heart wants what it wants."
09/03/08
A pleasing and fairly smart film that reveals an unexpected willingness on Allen's part to finally stretch beyond endless copying of the triumphs of his middle-age.
08/20/08
A recurring sentiment is that romance is only possible in a love that hasn't been fulfilled. That may be true when you're talking about people, but not of Allen's best films, which never lose their thrill.
08/13/08
It all begins to feel veddy, veddy pretentious and a very, very long way from the Brooklyn or Manhattan that he actually understands.
08/14/08
Allen is not interested in doing much more than glancing off some intriguing ideas, such as the common tragedy of the would-be artist who recognizes his mediocrity. But he's old enough to recognize that he doesn't need to be profound, just entertaining.
08/15/08
[Allen] seems freer here, more comfortable in his rhythm and less anxious to prove himself in a foreign land.
08/14/08
[Allen] brings the angst of his Manhattan characters to Spain, and tries to blend them into a story that has Almodóvar overtones, but Almodóvar, does them much better
08/21/08
Something is terribly amiss when the American actors sound like English is their second language.
08/15/08
Through it all, Vicky Cristina Barcelona remains unaccountably romantic, a confirmation that love, elusive and painful as it can be, is still worth pursuing.
08/15/08
[Allen's] most entertaining picture since Bullets Over Broadway or maybe Sweet and Lowdown.
08/15/08
A smart, satisfying movie. Once again, Allen removes himself from Manhattan, and finds his muse in Europe.
08/15/08
Woody Allen's breezy comic fable is his most effortless and insightful in years - and nothing short of a love letter to love itself, in all its maddening glory.
08/14/08
Latest News for Vicky Cristina Barcelona
January 27, 2009:
Milk Among GLAAD Nominees 
"Milk" has been a favorite on the awards circuit this year, and its hot streak has been extended courtesy of the GLAAD Media Awards, where it will compete in the Outstanding... More...
January 23, 2009:
Possibly distinguished solely for the first PG-13 lesbian smooching on screen ever, the film should be a trite, pleasing guy confection.
More...
January 19, 2009:
Actors And Crew Magazine: Possibly distinguished solely for the first PG-13 lesbian smooching on screen ever, the film should be a trite, pleasing guy confection.
More...
January 08, 2009:
Broadcast Film Critics Name Critics' Choice Winners
The 14th Annual Critics' Choice Awards were given on January 8, 2009, to honor the finest achievements in 2008 filmmaking. A list of nominees follows below, with winners in bold: More...
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Fresh Links
Featured
40 Best Films of the 2000s
Last week, Moviefone offered us their worst films of the 2000s. Now see their 40 best!
Virtuoso Vistas of The Lovely Bones
Techland examines the visual splendor of Peter Jackson's upcoming film.
Worst Hollywood Remakes of the Decade
Movieline gets bravely swept away with the recycled refuse of the 2000s.
Follow Rotten Tomatoes on Twitter
Get all the latest movie updates, reviews, interviews and features here.
Competitions
Win Alvin and the Chipmunks 2 prize packs
We're giving away a bunch of stuff from the upcoming Squeakquel.
IGN RSS Feeds