VCB will make you travel abroad, eat tapas, drink wine, and have sex, compensating for the film's flaws.
Three women, very beautiful in very distinctive ways, inhabit the very fortunate life of a painter played by Bardem. Romantic chaos naturally ensues against the backdrop of Barcelona. Allen, mostly obscured, though revealed in the credits and characteristically intellectual dialogue, lends the film a presumed legitimacy that the core substance may not completely live up to. Idle musing on the nature of art and love falls flat when juxtaposed with Bardem and Gaudi's harem of beauties.
Yet, VCB's visceral beauty and charm make it worthwhile. Johansson's performance is less than stellar, but Cruz is a spectacular, furious force who devours her screen time, even more deliciously malevolent than in Volver. Sex's prominent role marginally justifies the familiar characterization of this film as a typical Allen misogynist fantasy. But whatever. Like the amusement park the film depicts, it's an enjoyable confection - ratchet up the excess.
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