Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever

Phonearl Good start, but then it gets ruined

ShangLuda Admirable film.

Marva It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

gavin6942 Ted, a stuffy white guy from Illinois working in sales for the Barcelona office of a US corporation, is paid an unexpected visit by his somewhat less stuffy cousin Fred, who is an officer in the US Navy. Over the next few months, both their lives are irrevocably altered by the events which follow Fred's arrival, events which are the trivial stuff of a comedy of manners at first but which gradually grow increasingly dramatic.I am not familiar with films directed by Whit Stillman, but going through my list of things to see, I am sure he will pop up a bit. Barcelona, his first studio-financed film, was inspired by his own experiences in Spain during the early 1980s. Stillman has described the film as "An Officer and a Gentleman", but with the title referring to two men rather than one. The men, Ted and Fred, experience the awkwardness of being in love in a foreign country culturally and politically opposed to their own.Studio-financed or not, this has the feel of a 1990s indie film. Very much in the vein of Richard Linklater and early Kevin Smith. He seems to have come up at about that same time when overly-talky scripts were the rage, sort of taking the Jim Jarmusch backbone and fleshing it out with witty dialogue. I mean this as a compliment, because I really enjoy this sort of film, but they also seem to blend together... maybe after I see a few more, I will recognize what makes a "Stillman film".

tfrizzell An American sales representative in Spain (Taylor Nichols) gets a visit from his wacky cousin (U.S. Navy officer Chris Eigeman) and the unlikely duo falls in love with a pair of anti-American Spaniards (Tushka Bergen and the highly erotic Mira Sorvino). Woody Allen-styled script is hilarious with sharp and tight dialog, but the uneven tone starts to wear thin during the film's final act when the production takes a dementedly dramatic turn. None of the performers are really that great (Sorvino is an exception of course), but the screenplay is so smart (most of the time) that you cannot see any other performers in the key roles. Unique film that is worth a look. Not for all audiences, but still a slight success with me. 4 stars out of 5.

tedg A great joy in a life with film is to discover a film that is competent and coherent, that exists cinematic ally but which on reflection has dynamics worth rejecting. After all, you build your life not so much on absorption but on paring. A great sorrow in film is to encounter a film that isn't quite competent and therefore doesn't project a coherent world. This is the latter.Its mildly interesting in that we can see the writer's sketchbook: he started with three pairs: men and women; two differing and sometimes competing cultures and two "odd couple" cousins. Each of these pairs has some inner dynamics: now triangulate among them all and shake out a story.Spanish passion, falling in love with a dancing woman, a death, another in a coma who recovers. Sounds a lot like "Talk to Her," and in fact you might even find this film interesting if you see it together with Almodovar's gem. But otherwise, all you'll see is a writer's exercise gone awry. There's even a paucity of jokes: only the one about the AFL-CIA.I viewed this only because of the promise of the setting in Barcelona. Like the three dualities of the story, the city is bicameral. It is half African and half European; nominally Spanish, it has its own culture and language half French half Spanish. But its architecture is the thing. There are some Gaudi masterpieces which have influenced a unique approach which is half socialist architecture (yes, there is such a thing) and half wan decorative attempts at Gaudi's space jazz. This all adds to create a special ambiance; one is rarely happy about leaving Barcelona, and I hoped to get some of that environmental joy here.Nope. This could as easily been set in some dreary place like Madrid.Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

vabalos This film is charming and witty and creates some interesting Cold Warmetaphors balanced against the bumbling efforts of a couple of young American men trying to learn about themselves and women. it's an interesting film, not exactly a great one, but Stillman offers an entertaining premise and crafty execution. But what prompted me to write about it was thedimwitted review by "nbott"your web site chose to post. What was obvious by his review was that he simply didn't get it. The film sailed miles over his head and then he compounded it by sharing his ignorance. Fine. But why do you chose to post that review. It offers nothing about the film and simply advertises this person's ignorance.