Whit Stillman's masterpiece? It's hard to say, not because of any doubts about this film but because Stillman only makes great films. The dialogue is never wilfully obscure and is never provocative for its own sake, but sparkles with intelligence, wit and alternatives. Barcelona gains a whole extra dimension (and several new elements within that) by being in and, in part, about another culture. There is even suspense, which is usually an empty ingredient in movies leaving us with nothing when it has culminated, but here happens in a wonderfully natural way. The film is wonderfully engaging and can be approached from many directions for appreciation: sociologically, politically, culturally, intellectually, sexually while still being buddy-buddy and for laughs. Certainly one of the greatest films of the '90s and one of the greats of the last 25 years.

While Metropolitan gets a lot of the love, I just prefer Barcelona, if just because I far enjoy the two characters in the latter while the former has a group of city socialites (U.H.P.s; or, if you prefer, preppies) so caught in themselves, I care little about spending time with them or listening to them. A salesman in Barcelona agrees to let his Navy fleet cousin stay with him, and the two of them must learn to get along, all the while managing relationships with local beauties in the city. In Barcelona, the presence of anti-American sentiment causes Fred (Chris Eigeman) to openly vocalize his dislike for how the locals treat him, particularly a womanizing journalist named Ramone (Pep Munné). While Ted (Taylor Nichols) feels as if his company is turning the screws and planning to fire him for his supposed downturn in sales, he becomes enchanted by one of Ramone's many flames, Montserrat (Tushka Bergen). Meanwhile Fred himself becomes involved with a stunning beauty named Marta (Mira Sorvino, quite eyepopping), but she turns out to be a wedge between the cousins when she steals pesos while in Ted's apartment. If you are familiar with Whit Stillman, then you can recognize that his work is quite dialogue-based with long conversation set pieces as actors comment on or voice opinions and thoughts on whatever subjects are important to their characters during the films. Barcelona is similar to Metropolitan in that the characters are concerned about their status in life (where they are and where they will be headed), such as career and romance. Ted deals with a girlfriend still stuck on Ramone (who actually encouraged her to see other men!) and a job (and supposed bullying supervisor that turns out to be anyone but) that demands a lot but could ultimately leave him behind. It gets so bad for Fred--all the negative American propaganda and prejudice encouraged by Ramone's paper and rhetoric--that he eventually is shot by a motorcyclist in a taxi cab. The shooting puts the relationship of the cousins into perspective. With the city of Barcelona as quite an alluring backdrop and characters who are a bit more sympathetic (or to me anyway) than Metropolitan (the wealthy class' romantic entanglements did little to interest me, I must be honest), I really remained compelled during this Stillman film. I quite liked Ted, actually, and seen that he was sincere in his desire to have a meaningful relationship with Montserrat, and truthfully Fred, despite his dependence on his cousin's charity, isn't all that bad of a guy. I think you can clearly see that despite their opposing animosity due to a number of personality differences ultimately would never interfere with their love for one another. The hospital sequence, where Ted never gives up hope for Fred's improvement, recognizes that family is significant even if cousins get on each other's nerves from time to time. The romantic interludes and ups and downs provide plenty of exchanges (melancholy, retrospective, expressive, heated, and curious) in long dialogue sessions that might test the patience on some viewers interested in a forward-moving story. If you know of the French dramas that can be long-winded, and like them, then I think Stillman is your cup of tea.

I saw this in the theatre when it came out and found it mildly amusing. But watching it at home recently was a dreary bore. To make matters worse, our political climate has rendered it completely obsolete. Much of the dialogue revolves around anti-American sentiment, which has only risen since the film's release. The Spaniards who seemed so harshly critical a decade ago seem to have had their stereotypes about the U.S. government validated.The two main characters who are supposed to be defending the U.S.'s reputation once seemed somewhat witty, now they come across as whiny, self-absorbed fools. "Ted" launches into a monologue in defense of hamburgers--of all things--as if they were what America was all about. Burgers even make an appearance later in the film, reminding us as viewers how superficial these people are.A couple of plot changes propelled the film into an unbelievable direction, and by the time the story wrapped up I had more than had my fill of these characters.The only thing that was of marginal interest was Mira Sorvino before her Oscar win made her well-known. She actually does come across as Spanish. Her character's not very likable either, but at least she's portrayed well. The script is really what's at fault, and having not liked "The Last Days of Disco", I am beginning to wonder if maybe it's not a bad thing writer/director Whit Stillman stopped making films after the 'nineties ended.

The casting director for this movie should never be allowed to work again. Sadly, the acting in this movie was so pedestrian that it was hard to even care about whatever story there was. Couldn't they find any better actors than this crew? It think they didn't try very hard.Mira Sorvino, probably the only name familiar to most folks, is absolutely awful in this movie. The rest of the not-household names range from barely okay to embarrassing.Really people, if somebody gives you a chunk of money to make a film you care passionately about, hire some good actors. There are plenty of them around, including lots of amazing talents who will work for minimum.