Barcelona

9/6/2022

“Do you know what Dr. Johnson said? Guests, like the fish, start to stink on the third day.” “In fact, I think you'll find that I start to stink on the first day.” This exchange exemplifies the good and the bad about Barcelona; it’s full of acerbic Johnsonian sarcasm beautifully channeled by Chris Eigeman, but the third act feels more like the third day, with all that this implies. The film, about two young American cousins ​​and their misadventures with the female fauna of the titular city, has another problem. The cousins, Fred and Ted, are skillfully and competently played by Eigeman and Taylor Nichols, respectively — Nichols's forced verbal tics only manage to make him seem like an ersatz Woody Allen (unusual for for writer/director Whit Stillman, who tends to evoke favorable c