Barcelona (1994)

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 ... See full summary »

Director:

Whit Stillman

Writer:

Whit Stillman

Stars:

Taylor Nichols, Chris Eigeman, Tushka Bergen

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Taylor Nichols	...	Ted Boynton
Chris Eigeman	...	Fred Boynton
Tushka Bergen	...	Montserrat Raventos
Mira Sorvino	...	Marta Ferrer
Pep Munné	...	Ramone
Hellena Taylor	...	Greta (as Hellena Schmied)
Núria Badia	...	Aurora Boval
Thomas Gibson	...	Dickie Taylor
Jack Gilpin	...	The Consul
Pere Ponce	...	Young Doctor
Laura López	...	Nuria - Ted's Assistant
Francis Creighton	...	Frank Robinson
Edmon Roch	...	Javier
Diana Sassen	...	Woman - 'Shootings in America'
Àngels Bassas	...	Woman - 'Jazz'

Storyline

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.

---

Plot Keywords:

u.s. navy | marketing | black leather underwear | black leather | underwear | 

---

Taglines:

Americans. Anti Americans. In Love

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for drug content and a brief sex scene

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

8 February 1995 (France)

Also Known As:

Барселона

Filming Locations:

Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

Box Office

Budget:

$3,200,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$7,266,973 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Barcelona Films, Castle Rock Entertainment, Fine Line Features

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Stanley Kubrick greatly admired this film, calling it "a new way to have talk advance the narrative." He was especially impressed with Thomas Gibson, and cast him in Eyes Wide Shut (1999) without an audition on the basis of his performance here.

---

Goofs

When Fred and Ted are driving through Barcelona early in the film, Ted's driving barely matches the direction the car is moving.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Ted Boynton: [voice-over] I couldn't believe Fred would just show up like that. On the other hand, it was absolutely typical.

---

Connections

Referenced in Seinfeld: The Engagement (1995)

---

Soundtracks

Boogie Oogie Oogie
Written byy Janice Marie Johnson (as J. Johnson) and Perry Kibble (as P. Kibble)
Performed by A Taste of Honey

User Reviews

Fine, unusual comedy

During the 1980s, at the height of the Cold War, two American cousins and childhood friends, who are now a businessman and a naval officer (played by Taylor Nichols and Chris Eigeman) get to live some time in Barcelona, where they face (but finally overcome) the political distrust of many Spaniards. Director Whit Stillman lived some time in Spain and he surely based part of the movie on his own experiences. The movie is fine skewing the unthinking Antiamericanism of Europe's intellectual class (though Stillman is too much of a gentleman to be too biting in his criticism). Sometimes the dialogue is foolish when it tries to be witty (as when the Americans try to explain to some Spaniards the greatness of Hamburgers) but mostly the screenplay is quite fine. Stillman is an interesting filmmaker if only because his preppy conservative point of view is not often showed on movies. Mira Sorvino plays one of the Spanish girls in one of her earlier roles.