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Cannes ‘08: Pete Hammond’s Notes on a Season -- Penelope Cruz’s turn in ‘Vicky Cristina Barcelona’ is a contender for supporting actress

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Vicky Cristina Barcelona,’ Woody Allen‘s out-of-competition official entry, had its first (packed) press screening Friday night in advance of its official premiere Saturday, and the laughter was heavy, at least from where we were sitting.

Inexplicably, there were a handful of very loud boos at the end, but you can’t please everyone. This is easily Woody’s best comedy in years, his best since (fill in the blank with your last favorite Allen comedy) and best film overall since ‘Match Point’ took him out of New York and into Europe for the first time.

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Here, the setting is Spain, and it clearly reinvigorated him. His stars really shine, including a droll and very funny Javier Bardem, Scarlett Johansson, Rebecca Hall, Patricia Clarkson and, best of all, Penelope Cruz.

Cruz is just terrific using her trademark hellfire Latin act to great comic effect. Bardem’s constant instruction to her, ‘Speak in English,’ could become Allen’s most memorable catch phrase since Dianne Wiest’s ‘Don’t Speak’ in ‘Bullets Over Broadway.’ (Woody’s got something about the word ‘speak’).

Cruz is a sure bet to join the long line of women Allen has directed into supporting actress Oscar nominations. One top journalist told us on the way out, ‘It’s a great chick flick.’

Woody and cast arrive in town Saturday.

By the way, seeing Bardem in this role really makes his exit from Rob Marshall’s ‘Nine’ all that much sadder. He would have been brilliant surrounded by all those beautiful women, just as he is here.

-- Pete Hammond

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