To Barcelona, with Love

6.7 stars.

This appears on the surface to be about an American woman named Erica (Sweeney) who is a translator of English novels into Spanish. She takes liberties in her work, which she isn't necessarily supposed to do; but since she is anonymous and bound by an NDA, it's permissible.

She has been living in Barcelona for about ten years and is obviously infatuated with a Spanish man named Nico. He owns a bookstore in the city. One particular novel she has translated was written by a woman named Anna (Williams). Nico and the rest of the city love the novel, not realizing that they actually love Erica's translation, not the original.

Anna has come to Barcelona to help publicize her novel at Nico's bookstore, and the rest of the story is about how both women are falling for Nico. There is also some drama surrounding the novel and how Erica's Spanish version captures the essence of the story much better than the original English version.

There is more to the story, about how both women learn from each other, because Anna lacks direction and Erica needs courage. And there is the romance (or lack thereof). Who will get the guy?

I'd like to say this is a poignant and romantic adventure, but it doesn't quite arrive at its intended destination. A lot is missing, and I feel it's a bit too silly and lacks soul. Honestly, I'm not sure what is absent, but something just isn't right. It's probably a lack of chemistry all around and I wasn't touched. I don't plan on seeing this again.

Hallmark movies run the qualitative spectrum from bombs to masterpieces. One thing they do particularly well is adapting the premises of old literary classics to modern times. (My personal favorites of those are the ones adapted from the works of Jane Austen.)

I agree that the two lead females, Alison Sweeney and Ashley Williams, were a little too long in the tooth for their characters, but I'm not sure any two other actors would've done a better job with the chemistry between themselves and with the other characters. Both are in their 40s; Sweeney's character Erica is supposed to be an American who moved to Barcelona ten years earlier after breaking up with her boyfriend, so is at least in her early 30s and nothing says she can't be a bit older than that. Not a deal-breaker for me. Williams's character Anna is supposed to have just published her second romance novel, which readers and critics say indicate (correctly) that she has neither been to Barcelona nor ever been in love. Not a deal-breaker for me either; speaking of Jane Austen, she was one of the greatest romance novelists of all time and, granted that she lived over two centuries ago under the mores thereof, by all indications she died a 40something virgin; she was a great success remembered to this day while Anna's budding writing career is sinking fast. So age of the characters does not make for implausibility.

The promos for this movie didn't give any hint that there was going to be any kind of adaptation of an old classic. I thought this was going a be a run of the mill Hallmark Rom-Com for the first several minutes of the film. I was pleasantly surprised when the plot twist revealed that adaptation, which I recognized immediately, and was doubly surprised by the fact, since this was a movie set in Spain with two American characters and the remainder of the characters being Spanish, that the old classic was a French literary work about French characters, totally unexpected.

I don't want to have to post a Spoiler Alert, so as an unpublished novelist myself (I've been procrastinating on self-publication of one novel for literally decades) and having read a number books originally written in a foreign language, I've always wondered how accurate the English translations I've been reading were to the original work. Let's just say that the answer to that figures heavily in the plot and leads to the adaptation of the old classic. I can hardly wait for the second half of the story next weekend. Enjoy!

I have loved both female leads in many previous Hallmark movies. But it is time for these two to move into different roles, unless the plot actually supports their ages. Both are within spitting distance of turning 50, yet these characters are supposed to be in their early to mid 30's. They just do not work in these types of roles anymore.

When AW was in her late 30's playing characters in their early 30's, it was believable. But now, the plastic surgery and over the top happy shiny manic behavior just doesn't work. The added distraction of terrible hair just makes this a tough sell.

The same goes for AS, who, while not as overboard in her acting, at 49, is just too old for this role. There is a conversation of wanting marriage and a family, part of which is not going to happen at 49 and 47.

Hallmark's loud background music has also become a horrible part of their movies now. Why?

Who doesn't like Alison Sweeney and Ashley Williams? Very disappointed in several of the other reviewers, saying they were too old for these parts... I beg to differ! I am guessing they are teenagers still wet behind their ears. FYI, the actor that played Nico is the same age as Alison Sweeney. No mention of the men being too old for their part. Woman actors evidently can't get older? This movie is very sweet and it held my attention the entire time. The scenery was amazing, it made me want to hop on a plane and head to Barcelona, Spain. Bravo, Hallmark and well done Alison and Ashley. I recommend this movie.

After a long week and my daughter in bed, it was nice to just lay back, have a snack and watch this sweet comforting movie. It was the same feeling I got when I watched Vicky Christina Barcelona. I want to go to Barcelona, drink wine, discover hidden places, and eat delicious food off the beaten path all the while doing it with a friend. I think both actresses are so genuine together. To be honest, I could watch this movie without the men and just pretend I'm on a girls trip with Ashley and Alison. I read some of the reviews prior to writing this and I have to say what world are we living in that women in their forties can't go and rediscover themselves all the while accusing them of having too much plastic surgery. Both women are adorable and look great, and frankly being a woman in my forties I don't need to watch a 20 year old find themselves in a romantic city in order for it be believable. Elizabeth Gilbert wasn't in her twenties when she traveled the world on her book advance for writing Eat, Pray, Love and that sold 30 million copies! Go watch this sweet feel good movie and ignore the haters.