NICO AND DANI is a summer coming-of-age flick set in a small beach town near Barcelona. Two teenage boys--Dani (Fernando Ramallo) and Nico (Jordi Vilches)--spend a couple weeks alone at Dani's beach house when his parents leave town. They have always been best friends and have always shared... [More]

NICO AND DANI is a summer coming-of-age flick set in a small beach town near Barcelona. Two teenage boys--Dani (Fernando Ramallo) and Nico (Jordi Vilches)--spend a couple weeks alone at Dani's beach house when his parents leave town. They have always been best friends and have always shared everything. Suddenly they find themselves drifting apart when they meet Elena (Marieta Orozco) and Berta (Esther Nubiola) two cute local nubiles who help them discover love and sex and all of the physical and emotional pain and joy that comes with it. The sophomore effort of Spanish director Cesc Gay is essentially a teen movie about a couple of buddies who want to get laid before they turn 18. But there is a twist to this film that is remarkable in its frankness: NICO AND DANI delivers the themes and style of recent films like WILD REEDS and BEAUTIFUL THING, but the spirit of this movie is different--it's fiestier. Fernando Ramallo and Jordi Vilches give striking performances, and they have an enthusiastic repoire that is really enjoyable to watch. The film is colored by the naiveté of the teenagers and that gives it a veracity that is at times shocking, and at other times sweet. [Less]