Man, am I behind! I've been catching up on some Oscar bait over the past month and have not shared any reviews. Well, the time has come to fix this problem. We start with the critically acclaimed Woody Allen film Midnight in Paris.
I grew up with a mother who possesses a strong dislike for Woody Allen. She claims he never changes his schtick and always makes movies with a neurotic writer/filmmaker modeled on himself. Well, this is true a good amount of the time. I'm kind of on the fence with the man. I seem to like the Woody Allen movies everyone else forgot about. I thought Annie Hall was grossly overrated but I LOVED Deconstructing Harry. Match Point is garbage but I adore Mighty Aphrodite.
The premise of Paris is intriguing; a successful screenwriter/struggling novelist (Owen Wilson, doing his best Woody) travels to Paris to extract some inspiration for his slow-going novel. One night he gets into a car and travels back to the Golden Ages, hanging out with such great artists as F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and even Salvador Dali. Will they help him find direction, or will he simply marry his bitch finacee (Rachel McAdams) and continue to be successful and unhappy?
The Good
- I truly love the premise of this film. It affords Allen the opportunity to have some fun with these historical figures, and he does. The supporting actors truly make this movie worth while. Corey Stoll plays Hemingway just as I imagined him; a belligerent and cocky drunk. Kathy Bates plays Gertrude Stein as both motherly and pointedly blunt. Although he has about three minutes of screen time, Adrien Brody's Salvador Dali is easily the best role he's played since The Pianist. There are too many more to list, but rest assured they are all a joy to watch.
- Allen REALLY likes Paris, and the direction and cinematography truly show us the beauty of the city. I never really had an overwheliming urge to see Paris, but this film changed my mind.
- Michael Sheen has a great role as an a-hole know-it-all friend of Rachel McAdams's character. You wanted to punch him every time he showed up, but he just has such a gret smile! DAMN YOU!
The Bad
- The parts are truly greater than the sum. While I loved the trips back in time, anything in the present having to do with the main character's struggles left me cold. Simply put, I didn't really care what happened to him, I just wanted to see Hemingway again!
- Rachel McAdams played a truly horrible person, and it made me wonder why Owen Wilson's character would ever really considering marrying her in the first place! It is a one dimensional role and feels really out of place.
- There were too many instances where Allen was clearly catering to the pretentious arty snobs. So many references went over my head, and I clearly envisioned myself in a room of English majors getting scoffed at because I did not pick them up. Way to gain mass appeal Woody!
- The use of music was infuriating! The same damn song was used for every scene change! Change it up at least once! It really took me out of the movie.
- The opening montage of Paris went on WAY TOO LONG! We get it, it's a nice city. Can't you run the credits over this or something?
In the end, I found this movie too pretentious and inaccessible for the common moviegoer. Some people might say it's for the educated viewer. Well, f*&^ you, I'm quite educated and I still found it mediocre. Truly not worthy of it's mass critical appeal.
Rating- 6/10
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