Film: Midnight in Paris
Cast includes: Owen Wilson (The Royal Tenenbaums), Rachel McAdams (Sherlock Holmes), Michael Sheen (Frost/Nixon), Marion Cotillard (La Vie en Rose), Tom Hiddleston (Thor), Alison Pill (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World), Adrien Brody (The Pianist), Kathy Bates (About Schmidt), Mimi Kennedy (In the Loop), Corey Stoll (Salt)
Writer/Director: Woody Allen (Annie Hall)
Genre: Comedy/Romance/Fantasy (2011)
“There’s no city like this in the world!” Gil gushes. When Gil takes in Paris, it’s not just 2010 Paris… he also imagines Paris of the 1920s, the Golden Age… according to Gil. “You’re in love with a fantasy,” his fiancée, Inez tells him. Gil and Inez are in Paris with her parents, and it seems as if it’s 3 to 1 against Gil… especially when it comes to Gil’s life long dream of writing novels and living in Paris. When they run into old friends, Paul and Linda, it soon becomes 5 to 1 against Gil’s ambitions. Of course, the only opinion Gil really cares about is Inez’s. He wishes Inez wasn’t quite so taken with the pedantic, self-important Paul. She even suggests that Gil should ask Paul to read and critique his unfinished novel! Ouch!
At a wine tasting party, the only way to endure Paul’s relentless, know-it-all drivel is to numb the brain. So it’s not surprising that Gil is a bit tipsy when they come out. “Dancing,” Paul suggests. Inez wants to go… Gil wants to get some fresh air. Just as Inez predicts, Gil soon gets lost. When he sits down to ponder his whereabouts, a classic Peugeot comes along, and the partygoers inside offer him a lift. Why not! They must be going to a costume party. And what a party it is! The piano player looks and sounds exactly like Cole Porter. And the couple from the car… it's Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald. Before long Gil meets Ernest Hemingway and they talk about writing. When Gil asks Hemingway to read his unfinished novel, Hemingway suggests asking Gertrude Stein instead. This is amazing! When Gil runs off to get the novel, everything reverts back to 2010. Obviously Gil’s going to have to find a way to get back to the Golden Age.
So this simple family vacation gets quite complicated for Gil… fending off Paul’s pedantic pronouncements by day… reconnecting with exciting new friends by night… and trying, with little success, to bring Inez along. And when the 1920s and 2010 happen to intersect, things can become weird, indeed. Inez’s father even hires a private eye. It’s totally convoluted, in a Woody Allen kind of way. Yet the story flows well enough. The scenes of Paris and the soundtrack are so yummy that even the disjointed bits are enjoyable. Owen Wilson plays the role that a younger Woody Allen would have played. He’s not quite as neurotic or as talkative, but he does hit the nail on the head when he observes, “This is a very perplexing situation.”
3 popped kernels
Classic Woody Allen… clever, convoluted, silly… with beautiful Paris footage
Popcorn Profile
Rated: PG-13
Primary Audience: Grown-ups
Gender Appeal: Any audience
Distribution: Mainstream limited release
Mood: Upbeat
Tempo: Cruses comfortably
Visual Style: Nicely varnished realism
Character Development: Engaging
Language: True to life
Social Significance: Pure entertainment
