Midnight
in Paris
Every time I am ready to count out Woody Allen and tell him to give it
up, he makes me regret it.
Midnight in Paris makes you happy he continues
to make movies.
Owen Wilson stars as Gil - a Hollywood writer trying to transition into
writing novels. His fiancee, Inez (Rachel McAdams), her family and Gil
have all made the trip to Paris, and our writer starts to believe this
quaint, historic, vibrant town is where he should live. Of course, Inez
is not as enamored with the grand old city.
One night, Gil takes a walk and, at midnight, a mysterious, old, 1920's
car stops by the side of the road and the people inside beckon Gil to
join them.
Where is Gil off to?
Will he want to come back?
Writer/director Allen has come up with a very cute, whimsical idea even
if it is not completely developed. He needs to ratchet everything up,
give Gil a role beyond observer in the special place he goes at
midnight, and make the story more involved. We have the bare bones of
tension and conflict as Gil and Inez seem to be drifting apart, but we
don't spend enough time exploring it and seeing it happen. Then, we see
Gil's new opportunity in this other place, but that story gets cut
short, as Allen focuses in on the funny introduction of many famous
faces and names for the amusement of the audience, without always
making them important to a story or plot.
However, the acting is fantastic. I wish we had more of Michael Sheen,
who is fabulously entertaining and annoying as a pretentious
intellectual who knows Inez from the past. Then, McAdams is awesome as
the mean fiancee who always puts Gil down by insulting in a funny way,
but the way no man who values himself would ever put up with.
Also, kudos to Wilson for not being Woody Allen. In many movies, Allen
has a tendency to write the male lead to sound and act much like the
caricature of him that has evolved over the years. However, Wilson goes
beyond that to be a man who is amazed and tickled to be in this
situation, much like the audience.
Midnight in Paris is not the Oscar contender
some want to make it into this early in the season, but it is a fun
getaway.
Midnight in Paris is rated PG-13 for some
sexual references and smoking.
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