Taking Woodstock (2009)

Too much of everything

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Yo, there's no way for me to review this film without saying, take your *insert ethnicity + "ass" here* to see this film,like now. You have to see it in order to know what you're really messing with.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

This was not the film that I was expecting, I guessed as much when I saw Ang Lee's name role past in the opening credits, and the notion was confirmed two hours later. I thought I was in for whimsical comedy and free spirited stoner philosophising, but the reality is somewhat different. In the end it is a more personal voyage of discovery for the central character, however once things are set in motion his involvement feels peripheral, and events happen around him, driven by others. There are some stand-out performances, Imelda Staunton is priceless as the protagonist's mother and she and the excellent Henry Goodman create a fascinating relationship that is central to the film. Demetri Martin's turn in the central role is rather low key by comparison, and that may be the problem, since everyone else seems larger than life, his performance gets lost in the 'far out' stuff going on around him. The hallucinogenic scenes are well done, and there is a brief burst of action, centred on Mr. Goodman, but largely the pacing is flat, and this does not help. Perhaps the most telling thing is that this is a 2 hour film about a music festival with almost no musical performances in it. I think that would confound most people's expectations. It certainly did mine.

Up to a point, 'Taking Woodstock' really isn't such a bad film and I wonder what the reasons were for those people who positively hated it. There seem to be a group who were offended that Ang Lee didn't show any scenes of the actual concert or tried to recreate it by having actors playing some of the famous performers like Hendrix or Janis Joplin, singing their songs up on the stage. But what would have been the point of showing any of the actual concert scenes? If you're dying for some nostalgia, then you can buy the DVD of the original concert itself.There's also the bigger issue of the source material itself--Elliot Tiber's memoir, 'Taking Woodstock: A True Story of a Riot, a Concert, and a Life.' Tiber's claim that he introduced Michael Lang, one of the principal Woodstock Festival promoters, to Max Yasgur (who owned the farm where the festival was held), appears to be completely false. In addition, the concert promoters did not appear to use the family motel as a sort of headquarters for their operations. Even if that didn't happen, it's not at all implausible that it COULD have happened, so I think it's fine that a little suspension of disbelief here does not damage the overall impact of the film.'Taking Woodstock' really isn't about Woodstock at all. It's a coming of age story where the music festival acts as both a backdrop and catalyst, driving the principal characters forward in their emotional journey. The protagonist, Elliot Tiber (named Teichberg in the film), is in his mid-30s and remains with his parents, pouring his own money into a run-down family-owned motel in upstate New York. They have until the end of the summer to pay off the mortgage or the bank will foreclose on the property.Elliot's problem is his obnoxious, overbearing Jewish mother, Sonia (well played by the classically trained British actor, Imelda Staunton). She portrays herself as a perennial victim of anti-Semitism and pushes her passive, goodhearted husband, Jake, around at every turn. One thing she is right about: the pretentious theater group that inhabits the barn on their property, is a constant thorn in their side as they're unable to pay any rent.The best part of 'Taking Woodstock' is the arrival of Michael Lang and his entourage of businessmen who intend to make Woodstock a reality. Jonathan Groff is perfectly cast as promoter Lang, the hippie-businessman, who maintains a constant beatific grin on his face while doling out gobs of cash. It's Elliot, in his position as the head of the local Chamber of Commerce, who informs Lang that he can give the promoters a permit to hold a music festival; the problem is that his own land is found to be a useless swamp. Elliot then introduces Lang to Max Yasgur, (with Eugene Levy also perfectly cast as the tough but liberal farmer) who has the perfect spread for the music festival.The first hour of the film proceeds seamlessly with additional twists and turns: Elliot tries to help Billy, a local Vietnam Vet who suffers from post traumatic stress disorder; Elliot's mother drops her objections to the Festival organizers staying at the motel when Elliot drops a bag of cash in front of her, given to him by the promoters; Lev Schreiber plays Vilma, a trans-gender Korean War Veteran, who's hired as a security guard, eventually warding off hostile locals as the hippies invade the local area; despite the local opposition, business people in the area (along with Elliot's parents) see huge profits from the influx of all the young people and Elliot ends up kissing a gay construction worker at a wild party, foreshadowing his decision to come out of the closet.At the behest of his father, Elliot decides to go see the festival himself and encounters a State Trooper who confesses that he was planning to come to the festival to "bust some hippies' heads" but "guesses" he's been sidetracked by "all the fumes". The trooper amiably offers Elliot a ride on his motorcycle through the backed up traffic, near where the concert is going on. Ang Lee wisely never has Elliot arrive at the stage area which was probably the experience of thousands who never actually got to see the event close up.Ang Lee interestingly doesn't sugarcoat the festival's appearance, as the weather conditions end up turning it into a virtual mud fest. At the same time, Lee views Woodstock as having had a positive effect on most of its participants. Elliot in particular, has a transformational experience, inside a VW bus with a hippie couple after taking a few hits of LSD. When he returns to the motel, Elliot realizes that his mother hasn't changed at all after he discovers that she's been hoarding money for years and could have paid off the mortgage long before he began helping his parents. On the bright side, Elliot's father feels he's found a second youth as a result of Woodstock and father and son find they're able to bond at film's end.It's clear that the second half of 'Taking Woodstock' isn't as good as the first. A big problem is that Elliot's internal conflict is not clear until the film's end where he recognizes that he's gay and must leave upstate New York and find a new life. The denouement might have been more effective if the second half of the film wasn't so slow moving. Particularly problematic are all those 'split-scene' scenes as well as the amount of time it takes for Elliot to wander off from his 'nest' at the motel, sojourn into the 'wilderness' (a psychedelic journey) and return to his cocoon, which is no longer the same.'Taking Woodstock' is by no means a great movie; but wisely the tangential coming of age story works much better than an unfocused tribute to anonymous festival participants.

Given that I was supposed to be at Woodstock, this movie really brings home what it was like to the big screen. I lived in NJ at the time, and the word had filtered down to us that a big concert was going to take place in upstate NY and volunteers were needed. I was 16 years old and emancipated, and had arranged for transport to The Farm. I had worked in my father's medical office since I was about 12, and knew how to take care of injuries, including suturing and casting, if those skills were needed. (Yes, I was mature for my age.) I was literally days away from heading upstate when I was leveled by a serious case of mononucleosis and ended up in hospital. I was SOOOO po'd I can't tell you! But with an enlarged spleen and running temps over 102 degrees, there was no way I was going to Woodstock. :-( Of course, recuperating at my cottage, I watched on the TV the traffic jams and dancing, lovely people...whom I wished most devoutly to be with.This movie is just a delight about the preparations and Elliot's Woody-Allenesque family background, and Eugene Levy is perfect as Max Yasgur (whom I finally met 5 years later).If you're of a certain age (or not!), you'll love this movie. It's a little slice of the innocence prior to the end of the "Summer of Love" at Altamont and the murder of an attendee by a Hell's Angel steroidal amphetamine monster.If you were a parent during the time of Woodstock, perhaps now you will understand just how much this event defined your children's lives, even if they weren't able to attend.It was a good thing: its like will not be seen again. :-(Peace, ya'll.

I expected more from Ang Lee. The movie depicts the spirit and atmosphere of Woodstock and the corresponding time period. The problem is that the movie is too quirky and not dramatic enough. The acting is alright but the script is sub-par. Additionally it feels unpolished and rough around the edges and not dramatic enough. Maybe it was the way the director wanted the movie to come across. The movie didn't fully come together and left me feeling unsatisfied at its conclusion. Ang Lee has direct many great movies in the past; this isn't one of them. Its not his worst though. Hulk is his worst. The movie isn't great it isn't terrible either.