Midnight in Paris (2011)

 

4.5/5

Woody makes me feel so good. and this movie made me feel f-cking great. some of my friends don't understand how i can have such an insatiable crush on Woody Allen. really? because i think the brain, his MIND, is a total, absolute f-cking turn-on. i find Woody Allen irresistible in the same way i have a crush on director Micheal Moore. (do you get it?) f-ck. what i would give to be Woody's Soon-Yi. sigh...

anyway, back to the movie. i was literally watching the whole thing with a smile on my face. but it's not gonna be everyone's cup of tea. in fact, i think people are either gonna love it, or really dislike it - perhaps be bored by it (but not because it's boring! i'm gonna explain...). the film tells the story of an engaged couple, Gil and Inez (played by Owen Wilson and Rachel McAdams, respectively) who tag along on Inez's parents' trip to Paris. Gil (a Californian script writer and novelist) adores Paris, specifically, the Paris of the 1920s. 

a romantic at heart, all Gil wants to do is walk the streets of Paris in the rain, listen to old jazzy music, and soak in the city and its sights. Inez, on the other hand, is more concerned about going shopping and taking cabs to not get wet. but when Inez bumps into and starts hanging out with an old friend (and the pretentious douche) Paul, played amazingly by Michael Sheen (note: his perfectly trimmed beard helps with the slime), Gil happily spends the time to walk the city solo at night. on his first walk, at the stroke of midnight, lost and a little tipsy, Gil hops into a vintage car and is suddenly transported into his beloved Paris of the 1920s.

over the next few days, at the exact same time, the same car picks up Gil where he is brought into this world and starts meeting and hanging out with the literary giants of the era, as well with with artists such as and Salvador Dali' (played a little annoyingly by Adrien Brody - but since he LOOKED so good as the character, i can forgive), Pablo Picasso (Marcial Di Fonzo Bo), and falls in love with Picasso’s mistress Adriana (Marion Cotillard).

i loved this movie for three main reasons...

1. Owen Wilson. he is SO sweet and charming as Gil. his incredulous tone and looks, the excitement in his voice, his amazement of it all is all very sweet and EASY to watch. Gil is completely idealistic. he oozes love for Paris and has romanticized the city (not that it's difficult, or wrong). and since i am a HUMAN BEING and love this city SO MUCH, i can totally appreciate and sympathize with Gil's desire, his NEED, to move there. also, it was so great to see Owen Wilson back on the screen. *hugs*

2. it's a smarty-pants romantic comedy. and like i said, you're either gonna really enjoy it, or sit through it totally bored. i loved it because, i'm a bit of a book lover (read: literature snob), and the movie was filled with references and characters that my fellow English graduate friend Maya (love!) and i were able to appreciate and laugh at. Gil hangs out with Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, gets writing tips from Hemingway (which is a stand-out performance by Corey Stoll), and T.S. Eliot. i like that this movie made me feel smart (and that my university English Literature degree has been good for something). i like that i KNEW that the way Hemmingway speaks is FUNNY, because he speaks in the film the way his writing sounds (bravo, Woody - fun touch). but if one can't recognize that, they naturally wouldn't "get it" and so of course those scenes wouldn't be amazingly brilliant (which they ARE). i will admit, however, that i felt a little stupid not knowing who Gertrude Stein is (played by Kathy Bates) - because her character is in the film a lot, and i felt like i obviously should know who she is. so i looked up Gertrude Stein as soon as i got home... and i liked that i wanted to learn more after watching this movie - it's a great artistic brain massage. most of the film assumes that the audience knows the details of many of the characters' lives (both personal and professional). so again, if one doesn't (and doesn't care to LEARN), well, then this movie is certainly not for them.

3. Marion Cotillard. i love her in this - she's so beautifully subtle and charming. (i think i've used "charming" a couple of times in this post already - but i'm gonna keep them, because that's exactly what a lot of this film was - charming). Cotillard is perfectly cast next to Wilson. and it was (oddly) kind of easy to imagine how the two characters might actually fall for each other in a short-lived Parisian fling love-affair. i liked thinking that the two made a wonderful pair, despite being so utterly split (especially in their time). i also love how she and Gil both want the same (different) thing - they both want to belong to another time, as the two share the same romanticized "the grass is greener" thinking. i like their conversations, their walks, their easy flirting. yup, they convinced me.

yeah, so this movie was awesome. i don't know what else to say. it definately made me want to pull out and revisit some literature books on my shelves, including my heavy art books that always give me paper-cuts. and the film especially made me want to book another trip to Paris asap. i've been 4 times so far, and if i spoke French (well), and won Lotto 649, i would love to live there. i love going to Paris alone, hanging out by myself, reading in the cafes and parks, visiting the museums, and (like Gil) taking those long walks... and so watching Owen Wilson do it, in the same neighbourhoods that i know and love, well, let's just say that Woody Allen should get a cut from Expedia.com because i expect that many people who watched (and loved) this film, will soon be heading there for a visit, and perhaps even longer.