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"MIDNIGHT IN PARIS"
(2011) (Owen Wilson, Marion Cotillard) (PG-13)

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QUICK TAKE:
Romantic Comedy: Believing life was better in the olden days, a contemporary Hollywood screenwriter unexpectedly and then repeatedly finds himself transported back to 1920s era Paris where he runs into various famous artists from that time.
PLOT:
Gil (OWEN WILSON) is a Hollywood screenwriter who doesn't believe his craft shows off his artistic abilities, so he's decided to write a novel. And what better place to work on that than Paris where he's vacationing with his girlfriend, Inez (RACHEL McADAMS), and her parents, Carol (NINA ARIANDA) and John (KURT FULLER), who don't think highly of him. Then there's Inez's know-it-all friend, Paul (MICHAEL SHEEN), who makes being a tourist something of an unpleasant experience.

But Gil doesn't really care as he loves Paris and longs for the golden age of artists there back in the 1920s. He gets an unexpected chance to experience just that when, at the stroke of midnight while lost in the city by himself, up pulls an old sedan.

Its occupants offer him a ride and take him to a party where he ends up meeting the likes of F. Scott Fitzgerald (TOM HIDDLESTON) and his wife, Zelda (ALISON PILL), Pablo Picasso (MARCIAL DI FONZO BO) and one of his mistresses, Adriana (MARION COTILLARD), and the legendary and larger than life Ernest Hemingway (COREY STOLL).

Gil doesn't let on that he's from their future and is happy when Hemmingway promises to have none other than Gertrude Stein (KATHY BATES) read his novel. But when Gil leaves the establishment, he finds himself back in the present day, having to deal with Paul and Inez's parents.

Accordingly, he goes back the next night and again enjoys the company of those from the past, including eventually meeting Salvador Dali (ADRIEN BRODY) and others. Finding Adrianna to be a kindred spirit, he must then choose whether to stay with her or return to the present and his unhappiness with Inez and his life back in the future.

OUR TAKE: 7 out of 10
Despite the old mantra of "live in the moment," many people always look toward the future for a better life for themselves and/or humankind. Conversely, others exist in the past. For some, that's being stymied by what occurred days, weeks, months or years ago that's preventing that from being happy and/or moving on with their lives.

For the rest of those past seekers, however, such a mindset is often all about those bygone "those were the days" years (and that exact sentiment was the theme song for "All in the Family" for those old enough to remember that groundbreaking TV sitcom). Sometimes that stems from such backward viewers actually having lived in the era they fondly reminisce about.

The rest, however, are just temporal voyeurs who believe that living in some past period would be the "cat's meow" (and even an era during which such phrases were popular). Of course, such retro viewing is done with rose-colored glasses, only seeing what they want to see and ignoring or being blind to the reality of the time and any hardships, injustices, inequalities and such that existed hand-in-hand with the fondly favored material.

Such is the case with contemporary Hollywood screenwriter Gil Pender (Owen Wilson). He's handsomely rewarded for his work, but he doesn't consider it real writing let alone art, and thus is trying his hand at writing a novel. He hopes for some inspiration in doing so while visiting Paris with his girlfriend (Rachel McAdams) and her parents (Kurt Fuller & Nina Arianda). But he instead finds that in unexpected places -- and times -- as the French capital in the witching hour magically transports him back into what he sees as the "golden age" of writers and artists -- the 1920s.

That's the premise of "Paris at Midnight," the best Woody Allen comedy in years. While Wilson is obviously playing the umpteenth version and variation of Allen's neurotic and self-doubting artist persona that's now been around for decades, it surprisingly isn't irritating this time around and actually suits the material quite well.

The result is an engaging, entertaining and enjoyable romantic comedy as mated with something of a sci-fi tale. Its high-brow elements (younger and even some older audiences might not recognize various famous personalities from long ago) might mean it won't expand to any sort of national audience, but for art-house fans, and especially those of Allen, it's a fun, lively and colorful return to form for the filmmaker who's desperately been in need of a comedy hit for quite some time (in fact, some might see Allen longing for a return to his heyday of filmmaking).

An artist needs his muse, so Allen's -- uh -- Wilson's isn't going to find that in the girlfriend character played by Rachel McAdams. Hers isn't a flattering role, but it's obviously designed to allow him to see the contrast and then find what he's looking for and become smitten with his dream woman from the past. She's embodied by Marion Cotillard who's good in the role (as always), with the fun add-on sprinkle being she's a woman of the past longing for the past back before her.

Those playing famous people from that era -- Tom Hiddleston as F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kathy Bates as Gertrude Stein, and especially Corey Stoll as Ernest Hemmingway -- are all good in their parts, with their collection coming off as somewhat of an artistic all-star team.

But the character who gets the most attention is Paris herself. While Allen obviously adored his Big Apple in all but the most recent of his films, he's obviously as much in love with Paris as his protagonist is. Shot after shot features the French capital in its best light, both natural and manmade in its titular moments. Be it sunny or in the rain, the city is a character itself and makes the film that much more than just a pretty backdrop.

Not his greatest work but certainly his best in this particular genre in a long time, "Midnight in Paris" is a delightful piece of fantasy escapism that should entertain both art house crowd and mainstream viewers if they give Allen and the track record of his previous films a second chance. Sort of like mirroring the notion of going back in time to the director's better years, the film rates as a 7 out of 10.




Reviewed May 11, 2011 / Posted June 3, 2011


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