MIDNIGHT IN PARIS: A Comedy of Nostalgia

Superheroes and pandas are ruling movie screens right now, but it’s worth noting that Woody Allen’s latest film is on the list of top 10 films last week in terms of box office. All the diehard Allen fans have no doubt already rushed out to see the movie, but read these Reel Answers to see if this latest Woody Allen comedy might be the one that brings you back into the Allen fold.

Midnight in Paris
Directed by Woody Allen
Starring Owen Wilson, Marion Cotillard, Rachel McAdams, Kathy Bates

What is Midnight in Paris about?

A young American writer visiting Paris with his beautiful but crass girlfriend, finds himself back in time, in the Roaring ’20s in Paris, along with Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, Papa Hemingway, Gert Stein (Kathy Bates), Sal Dali (Adrien Brody), and host of other zany characters from the Lost Generation. This gentle, literary soul finds himself suffused with nostalgia while torn between two women and two times. Director and writer Woody Allen has delivered a love note to Paris and its women, both past and present, while being decidedly less kind to today’s Americans in Paris, especially the women.

Is this just for hard-core Woody Allen fans?

Anyone who loves Paris, literature, and nostalgia will no doubt appreciate this movie, but it’s certainly aimed right at loyal Woody Allen fans, who seem to consistently like their entertainment lightweight, bittersweet, and short (Midnight in Paris is only 94 minutes long). This most recent Allen outing is getting some good reviews (especially compared to last year’s You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger), but if you’re hoping for the Woody Allen of yore with some heft amongst the laughs, be warned that this one is even frothier than Vicky Cristina Barcelona, which had true emotional drama, or Match Point, set in London with a murder at its heart. And it’s nowhere near the rich Woody Allen dramedies of 30 years ago.

Who stars in the movie?

Blond-haired Owen Wilson, as writer Gil Pender, has been Woodyized, complete with rumpled khakis, button-down shirts, and a loose wool jacket. He mutters and stammers like all Allen heroes, but manages to bring his own brand of twinkly charm to the role of a hopeless romantic. Everyone else in the movie is a bit of a caricature, from Rachel McAdams (Morning Glory) as Gil’s girlfriend, to the many denizens of the 1920s, with only soulful flapper Marion Cotillard (Inception) approximating a full-fledged person.

Does Midnight in Paris have some good laughs?

The opening scenes are very amusing, with lots of quick repartée and amusing situations, including the usual pedantic bore character (here played by Michael Sheen) being put in his place. So, yes, smiles and laughter. I do have to report, however, that somewhere along the way the movie becomes less witty and ever more sketchy and detached. By the end of the screening I attended, the audience was dead quiet, except for one gently snoring gentleman.

Does the film take good advantage of being shot in Paris?

The movie opens with a long sequence of video postcard shots of Paris—if you haven’t been there already, you’ll be booking a flight for France by the end of that prologue. After that opening, there are some touchstone scenes of Paris (the Eiffel Tower at night, a stroll on the grounds of Versailles, booksellers along the Seine River), but much of the action happens after midnight at the Lost Generation parties and bars. The sets no doubt lovingly recreate all those old haunts and I especially enjoyed the peek into Gertrude Stein’s living room, complete with her famous art collection hanging in jumbled glory on her walls.

The striking poster for the movie, with Owen Wilson walking through Paris under a Van Gogh “starry night” sky, suggests maybe there are surreal aspects to the movie. Are there?

Don’t worry if fantasy isn’t your thing. The writer Gil travels back in time simply by climbing into a fancy 1920s car that swings by to pick him up—nothing more elaborate than that (which is both funny and a relief).

Does Midnight in Paris have the kind of production values that demand to be seen on the big screen?

While the opening montage of Paris shots is nice, this movie with its authentic-sounding rinky-dink ’20s soundtrack and close-ups of many talking heads, is one that could definitely be enjoyed in comfort watching at home.

My Reel Answers column aims to boil down film reviewing to its essence: answering questions (without divulging key plot points) you might have about a popular movie before plunking down your hard-earned money to see it.

Please visit http://reelanswers.net to see past movies and DVDs I’ve reviewed, and let me know what questions you have about upcoming movies that I can answer. —Laura E. Kelly

Adam Stone

Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.