Just in time for the 40th anniversary of the famed Woodstock music festival comes Ang Lee’s first American-made directorial effort since 2005’s
Brokeback Mountain. But while
Taking Woodstock, does its best to create an artful film packed with humor, history, coming-of-age drama and social commentary, Lee’s latest falls more in line with the entertainment value of
Hulk, and less of the powerful message of the film that garnered eight Academy Award nominations.
In Lee’s pseudo-fictional, possibly somewhat remotely historical account of Woodstock, penned by James Schamus based on the book by Elliot Tiber, viewers are treated to the story of Elliot Teichberg (Demetri Martin), an interior designer (who does so happen to fit the gay stereotype of his profession) and Bethel Chamber of Commerce president who inadvertently makes possible what has become the most defining music festival of a generation, and one of the most notable cultural events in American history.
Elliot’s parents own a shitty motel, most of the features of which serve as jokes throughout the opening credits. The decrepit property is repeatedly referred to ironically as a “resort,” while the pool remains waterless and the few customers who do stumble upon the health hazard-filled accommodations aren’t happy with their stays. Point is, the motel, which is run by Elliot and his parents, Jake (Henry Goodman) and Sonia (Imelda Staunton), is on hard times. Even harder, we find, when Elliot argues with a banker about funding for improvements to the property, which is already in debt, and his mother charges extra for just about everything to squeeze a dime out of the few customers the motel has.
Meanwhile, Elliot oversees the Bethel Chamber of Commerce, which is filled with geezers with barely enough energy to speak during the meetings, and a few middle-aged conservatives with little interest in asking the young president to sign off on permits. In the first encounter with the chamber, Elliot approves for himself a permit for a small annual music festival, which usually sees him playing vinyl for the townsfolk, but may have one local, live group this year.
Of course, protesters then push the scary hippies and the Woodstock festival out of a nearby town, and Elliot jumps to the rescue, citing Bethel’s wealth of open land. It takes some convincing of both the promoters, including some chocolate milk wining and dining by farmer Max Yasgur (Eugene Levy), and the townspeople, but Elliot takes charge with the music festival permit he approved for himself, whether it is totally legal or not. And before the town knows it, the grandest music festival of all time has been set in motion.
At the core of the film is the conflict between young and old generations, change, peace versus war, and acceptance versus intolerance, traditional versus liberal. But it seems as though Lee does not fully understand what he wants the film to be, or possibly he is confused by this iconic American experience itself.
Taking Woodstock is filled with comedy actors, from Martin, to Levy, to Dan Fogler (
Balls of Fury,
Fanboys), who lives in the motel’s barn with a performance troupe that is much too progressive to be seen by the town. This plays out in one scene, where after a demonstration of their college-level theater skills, the entire troupe strips nude and taunts its elder audience to much outrage. Only Billy (Emile Hirsch), a shellshocked Vietnam veteran from the neighborhood, seems to enjoy it, and shows his approval by likewise stripping down and flopping about to the dismay of his father.
Liev Schreiber (
X-Men) plays Vilma, a drag-queen security guard with whom Elliot’s traditional Russian father somehow finds a bond. Though Jake loves her, his wife is a penny-pinching wench, so he finds a moment of escape in Vilma and the festival. Vilma seems to be in the film as more of a joke, though, than (s)he is part of the strange versus conventional equation.
Taking Woodstock can be funny, but it also seeks serious relevance in its lighthearted undertaking, focusing not on the concert itself (viewers never get an actual glimpse of any performance, though the music of the era plays throughout), but the backstage stories surrounding Elliot, who is awakened in the midst of the movement. He is a homosexual, or at the very least bi-curious, but it is not until the festival comes around that he starts to understand these feelings and has an avenue to test the waters in his otherwise podunk town.
The problems are that anyone familiar with Martin’s stand-up career will have a difficult time picturing him outside of that role, and Lee just doesn’t have the touch to meld strong comedy with emotion the way Judd Apatow has with his "comedies with heart" like
Knocked Up. The comedy doesn’t always hit its mark and the drama is sometimes hard to swallow because of the cast and the pervading humor vibe surrounding them. The two elements weaken each other, rather than enhance the film.
Lee also fails to recreate (this young reviewer can only image) what it must have felt like to be present at Woodstock, but not for lack of effort. The costume and set designs are great, enhanced by the cinematography, with all three working together to make
Taking Woodstock look like it could have been cleaned-up stock footage from the era. He also includes a five-minute acid trip scene that provides an avenue to awakening Elliot, who up until this point has turned down pot all but one time (and, of course, he accepts at the wrong time). But swirling colors aren’t enough to make viewers feel like they were there.
The biggest kudos for the film, though, and where
Taking Woodstock does strike the right tone, must go to Lee and cinematographer Eric Gautier (
Into the Wild), who set up and brilliantly filmed a scene that follows a police motorcycle taking Elliot to the festival up a street that has become a parking lot and circus all in one. As the long shot tracks down the street, viewers see all kinds of interesting people and things along the way, essentially distilling the entire movement, event and culture onto one street and into one incredible shot.
The brilliant points are undermined, however, by the overall tone of the film, which never seems to find its footing.
Taking Woodstock tries to be too much in too many areas, and ultimately lacks a clear point of view in any particular aspect to be a powerful film. And it hurts in a big way that there is a lack of focus on the music. While Lee is right to focus on a small group and particular person to show how the movement impacted real people, a big part of it was the music and he misses that point. That said, for the moments where it does shine,
Taking Woodstock can be an entertaining film, enjoyable despite the disorder it creates. Viewers just shouldn’t expect it to expound on any of the glimmers of brilliance it teases.
The Chicago Public Library announced last week a competition to help support local musicians and draw attention to its updated catalog of CDs, music downloads, sheet music and concerts. The contest asks Chicago musicians to submit compositions inspired by their city. The winners will play at the CHIPUBLIB Sound Off Concert, a free public concert to be held in late October at Pritzker Park, near the Harold Washington Library Center.
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