Taking Woodstock (2009)

Beautiful, moving film.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

It's 1969. Elliot Teichberg (Demetri Martin) struggles to keep the family motel in the Catskills open. His father Jake (Henry Goodman) is quiet and mother Sonia (Imelda Staunton) is bombastic. They barely have enough to keep the motel open for the summer. When a music festival in a neighboring town gets canceled due to the mayor, Elliot has the idea to expand their tiny music festival. Farmer Max Yasgur (Eugene Levy) is trying squeeze the promoter. Michael Lang is the hip concert organizer. Local Dan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) leads the locals opposing the hippie invasion. Dan's brother Billy (Emile Hirsch) is a recently returned Vietnam vet. Vetty von Vilma (Liev Schreiber) is a transvestite who does security.Director Ang Lee is not digging deep enough. He also keeps the movie very small in comparison to the vast cultural event. Demetri Martin doesn't have the star power to lead so many characters in such a big story. There is no tension to speak of. There is a lot of fun little touches but none of it really grabs me. I also expect more music from a movie about Woodstock. This has its moments but it's a bit too light-weight.

The movie is so-so, kinda interesting and kinda boring at the same time. mediocre film. A little bit funny at times and not enough music.Our story focuses on Elliot Teichberg who accidentally kicks off the one of the most memorable times in history: The Woodstock Festival of 1969. The problem with the film is our lead character Elliot. He's rather boring and uninteresting. He's just there, blazay and not much of a personality and the film focuses on him and not so much the festival itself - I think this is the big disappointment with the film.Woodstock was about the music and the message of peace and love. I think most fans of Woodstock are grateful to Max Yasgur for the use of his dairy farm for that wonderful event - but the film shows us a rather boring Elliot for the most part and misses the whole point.The movie is not completely awful - but it's not that good. It's in the middle ground.5/10

I'm not sure if this film seemed warm and satisfying because of all the Japanese horror/thrillers I've been watching or because it actually is, but I'm fairly certain it isn't the Japanese films that gave me this impression. As you can read anywhere, this film is an Ang Lee dramatic comedy based on a memoir called 'Taking Woodstock...'. Eliot Tiber's Jewish parents are running a run-down motel in Bethel, NY that is on its last legs. Eliot is trying to become an interior designer and artist in Greenwich village in 1969, the Summer of Love while pouring his earning into his parents motel. As luck would have it, Eliot sets up a deal with the organizers of the Woodstock Festival to use farmland in Bethel as the staging area since they were already booted from their original Walkill venue. Now about the film itself. I don't want to give away to much of the fun of course. But for one, there is a nice understated warm humor in this film. I think that is the main perk about Eliot's character. He's understated, warm, and sort of down-to-earth qualities which makes his acting job and his character likable; you're rooting for him and laughing at his misadventures from the crazy domineering Jewish mother, to his drama of dealing with half a million hippies descending on his small town because of him. The wacky ensemble in this film from the transgender ex-Marine Vilma, to Eliot's shell-shocked Vietnam Vet Billy, to the hippie theatre troupe make for memorable viewing, lots of laughs, and a great entertaining time. Now if you aren't particularly fond of hippie stuff, you'll probably still enjoy this film. The Woodstock festival is more of a backdrop for Eliots family and personal struggles which he deals with in funny and interesting ways throughout the festival. I suppose though this movie is fairly nostalgic about all things hippie despite their naivety, and ineffectual politics, but the movie is more about youth, self-realization, and friendship, than hippiedom per se, and that is why I liked this film. By the way, if you want to see a movie about the music at Woodstock, this film doesn't have hardly enough on the music of the festival. Just a heads up. Enjoy.

I really liked this movie, which follows a somewhat nebbishy guy who gets involved in the Woodstock music festival. I liked the movie right off, although the funniest moment is very early on when Imelda Staunton (who is terrific as the protagonists sour mom) goes on a rant in a bank.The movie shows how the main character, played by Demetri Martin, evolves through the forces that surround him during a fateful few weeks. It's not unusual in movies to see the straight-laced guy opened up by free spirits, but this is still an interesting take on it.One of the interesting things about the movie is that the concert itself is rather incidental. It is the scene, the audience, the carpenters, the promoters, that are what change Demetri's life. I thought that was a really clever, intelligent, thoughtful, unusual approach.Most of the people who complain about this movie disagreed. I can't believe how many people complained about the lack of music and concert scenes. Is it that you're not allowed to make a movie called "Woodstock" without showing Janis Joplin? This isn't the backstage story of Woodstock. That would probably be an interesting movie, but that's not this movie, and the people who complain about this movie seem to mainly be doing so because they wanted a backstage movie about Woodstock.This movie is the movie it is. Like it or don't, but don't ask that it be an entirely different film.