Taking Woodstock

a film directed by Ang Lee

review written by jack floobles

January 13, 2010

I grew up in Woodstock, NY. There's a scene where one character asks another character why they're calling it Woodstock, because people will show up to the town of Woodstock thinking the concert is there. It hasn't changed. More than 40 years later, people still confuse the town of Woodstock with the Woodstock Concert. The actual concert was held in Bethel, NY.

Directed by Ang Lee, the film, Taking Woodstock, follows the true story of Elliot Tiber (played by Demetri Martin), an aspiring Greenwich Village interior designer, whose parents own a dilapidated motel in the town of Bethel, NY. Having acquired a permit for $1, Elliot plants to hold a music concert in Bethel. When he discovers that the organizers of the Woodstock Festival are running into problems with having the concert at the originally planned location, Elliot steps and offers his permit, while Max Yasgur (played by Eugene Levy) offers his farm land for the festival's location.

The movie isn't perfect. Some scenes drag on too long. Some scenes just aren't necessary, such as when a group of hippies put on a play, strip completely naked and dance around people in the town. We get it. There were lots of drugs. There were lots of hippies. We don't need these kinds of scenes. They don't add to the comedy; they just take away from it. The movie works when it focus on Elliot and his parents. These scenes are almost always pitch perfect. Elliot is a sympathetic character; his parents are funny and compelling.

Liev Schreiber shows up about halfway through the film to steal every scene he's in. He plays a cross dressing security guard that offers his services to Elliot. How does he play the role? Completely straight. It's perfect. When he walks on screen, you almost wince, because you're expecting a parody, but Schreiber plays the role so perfectly that you grow to love the character and his humor.

For a movie about the Woodstock concert, the one thing that it surprisingly lacked was music. For most of the movie, Elliot is too busy to see any of the concert, leaving all the memorable performances out of the picture. There probably wouldn't have been room to include many of them, but it seems like such an important part of Woodstock that it's sad leaving it out.

Overall, Taking Woodstock is a fun comedy. For a truly great film about Woodstock, watch the documentary, Woodstock. Ang Lee was clearly influenced by the famous documentary. He often mimics the shooting style used in the documentary, splitting the screen two or more times to show difference scenes simultaneously. It's a good flick, worth a watch.

the following actors/directors were tagged in this review: