Midnight in Paris (2011)

Nominee

There is nothing better than Woody Allen taking the very intellectualism he himself clearly loves and shamelessly presenting it with satirical whimsy. Now place that within the artistic and literary rich history of Paris, and you have created genius.

The film starts with Gil Pender (Owen Wilson) and his fiancee, Inez (Rachel McAdams) traveling in Paris with her parents. Pender is a Hollywood screenwriter with a longing to pen something more substantial, while Inez looks for fulfillment through either material wealth, or feigning interest in art but only from the tourist necessity.When this ill suited couple run into Inez's old professor, the rift begins to grow and while Inez goes out dancing, Pender goes for a walk. Yet as the bell tolls midnight, Wilson is picked up by an 1920's Peugeot and taken back to the modernist period, meeting the likes of Getrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Dali, and Picasso...to name a few. These midnight encounters continue over a number of nights, and as the film progresses Pender discovers that although the allure of the past is inviting, it is best to create progress in the present.

Pender is every bit the classic deadpan Allen protagonist, a bit down on his luck and starved for meaning, yet he is completely understated in presentation and in reaction to his circumstance. Owen Wilson delivers this character effortlessly, making it that much more enjoyable to witness the fantastical story.

Speaking of which...the premise of this movie could not be more inviting. There is nothing more fun than bearing witness to the resurrection of the great thinkers of our time. And Woody Allen's screenplay brought them to us in a way that had to win the Oscar. 

I do have two complaints: 1.) The marketing was incredibly wrong. (SURPRISE) They made it look like an Owen Wilson/Rachel McAdams chick flick...I am sure that crowd was disappointed and 2.) The opening cityscape shots drag, but I am impatient.

Overall: This is Woody Allen at his best. Give me subdued understated dialogue within ridiculous circumstance or give me death! Not to mention I love a good cultural or historical reference and this film was brimming with them. Definitely a good time. Happy Watching!