Taking Woodstock For A Walk

I have loved Demetri Martin ever since he copied Bret McKenzie's every move in the final episode of Flight of the Conchords season one. I promptly downloaded a couple of his albums and my sister and I chuckled to his comedic musical stylings (especially the 'grapes' song...they're so delicious).

Naturally when I saw that Demetri was the star of Ang Lee's new Woodstock film, I was happy as well as a little miffed, as I always am when my lesser known darlings become household names;
ie: Bret and Jemaine, Alexander Skarsgård, Muse, Edward Cullen (yes, there was a time when I was one of a small handful of sparkly vamp fangirls).

But I gave Ang Lee a try, having adored Brokeback Mountain and having hated the Incredible Hulk. No...I did not actually see the Hulk, but that doesn't matter, look me in the eye and tell me that it was a quality film.

My roommate and I trekked down to 30th street to use my free movie passes that I've had for more than a year now:

Ever since I heard about Woodstock when I was about yay high:

I wished I had been there. This film convinced me otherwise. I've always known that hippie culture was a tad romanticized, but I chose to ignore that shower-less fact and kept buying funky hair bands from Free People, speaking out against war and listening to whatever music made me feel happy in the moment. That is about as hippie as I'll ever get.

The film starts out with various peaceful shots of White Lake, an area close to the soon to be home of the most epic concert of all time. We meet Sonia, Elliot's (Demetri Martin) mother, a transformed Imelda Staunton. But as good of an actor as Staunton is, all I see are centaurs carrying her off into the forbidden forest... which is what I wished would happen to her at the end of this film.

Poor Elliot, a twenty something intelligent guy, is still helping his parent's out at their failing motel, despite his aspirations to be an artist. He's one of those guys who's parents need him more than he needs them.

The motel houses a hippie dippy troupe of stereotypical theatre bums in the barn next door. They are led by (a strange casting choice) Dan Fogler, who I only saw in (*dies a little inside*) Fanboys. I was not a fan. I'd like to say; "poor theatre kids! They are always being made fun of and portrayed as spaced out naturists!" But...as an NYU student, always surrounded by hoards of theatre kids who harmonize in elevators and in the laundry room, I think the portrayal is justified. Or maybe I'm just biased because of my awful theatre experiences in high school.

Anyways, Elliot organizes a little musical/theatre festival every year, and the players always outnumber the audience. This year though, the Wallkill music festival has been denied a permit and Elliot has the brilliant idea to expand his festival and allow the Wallkill people to use the land near his motel.

In steps Michael...a Marc Bolan look alike with a perpetually chill demeanor and a penchant for declaring things to be: 'far out'. He's the leader of this whole music festival idea and his leadership techniques are as follows: agree with everything and pay in cash. It seems to work pretty well for him.
I totally thought that he and Elliot would end up together by the end of the movie, but Mike was way too cool for worrywart Elli.

Gradually the hoopla surrounding the concert grows and hippies start flooding into the town, much to the dismay of the townies, who immediately turn against Elliot (and refuse him bacon).

You know the rest:
Janis Joplin, The Who, Hendrix, The Grateful Dead, acid, mud, grass, hunger, happiness.

Though there are hundreds of extras in this film about a grandiose event; essentially this is a coming of age film about a boy who doesn't know how to put himself before others. Ang Lee just uses the groovy Woodstock background to explore this commonly examined subject.

Don't expect a comedy when you see this. The trailer really plays up Liev Schreiber's drag queen antics, very special brownies and groovy 60's vibe, but it's really all about Elliot and family and how he finally learns to enjoy life with the help of a Marc Bolan look alike, a hot carpenter, Meryl Streep's floppy hat clad daughter and a blonde tranny security guard. The theatre I was in burst into laughter nearly every 10 minutes, not because it was funny, but because I'm pretty sure these people were there. How weird is it going to be to see young people portray the year 2009 thirty odd years from now?

Far Out...