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September 2, 2009

'Taking' makes mess of Woodstock

By STEVE OUELLETTE, Movie Review

Woodstock, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, was a legendary concert and an epochal moment in modern American history.

Unfortunately, the based-on-true-life film "Taking Woodstock" doesn't do the event justice in any way.

Talented director Ang Lee ("Brokeback Mountain," "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon") will have to file this one on his short pile (2003's "Hulk") of mis-hits.

Based on a memoir by Elliot Tiber, "Taking Woodstock" tries to tell the Woodstock story as a slice of life, from the point of view of someone who played an unexpected but crucial role in making it happen.

Comedian Demetri Martin plays Elliot Teichberg, a 20-something New York City decorator who spends half his time in the Catskills helping his moribund parents try to keep their ramshackle motel out of bankruptcy. Things change for him, however, when he hears that Woodstock organizers are having trouble finding a location for the their concert.

Perhaps the El Monaco motel won't do, but Max Yasgur's nearby farm might just be the perfect fit, and Elliot helps broker the deal.

Much like the mud-soaked cow pastures where the concert was staged, though, the movie is a mess. It veers all over the place, at times feeling like a sitcom; at other times playing as a half-hearted family drama.

Most of the pieces don't seem to fit. Elliot's coming-of-age moments are forced. Liev Schreiber's ("Wolverine") cross-dressing ex-Marine seems out of place, even at Woodstock. Emile Hirsch ("Speed Racer") is unbelievable and unmoving as a shell-shocked Vietnam vet.

"Taking Woodstock" is most interesting and most amusing during the setup, when the deal is made, and when it portrays the conflict between the tiny town's residents and the giant hippie invasion.

It never, however, immerses the viewer to the point where we feel like we've experienced a chunk of it ourselves (not even during the awkward, obligatory acid-trip scene). It doesn't help that there aren't even snippets of any actual musical performances (or re-creations of musical performances), and the music of actual Woodstock performers isn't present (or is barely present), even in the background.

Martin seems nice enough as Elliot, but he's part of the problem. He's not a real actor, and he's not very convincing. He never seems completely natural, and his lead character isn't particularly interesting.

Much more intriguing is Imelda Staunton (Dolores Umbridge in "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix") as his domineering, old-country mother. Staunton chews up the scenery as a nasty and completely unlovable shrew, but her performance is certainly memorable. Also very good is stage actor Jonathan Groff as charismatic, supremely confident Michael Lang, the hippie concert organizer.

"Taking Woodstock" is a good-natured mess but an underwhelming portrayal of an overwhelming experience.

Rental Recommendation: One of the legendary sporting events of the '60s is recounted wonderfully in the documentary "Harvard Beats Yale 29-29." Grade: B+

E-mail Steve Ouellette at: ouellette1918@gmail.com

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