Taking Woodstock: Exclusive Sneak Peek

[Ang Lee's latest film, Taking Woodstock, hits theaters nationwide this week. Herein we offer you an advance opinion, BLURT-style. See the official trailer, below. No spoiler alerts necessary, however - everybody knows what went down at the 1969 rock festival anyway! - Ed.]

BY JONAH FLICKER

Taking Woodstock, directed by Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain, Hulk, The Ice Storm), is disappointing on many levels. Granted, I wasn't even born until almost a decade after the famed three days of peace, love, and music took place. But I never thought I missed anything; mud, hippies, and jam bands are just not my cup of tea. Lee's whimsical recreation of the events leading up to the festival, however, would have me believe otherwise. It might have worked, too, except for a storyline that feels trite and piecemeal, and some sub-par acting jobs from the film's principals.

 (Jonathan Groff, Demetri Martin)

Comedian Demetri Martin, known to many for his Trendspotting segments on The Daily Show, plays the lead, the semi-closeted, soft-spoken, go-getter Elliot. He has returned home to his overbearing parents' failing motel in the Catskills, when he discovers that the planners of the Woodstock festival are looking for a new venue. After meeting with the annoyingly laid back Michael (Jonathan Groff), Elliot maneuvers the festival onto a neighbor's farm (the always amusing Eugene Levy), much to the town's chagrin. From there, the story details Elliot's trials and travails and sexual awakening, all against the backdrop of the planning and execution of Woodstock. The film doesn't really focus on the festival itself -director Lee never set out to make a concert film - instead detailing the planning of the event and the personal lives of its key players.

 (Eugene Levy, Demetri Martin)

There are some good performances peppered throughout the film. Liev Schreiber plays a burly transvestite with a little bit of camp and a lot of heart, and Elliot's parents, Imelda Staunton and Henry Goodman, tackle their assimilated Jewish immigrant characters with vigor and zest. But the missteps are glaring. Emile Hirsch has a hard time grasping the nuances of his character, the recently-returned Vietnam vet, Billy, using wild eyes as his main prop. But the worst offender, unfortunately, is Martin. His monotone and cloying innocence blend very poorly with an attempt at acting and emoting. His performance is certainly not the worst you will see this year, but he has no business playing a lead role.

 (Kelli Gardner, Paul Dano, Demetri Martin)

Taking Woodstock may appeal more to those who experienced the festival firsthand and are pining for a sentimental, nostalgic trip to the past. And that's really what the film is, a saccharine revisit to a lionized moment in history. Others, however, may not be as impressed - I overheard a middle-aged woman leaving the screening complaining that she wasn't sure which was represented as more middlebrow, Woodstock itself or being gay.