Midnight in Paris: A Cool Experience

Definitely a good one for Woody Allen. It was perfectly light and lots of fun. Gil Pender, Owen Wilson, finds a portal to the 1920s while in Paris. He learns from writers and artists that he has admired that he should: be true to himself, enjoy life while it lasts, and embrace each situation you are in especially when you can't do anything about it- if he wants to write the best novel he can write. Wilson plays the role perfectly. And, just as in the story where Gil about giving control up and revealing in imaginative, creative thought, Allen does the same with his movie. Some might say, 'hey this is silly, Picasso wouldn't have said that.' or 'Hemingway would never just be wanting to box with a stranger,'. Maybe so. But if you are that much of a stick in the mud, then you are just like the couple at the beginning who may be labeled as experts or intellectuals by our society but who actually can not think outside of the box far enough to have an individual thought or concept. All great geniuses were creative thinkers. I'm not saying that I think Allen is one of the great conceptualists but he certainly one of the only film directors today that challenges the audience to let go of the control box and go for a ride.