Up to a point, 'Taking Woodstock' really isn't such a bad film and I wonder what the reasons were for those people who positively hated it. There seem to be a group who were offended that Ang Lee didn't show any scenes of the actual concert or tried to recreate it by having actors playing some of the famous performers like Hendrix or Janis Joplin, singing their songs up on the stage. But what would have been the point of showing any of the actual concert scenes? If you're dying for some nostalgia, then you can buy the DVD of the original concert itself.
There's also the bigger issue of the source material itself--Elliot Tiber's memoir, 'Taking Woodstock: A True Story of a Riot, a Concert, and a Life.' Tiber's claim that he introduced Michael Lang, one of the principal Woodstock Festival promoters, to Max Yasgur (who owned the farm where the festival was held), appears to be completely false. In addition, the concert promoters did not appear to use the family motel as a sort of headquarters for their operations. Even if that didn't happen, it's not at all implausible that it COULD have happened, so I think it's fine that a little suspension of disbelief here does not damage the overall impact of the film.
'Taking Woodstock' really isn't about Woodstock at all. It's a coming of age story where the music festival acts as both a backdrop and catalyst, driving the principal characters forward in their emotional journey. The protagonist, Elliot Tiber (named Teichberg in the film), is in his mid-30s and remains with his parents, pouring his own money into a run-down family-owned motel in upstate New York. They have until the end of the summer to pay off the mortgage or the bank will foreclose on the property.
Elliot's problem is his obnoxious, overbearing Jewish mother, Sonia (well played by the classically trained British actor, Imelda Staunton). She portrays herself as a perennial victim of anti-Semitism and pushes her passive, goodhearted husband, Jake, around at every turn. One thing she is right about: the pretentious theater group that inhabits the barn on their property, is a constant thorn in their side as they're unable to pay any rent.
The best part of 'Taking Woodstock' is the arrival of Michael Lang and his entourage of businessmen who intend to make Woodstock a reality. Jonathan Groff is perfectly cast as promoter Lang, the hippie-businessman, who maintains a constant beatific grin on his face while doling out gobs of cash. It's Elliot, in his position as the head of the local Chamber of Commerce, who informs Lang that he can give the promoters a permit to hold a music festival; the problem is that his own land is found to be a useless swamp. Elliot then introduces Lang to Max Yasgur, (with Eugene Levy also perfectly cast as the tough but liberal farmer) who has the perfect spread for the music festival.
The first hour of the film proceeds seamlessly with additional twists and turns: Elliot tries to help Billy, a local Vietnam Vet who suffers from post traumatic stress disorder; Elliot's mother drops her objections to the Festival organizers staying at the motel when Elliot drops a bag of cash in front of her, given to him by the promoters; Lev Schreiber plays Vilma, a trans-gender Korean War Veteran, who's hired as a security guard, eventually warding off hostile locals as the hippies invade the local area; despite the local opposition, business people in the area (along with Elliot's parents) see huge profits from the influx of all the young people and Elliot ends up kissing a gay construction worker at a wild party, foreshadowing his decision to come out of the closet.
At the behest of his father, Elliot decides to go see the festival himself and encounters a State Trooper who confesses that he was planning to come to the festival to "bust some hippies' heads" but "guesses" he's been sidetracked by "all the fumes". The trooper amiably offers Elliot a ride on his motorcycle through the backed up traffic, near where the concert is going on. Ang Lee wisely never has Elliot arrive at the stage area which was probably the experience of thousands who never actually got to see the event close up.
Ang Lee interestingly doesn't sugarcoat the festival's appearance, as the weather conditions end up turning it into a virtual mud fest. At the same time, Lee views Woodstock as having had a positive effect on most of its participants. Elliot in particular, has a transformational experience, inside a VW bus with a hippie couple after taking a few hits of LSD. When he returns to the motel, Elliot realizes that his mother hasn't changed at all after he discovers that she's been hoarding money for years and could have paid off the mortgage long before he began helping his parents. On the bright side, Elliot's father feels he's found a second youth as a result of Woodstock and father and son find they're able to bond at film's end.
It's clear that the second half of 'Taking Woodstock' isn't as good as the first. A big problem is that Elliot's internal conflict is not clear until the film's end where he recognizes that he's gay and must leave upstate New York and find a new life. The denouement might have been more effective if the second half of the film wasn't so slow moving. Particularly problematic are all those 'split-scene' scenes as well as the amount of time it takes for Elliot to wander off from his 'nest' at the motel, sojourn into the 'wilderness' (a psychedelic journey) and return to his cocoon, which is no longer the same.
'Taking Woodstock' is by no means a great movie; but wisely the tangential coming of age story works much better than an unfocused tribute to anonymous festival participants.
There's also the bigger issue of the source material itself--Elliot Tiber's memoir, 'Taking Woodstock: A True Story of a Riot, a Concert, and a Life.' Tiber's claim that he introduced Michael Lang, one of the principal Woodstock Festival promoters, to Max Yasgur (who owned the farm where the festival was held), appears to be completely false. In addition, the concert promoters did not appear to use the family motel as a sort of headquarters for their operations. Even if that didn't happen, it's not at all implausible that it COULD have happened, so I think it's fine that a little suspension of disbelief here does not damage the overall impact of the film.
'Taking Woodstock' really isn't about Woodstock at all. It's a coming of age story where the music festival acts as both a backdrop and catalyst, driving the principal characters forward in their emotional journey. The protagonist, Elliot Tiber (named Teichberg in the film), is in his mid-30s and remains with his parents, pouring his own money into a run-down family-owned motel in upstate New York. They have until the end of the summer to pay off the mortgage or the bank will foreclose on the property.
Elliot's problem is his obnoxious, overbearing Jewish mother, Sonia (well played by the classically trained British actor, Imelda Staunton). She portrays herself as a perennial victim of anti-Semitism and pushes her passive, goodhearted husband, Jake, around at every turn. One thing she is right about: the pretentious theater group that inhabits the barn on their property, is a constant thorn in their side as they're unable to pay any rent.
The best part of 'Taking Woodstock' is the arrival of Michael Lang and his entourage of businessmen who intend to make Woodstock a reality. Jonathan Groff is perfectly cast as promoter Lang, the hippie-businessman, who maintains a constant beatific grin on his face while doling out gobs of cash. It's Elliot, in his position as the head of the local Chamber of Commerce, who informs Lang that he can give the promoters a permit to hold a music festival; the problem is that his own land is found to be a useless swamp. Elliot then introduces Lang to Max Yasgur, (with Eugene Levy also perfectly cast as the tough but liberal farmer) who has the perfect spread for the music festival.
The first hour of the film proceeds seamlessly with additional twists and turns: Elliot tries to help Billy, a local Vietnam Vet who suffers from post traumatic stress disorder; Elliot's mother drops her objections to the Festival organizers staying at the motel when Elliot drops a bag of cash in front of her, given to him by the promoters; Lev Schreiber plays Vilma, a trans-gender Korean War Veteran, who's hired as a security guard, eventually warding off hostile locals as the hippies invade the local area; despite the local opposition, business people in the area (along with Elliot's parents) see huge profits from the influx of all the young people and Elliot ends up kissing a gay construction worker at a wild party, foreshadowing his decision to come out of the closet.
At the behest of his father, Elliot decides to go see the festival himself and encounters a State Trooper who confesses that he was planning to come to the festival to "bust some hippies' heads" but "guesses" he's been sidetracked by "all the fumes". The trooper amiably offers Elliot a ride on his motorcycle through the backed up traffic, near where the concert is going on. Ang Lee wisely never has Elliot arrive at the stage area which was probably the experience of thousands who never actually got to see the event close up.
Ang Lee interestingly doesn't sugarcoat the festival's appearance, as the weather conditions end up turning it into a virtual mud fest. At the same time, Lee views Woodstock as having had a positive effect on most of its participants. Elliot in particular, has a transformational experience, inside a VW bus with a hippie couple after taking a few hits of LSD. When he returns to the motel, Elliot realizes that his mother hasn't changed at all after he discovers that she's been hoarding money for years and could have paid off the mortgage long before he began helping his parents. On the bright side, Elliot's father feels he's found a second youth as a result of Woodstock and father and son find they're able to bond at film's end.
It's clear that the second half of 'Taking Woodstock' isn't as good as the first. A big problem is that Elliot's internal conflict is not clear until the film's end where he recognizes that he's gay and must leave upstate New York and find a new life. The denouement might have been more effective if the second half of the film wasn't so slow moving. Particularly problematic are all those 'split-scene' scenes as well as the amount of time it takes for Elliot to wander off from his 'nest' at the motel, sojourn into the 'wilderness' (a psychedelic journey) and return to his cocoon, which is no longer the same.
'Taking Woodstock' is by no means a great movie; but wisely the tangential coming of age story works much better than an unfocused tribute to anonymous festival participants.