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Whether you've seen Michael Wadleigh's iconic documentary Woodstock,
listened to one of many CD box sets or simply got caught talking to your hippie uncle at your family reunion, the mere mention of the Woodstock Music and Art Festival is more than enough to make even the most straight-laced businessman escape to a carefree time of dancing hippies and mind-expanding drugs. Nearly every account of the "Aquarian Exposition" has had the seemingly impossible task of capturing what it was like to be a part of the hippie throng. Like unique snowflakes that come together to create a blanket of snow, individual experiences at Woodstock are what made the three days of peace and music more than just another music festival.

In Taking Woodstock, director Ang Lee attempts to capture the individual experience of Elliot (Demetri Martin), the man who not only inadvertently made the festival a reality but also saw his life changed because of it. Wisely choosing to stay away from Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin look-alikes, Lee forgoes the music from the famous stage and instead focuses on the people living in the sleepy village of White Lake, New York before the hippie invasion took place. 

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In the summer of '69, Elliot has abandoned his career in NYC in favor of helping his mother (Imelda Staunton) and father (Henry Goodman) keep their shoddy hotel afloat in the tourist devoid town. When reports surface of Woodstock being forced out of a neighboring town, Elliot calls promoter Michael Lang (Jonathan Groff) to offer his permit that was originally intended for a small arts festival. Lang helicopters in and is introduced to Max Yasgur (Eugene Levy), who agrees to host the festival on his cow farm. In a matter of days the family's quaint hotel is transformed into Woodstock headquarters, and the farm up the road becomes the mecca of free love. Elliot is also thrust into the challenge of being a closeted gay man living at home with his parents while making new friends like the cross-dressing security guard Vilma (Liev Schreiber) and reconnecting with old acquaintances like Vietnam veteran Billy (Emile Hirsch).

Taking Woodstock is essentially a ho-hum coming of age tale that attempts to use the frenetic setting of Woodstock to create interest
rather than investing in several key characters. The plot is much like a story told from a hippie who has smoked too much dope and keeps getting sidetracked. There were so many interesting characters I wanted to know more about and undeveloped side plots ignored that I found the movie to be more frustrating than anything else. A film that was billed as light-hearted and fun came out drab and slow-paced under Lee's direction. 

The serious underside overwhelmed nearly every joyous moment in the film, and even with a leading man as hilarious as Martin, the jokes came out flat. In addition, Hirsch was a terrible disappointment, portraying a Vietnam vet like a satirical cartoon character. Schreiber looked almost too comfortable in drag but did a good job with one of the most interesting characters in the film despite the script cutting him short. 

Lee's portrayal of Woodstock was often stereotypical and (unfortunately) commercialized, with the exception of a touching scene where Elliot is escorted to the festival by a motorcycle cop with a flower pinned to his helmet. Lee even falls into the trap of the obligatory (and unnecessary) acid trip sequence that goes on for far too long. For those who wondered if Lee was the right person to direct a film such as this, the answer is decidedly: no. Taking Woodstock could have been a care-free romp or a serious biography, but instead it wallows in the middle of both and therefore accomplishes very little.

Unfortunately for us, the folks that could write the most fun and entertaining Woodstock memoir probably don't remember much of it.


--Mark Collins
 


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