Midnight in Paris

Idealistic Hollywood screenwriter Gil Pender (Owen Wilson) feels disrespected by his fiancée Inez (Rachel McAdams), her conservative parents, and her pretentious friends. After getting drunk and wandering around the streets of Paris, Gil accepts a ride from strangers and ends up teleported to the 1920s where he interacts with F. Scott Fitzgerald (Tom Hiddleston), Ernest Hemmingway (Corey Stoll), and other members of the Lost Generation. Pender eventually falls for Adriana (Marion Cotillard), the mistress of Pablo Picasso, and must choose between life in the past and life in the present.

Midnight in Paris is a difficult movie to hate, but it’s also a difficult movie to fully embrace. Woody Allen’s ode to the 1920s oozes nostalgic charm; however, the sentimentality is often kept in check by doses of his trademark humor. Inez’s pompous friend Paul (Michael Sheen) is memorably shown up by a museum guide (played by current French First Lady Carla Bruni), Hemmingway spits out lines about truth and courage with J. Jonah Jameson-like cadence, and a group of self-important surrealists led by Salvador Dali (Adrien Brody) finds nothing out of the ordinary about Pender’s situation. The cast, which also boasts Kathy Bates as Gertrude Stein, is clearly having fun, and for the most part, the historical roles are faultlessly performed.

In addition, Midnight in Paris boasts top-notch production values. The cinematography features warm, red tones that enhance the 1920s scenes’ sense of romance. Period music is also used to good effect. Cole Porter appears both on the soundtrack and as a character on screen. Even the comparatively bland present-day scenes feature some flattering shots of contemporary Paris.

Unfortunately, all of this amounts to what is essentially heavy gloss on a ridiculous premise. The fact that Pender actually travels back through time and is not just hallucinating, drunk, or daydreaming throws the tone of the movie off-kilter. Such a concept would work in a screwball comedy, perhaps, but not in a movie which tries its damnedest to be earnest and whimsical. Also to the movie’s detriment is Allen’s insistence on the “it all works out in the end” conclusion. It made Whatever Works seem very pat, and it’s equally disappointing here.

Midnight in Paris offers a stunning snapshot of 1920s France and a chance to see famous names of years’ past come to life, but the sum is clearly less than the parts. As a film, it is lightweight and largely forgettable.

7.75/10