Midnight in Paris

Actors:  Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Michael Sheen, Mimi Kennedy, Kurt Fuller, Marion Cotillard, Kathy Bates

Rating:  9 out of 10, my daughter brought me to see this movie this past summer when she was up for a visit.  I was a huge Woody Allen fan back in my youth but his efforts over the past couple of decades were, for me, self indulgent junk.  I was therefore less than enthusiastic, but I trust my daughter, so we went and my faith in her was totally redeemed.  This is just a great movie.  It involves time travel but without all the usual attendant sci fi slap and dash.  This is, in truth, a homage to writing in general and seeking the truth.  Wilson really steps up in this movie.  I’ve always thought he was an underrated actor but he won’t be after this.  There are great actors spread throughout the movie in bit parts playing some of the literary colossi of the 1920s.  I like the message that everyone wishes for life in a simpler, more romantic time but in reality we’re all blessed with the life in the time we inhabit.  I love reading and seeing a new legendary figure unveiled in each succeeding scene was a great deal of fun.  Woody also added in his usual zingers, comic lines hidden in the dialogue that you would miss if you aren’t paying attention.  A smart movie that was a lot of fun watching again.

MVP:  Wilson as Gil, the lost author who ultimately finds himself in the 1920s – best part of his career