I'm just gonna forgo any pleasantries, along with any pretenses that I can look at this film in anything approaching an unbiased manner. I like Woody Allen. I like Paris. I like writing and I like art. I loved this film. Sure, it had its problems, but I was charmed by the main character, Gil, played by Owen Wilson (a blatant representation of Woody Allen) and his sincere (if sometimes sappy) dialogue. Some of my favorite lines that I've ever heard were in the film, like when Wilson insists that "No work of art can compare to a city."
Although it's difficult to talk about a work of art in terms of feelings, I couldn't help but love the feel of this film. Yes, no work of art can do a city justice, but this film captured the feeling I had gallivanting about Paris. Some would say that the film romanticized Paris from a tourist's perspective, but I would disagree and toss in my lot with Allen. I think there are cities that can be appreciated as a work of art, regardless of whether you grew up there or whether you're visiting for the first time. And Gil's enthusiasm for Paris is contagious and understandable.
I don't want to give away too much about the plot, because I didn't know much about it, and I found myself giddy as certain events unfolded (I even slapped my viewing companion in the arm, grinned, and sat up straighter in my chair a few times in sheer excitement). That's not to say it had a perfect plot. In fact, I was disappointed that for such a creative premise, the film ended up making some pretty cliché moves, and I was surprised that the film had such an elementary take-home message. Despite its plot clumsiness, I loved the film and I would happily see it in theaters again, which is not an action I take lightly.
I thought the trailers did an excellent job of not giving anything away, and I really appreciated that.
ReplyDeleteOther things I liked: the Tea Party tirade, all of the dialog, every cameo, and Gil's willingness to just go with it. The climax did feel a little rushed, but by that point I cared so little about the fiancee that it wasn't a big deal.
As for the message, you call it elementary and cliché. Simple, sure, but clever in its execution. Because the theater that I saw it in (which was packed, by the way) was split pretty evenly between old people and hipsters, I saw the message as a gentle poke at the former and a bodyslam to the latter. And I quite liked that.