It's seems remarkable to me that such a massive historic event as the one portrayed in Ang Lee's Taking Woodstock has largely been ignored in the movies, when it included many giants of the industry and took place in one of the most beloved era's in our recent history. The event I'm referring to is, of course, the legendary Woodstock Festival in 1969. The Festival was documented in the epic 1970 documentary Woodstock, but Lee's film concentrates on the creation of the Festival, the resistance the creators were faced with by the townspeople, and the dedication that the protagonist Elliot Teichberg had in what he saw as putting money into his poor parents pockets and back into the town's economy.Teichberg (played with ease by stand-up comic Demetri Martin) is a successful interior designer and President of the Chamber of Commerce who spends most of his time handing his parents money so they can keep running their s**t-hole motel, in which his miser mother tries to saves money by turning the bed sheets over rather than actually washing them. His long-suffering father spends his days in a semi-daze after years of living with his Russian-born wife who accuses anyone in her path of being an anti-Semite and reminds them of her struggle escaping from the Nazi's during WWII.When Teichberg overhears that the original location to hold the Festival falls through due to opposition from the town members, he uses his permit (purchased for $1 for his usual small arts festival for the theatre troupe that lives in his barn) to lure the organisers to Woodstock and obtains permission to have free reign to use the acres of land owned by dairy-farmer Max Lasgur (the ever-brilliant Eugene Levy). He is aided by festival organiser Michael Lang (Jonathan Groff) and transvestite Vilma, who, being played by giant Liev Schreiber, looks ridiculous in a blond wig, but played to fantastic comic effect.There are both strengths and weaknesses for the film, unfortunately a lot more of the latter. The film beautifully captures the era without going overboard, and it wisely keeps the focus on the main character's plight to make the concert work rather than shifting to the concert itself. But, while the character of Teichberg is interesting himself, his relationship with his mother and father takes up most of the film's focus, and it just isn't either convincing or interesting enough. His mother is uptight and unappreciative of her son's input in the family business, spending years saving any money she can while her son goes broke and the business suffers. It's a storyline that's been covered many times before and offers nothing new, although played well by the ever-reliable Imelda Staunton. Thank God, then, for the sweet relationship that develops between father Jake (Henry Goodman) and Schreiber's character, with the former fully engaging with the swarm of hippies on their motel and finding a new dimension and meaning to his life.I must admit I was expecting more from a director of the magnitude of Ang Lee, capturing the same kind of magic found in Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous, but it's never quite funny, dramatic or engaging enough. Many scenes fall flat, such as a spectacularly unfunny scene where Teichberg's parents eat 'special' brownies given to them by Vilma and proceed to dance and laugh with their son before stumbling into their bedroom and falling asleep. And the inclusion of Emile Hirsch's character - an isolated and paranoid Vietnam veteran who is struggling to fit back into home life - is just poorly written and wholly unconvincing.Maybe I'm being a bit too harsh, or maybe I just expect more from Ang Lee. It is elevated by good performances by Martin and Schreiber. It also has a few nice moments - namely when we experience a screaming crowd turn into waves of psychedelic lights through the eyes of an acid- influenced Teichberg. An easy film to watch, but disappointingly run-of- the-mill.www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com

Given that I was supposed to be at Woodstock, this movie really brings home what it was like to the big screen. I lived in NJ at the time, and the word had filtered down to us that a big concert was going to take place in upstate NY and volunteers were needed. I was 16 years old and emancipated, and had arranged for transport to The Farm. I had worked in my father's medical office since I was about 12, and knew how to take care of injuries, including suturing and casting, if those skills were needed. (Yes, I was mature for my age.) I was literally days away from heading upstate when I was leveled by a serious case of mononucleosis and ended up in hospital. I was SOOOO po'd I can't tell you! But with an enlarged spleen and running temps over 102 degrees, there was no way I was going to Woodstock. :-( Of course, recuperating at my cottage, I watched on the TV the traffic jams and dancing, lovely people...whom I wished most devoutly to be with.This movie is just a delight about the preparations and Elliot's Woody-Allenesque family background, and Eugene Levy is perfect as Max Yasgur (whom I finally met 5 years later).If you're of a certain age (or not!), you'll love this movie. It's a little slice of the innocence prior to the end of the "Summer of Love" at Altamont and the murder of an attendee by a Hell's Angel steroidal amphetamine monster.If you were a parent during the time of Woodstock, perhaps now you will understand just how much this event defined your children's lives, even if they weren't able to attend.It was a good thing: its like will not be seen again. :-(Peace, ya'll.

more music since it's about Woodstock. But there's hardly any music and the plot was boring. The movie is about how Woodstock came to be in a small New York community, but I'm sure this is not a true story. There probably isn't any truth to it at all.Elliot is trying to help his parents whom run a small hotel in New York. They are behind in payments and have the summer to pay off the bank. Elliot gets a permit to have a festival. Woodstock was planned in another town, but it fell through, so they come to Elliot. He already has the permit and they find the farmland, so decided to have Woodstock there. A lot of the film is how he and his parents make a lot of money by renting out the hotel and other stuff.FINAL VERDICT: I don't recommend it.

vIdea: a movie about Woodstock not about the music of the Festival & but instead concentrates on one guy who held the musical festival & fair permit to allow Woodstock to happen in small town in upstate NY. In 1969 a music festival named Woodstock has its roots in the entrepreneurship of Eliot Tiber (Demetri Martin); He is a interior decorator from Greenwich Village. His parents Sonia Teichberg (Imedla Staunton) & Jake Teichberg (Henry Goodman) own a cheesy motel in the Catskills that is about to go out of business when Eliot steps in with his inspiration. He calls in the promoter of the concert Michael Lang (Jonathan Groff) & introduces him to Max Yasgur (Eugene Levy) whose large pastoral farmlands could be a perfect location for the music festival. In the meantime Eliot keeps his personal life private, but yearns to join the music festival crowd to unleash his true self. In the meantime, the festival turns into a happening when several hundred thousand budding hippies show up. There are several plots here all interesting & funny. Martin is in what should be his breakout role to fame. (He is already a good comedian.) This movie does not focus at all on any of the music or performers. In fact it is almost a comedic assault on a lot of people the local town people & the people who show up for Woodstock including freaks transsexuals cross dressers Jews performance artists & actors. It is very charming & hysterically funny! The parents are both especially funny. In 1968 being out & gay was a very big deal-that does not play like that here. Film is a sweet comedy of transformation in which the changes in Elliot mirror a cultural revolution. (Did Woodstock Change the World??) Too bad they could not have included the actual Woodstock footage. I guess copyright holders would not allow it. I have liked most of Ang Lees movies-he is a truly great film makers. (Lust & Caution was a bore to me) I like this movie a lot it is a fascinating & very funny fictional account of the behind the scenes of what became Woodstock. Ang Lee is not afraid of fresh challenges!!! This film is not as great as some of his other movies but it really is a good movie. 4 Stars!!