Midnight in Paris - Film Review

Woody’s Back!!!!

For the last two decades, Woody Allen has been fighting a losing battle. Having set the comedic bar so high with films like “Annie Hall,” “Hannah and Her Sisters,” and “Manhattan,” he’d made himself something of a tough act to follow both from behind the camera and in front of it. The latter becoming a more and more difficult task as Woody behind the camera grew with age, and Woody in front of the camera just… aged. Suddenly, the nebbish scoundrel was no longer hilariously charming. As Woody grew older, the same character that at one time seemed charming was now, just sort of off-putting. Compound this with the uncomfortable nature of certain aspects of Woody’s real-life romantic affairs and it all combined to make the prospect of a Woody Allen romantic comedy suddenly far fetched. In recent years, he sought to address this problem by having different actors play their versions of Woody Allen. Larry David had a shot in “Whatever Works.” Anthony Hopkins and Josh Brolin both had their go in “You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger.” But while all of these actors have their talents, they are quite simply not Woody Allen.

Then comes Owen Wilson. One of the most talented comedy players in the last decade. His pugilist nose and wry smile seeming to belie a hilarious secret that only he knows. Graduated from broad comedies like “Wedding Crashers” and “Hall Pass,” he’s not the obvious choice for the Woody Allen surrogate. But, my oh my, was he the right one.

Watching “Midnight in Paris” brought back the joy of watching a Woody Allen movie that I hadn’t felt since “Deconstructing Harry.” The romance was back. The sharp dialogue and supporting characters were suddenly more alive. And the outlandish concept, a favorite of Woody Allen from films like “Sleeper” to “Zelig,” suddenly seemed less a stunt and more a perfectly sensible plot. And it was all tied together by a central performance by Owen Wilson.

How did he do this? How did the latest Woody Allen stand-in succeed where so many other talented actors had failed? Simple. He didn’t play Woody Allen. He played himself. Wilson’s character Gil may be spitting out Woodyisms left and right, but the being he inhabits is completely his own. Gil onscreen has far more in common with his lovable Roy O’Bannon character in “Shanghai Noon” than the fabled Alvy Singer of “Annie Hall.”

The distractions that accompany Woody Allen, both the real and fictional, melt away and are replaced by a protagonist we root for from reel one. We know that Inez, even if played by Rachel McAdams, is not the right woman for Gil. We can all relate to Gil’s wonderings of what his life would’ve been like if we were to have been born in a different era. We can all relate to Gil’s desire to follow his own dream, however impractical, despite pressures to take a more conventional course. And because of the delightful of Owen Wilson, we care about the outcome every step of the way.

I have no idea of knowing whether or not Woody Allen enjoyed working with Wilson as much as I enjoyed watching the results of their collaboration. But there’s a large part of me hoping that he too saw the possibilities. Just as Martin Scorsese seems to have been reinvigorated by what at first seemed an unlikely pairing with Leonardo DiCaprio, I can see a new string of work from Woody Allen with Mr. Wilson at the center. Not only can I see it, I’m hoping for it. After 43 years behind the camera, this film proves that Woody Allen has plenty to offer us yet. I can’t wait to see what’s next.