My take on Taking Woodstock

[lifesbeautifulmagic]

Saw it yesterday and thought it was a very good recreation of a particular moment in our history. Parts of the film were very funny, and the actor that played the mother was outstanding, hope she gets some award nods.

Some of the stuff I didn't know, such as although half a million showed up, the state of NY closed the highway to Woodstock because no one was getting anywhere, and over a million didn't make it.

What disappointed me greatly was the (lack of of a) soundtrack. While I understand that this was not a documentary about woodstock, butt a story about a person involved in woodstock, I kept hoping that this would be the scene were they would rip into a Janice, or a Jimi or a Who song. Usually movies use boomer songs to evoke certain emotions, and it seems forced to me alot of the times (Smile here! Cry here!), but this movie screamed out for some of the sounds of that time in music history, and it would have been natural and organic, imho.

I give the movie a C+ maybe a B, but it really would have been over the top if it had a soundtrack to match the action on screen. I do recommend it. :)

[livetohike]

1. The soundtrack is in our head

:-). We will make our own music. Thanks for the synopsis. I thought the trailer was funny.

[lifesbeautifulmagic]

2. yes! when i realized about a half hour into the movie

there would be no classic rock soundtrack, I started humming purple haze to myself. :)

[livetohike]

3. Well, that would be my first choice

:hi:.

[Orrex]

4. Bob Mondello on NPR's "Fresh Air" sort of ripped it apart yesterday

He seemed very disappointed, as though he really wanted it to be better than it turned out to be.

[lifesbeautifulmagic]

5. yea, i can totally see that he would

it was a celebration of the time, but not of the music, which didn't at all make sense to me.

[lifesbeautifulmagic]

6. you bring up a good point, I think I liked it because, having grown up

in the 70"s, I am fascinated with that era right behind me, and I really really wanted the movie to be good, and well received.

[Sugarcoated]

7. I saw it tonight

and agree with a reviewer at Rotten Tomatoes. "Lee and Schamus had no idea what it was they wanted to say here. Did Woodstock matter? Does anyone care?" It had some good moments, but a lot of it felt flat to me. Lee, I think, intentionally left out the music, to be different probably, and it didn't work without it. Just a C grade from me, but I did love Eugene Levy's part as Max Yazgur.