Cannes 2009: "Taking Woodstock."
Some many questions for such a straightforward comedy! Why would the apparently grown-up Elliot spend himself broke supporting his parents' run-down Catskills resort in the first place? Why is his mother so crazy? What's up with the money hoarding? Where did the mafia end up? Did the town actually manage to do anything to fight the concert's arrival? "Taking Woodstock," which was directed by Ang Lee from a screenplay written by James Schamus, is based on the autobiography of Elliot Tiber, which explains some of this messiness -- real life rarely includes conveniently tied-up narrative ends. But when part of such a middling, conventional overall package, those hanging plot threads just look more like mistakes. Elliot, played ably but unexceptionally in the film by comedian Demetri Martin, was instrumental in bringing Woodstock to the town of Bethel, NY when it was kicked out of Wallkill. He happened to hold a...
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