Midnight In Paris

Woody Allen is back and better than ever! His most recent romantic comedy Vicky Christina Barcelona was funny, but seemed to me to be much more of a chick flick than I think he was going for. Midnight in Paris however was so much more than that! It was very much in the vein of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless MInd, with a bit of time travel and lot of heart.

As with every Woody Allen movie we get a very interesting cast of characters. We start of following Gil (Owen Wilson) and Inez (Rachel McAdams) an engaged couple on a trip to Paris with her parents. We soon learn that Gil is truly in love with the city of Paris and Inez is not in the slightest, but rather is in love (like her mother) with money and expensive things.

The comedy takes a little while to get used to with the time jumps, but is much more explicit than ESotSM. The time jumps aren't the only source of humor though; enter Paul, the "pedantic pseudo-intellectual." He will get under the skin of anyone who doesn't like a know-it-all, mainly because he seemingly knows it all about everything French...Or so he thinks.

The acting, as in nearly every Woody Allen movie is outstanding! I found myself actually believing that Owen Wilson was in love with Paris, not just his character. An incredibly genuine performance deserving of his recent Golden Globe nomination and any other nominations and awards he will receive. Rachel McAdams was great at making you hate Inez and just want to slap her. She only wanted things her way, had no imagination, and was blind to the beauty of Paris through Gil's eyes.

The screenplay, written by Woody Allen of course, was great too! His awkward comedy shines with the actors in the situations he created. And the dialogue fits very well and never feels odd or out of place. In the end, this time traveling nostalgic story teaches us to appreciate the era we live in, and to not forget the past.

Great movie once you get used to Woody Allen's humor. Definitely a must see for any Allen movie fan and fans of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

8.5/10