BY MIKEY MIGO
Being a music lover, Woodstock has always been a event in time that I've always had interest in. I've watched tons of documentary footage and of course the performance film of it more times that I can honestly recall. It was an era of music that most wish they could have been a part of and those who were wish they could remember and relive. In this movie, Demetri Martin(yes the straight faced comedian guy) plays Elliot Tiber, a guy whose family owns a local motel that's on the verge of going out of business. He helps the visionary behind it all, Michael Lang, get connected with farmer and land owner Max Yasgur and the rest is history. But that's not what this movie is about. The movie doesn't cover the actual event, but rather the town the event took place in. In the midst of the madness going on around him, Elliot finds himself. He jumps into a world that he seemingly was interesting in already and lands firmly on his feet. This gives him the dilemma of staying with his parents and helping with the motel or exploring his own journey. There's plenty going on here. You have Liev Schreiber as a veteran transvestite doing security, Eugene Levy as farmer Max, Emile Hirsch in my favorite performance of his as a recently returned Vietnam vet, and many other familiar faces. I really enjoyed this movie. Demetri Martin surprised me. It's not like an Oscar performance, but he carried this movie very nicely and earned a bit of respect from someone who doesn't really dig his comedy all that much. I knew going into it that there was virtually NO WOODSTOCK MUSIC in this movie so I was weary. It ended up being a great experience nonetheless. I've not put any thought into a Top 10 for the year, but I'll seriously have to consider this one. If you're looking for the music side of Woodstock to be represented then you can skip this movie all together. If you're looking for a coming of age story with the story behind and spirit of Woodstock then this is something you want to see. If that description suites you, then you'll agree with me when I give this film an A.
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