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Home , Demetri Martin, Elliot Tiber, Taking Woodstock, Woodstock

From: Reviews and Criticism of Theatrical and Dramas (http://www.lasalle.edu/library/vietnam/FilmIndex/home.htm) compiled by John K. McAskill, La Salle University ([email protected])

T2420 TAKING (USA, 2009)

Credits: director, ; writer, ; book, , Tom Monte. Cast: , Dan Fogler, Henry Goodman, , Eugene Levy, . Summary: Comedy/melodrama set in and around Bethel, N.Y. in 1969. Based on the real-life Elliot Tiber, the character of Elliott Teichberg (Martin) has returned to the Catskills from his career as a painter/designer in City to help his immigrant parents with their failing El Monaco motel. He has no idea what he is doing when he uses his influence to win approval for a local music and arts festival. The film attempts to provide a kaleidoscopic portrait of the generational movement on display at Woodstock while following Elliot’s personal issues (general uptightness, closeted homosexuality, and a feeling of responsibility for his parents). The parade of history (Moon landing, Vietnam and Middle East tensions) is glimpsed only in the background on television, but there is an embittered Vietnam veteran character named Billy (Hirsch) who is trying to figure out how to reconcile with all this peace and love stuff.

Abramowitz, Rachel. “Ang Lee feelin’ groovy; The director is in tune with the lead character in ‘’” Chicago tribune (Aug 31, 2009), p. 1. Anderson, John. “Making ‘Woodstock’ Ang Lee gets back to the garden to recapture the optimism of the famed rock fest” Newsday [Long Island, NY] (Aug 23, 2009), p. C10. Anderson, Melissa. “Taking Woodstock recycles 60’s tropes. Who knew three days of peace & music would oppress us for 40 years? (Plus this movie)” Village voice (Aug. 25, 2009), p. ? ______. “Taking – and ruining – Woodstock; Ang Lee’s latest cranks up the amp on faux ‘60s nostalgia” LA weekly [CA] (Aug 27, 2009), p. ? Bentley, Rick. “‘Taking Woodstock’ explores the long, strange road to Max’s farm” Fresno bee [CA] (Aug 28, 2009), p. 5. Bunbury, Stephanie. “Back to the garden” The age [Melbourne, Australia] (Aug 28, 2009), Entertainment guide, p. 6. Chordas, Nick. “Movie review; Taking Woodstock; Tripping back to ’69; Nostalgic comedy-drama takes gentle look at ” Columbus dispatch [OH] (Aug 28, 2009), Life & arts, p. 1D. Cling, Carol. “Turn on, tune in” Las Vegas review-journal [NV] (Aug 28, 2009), p. 31J. Covert, Colin. “Out of stock; Ang Lee’s gentle tale just skims the surface of the ” Star tribune [Minneapolis, MN] (Aug 27, 2009), Vita MN, p. 24. Crawford, Julie. “Lee’s loosey-goosey Woodstock trip a little too carefree; Three days of peace and music fail to pack emotional punch … man” Vancouver courier [BC] (Sep 2, 2009), p. 29. ______. “Lee’s Woodstock misses the mark” North Shore news [North Vancouver, BC] (Aug 28, 2009), p. 28. Dahl, Steve. “Remembering Woodstock; The film and the women” Chicago tribune (Sep 2, 2009), sec. 3, p. 1. Dunkle, David. “Woodstock party” Patriot-news [Harrisburg, PA] (Aug 27, 2009), p. G14. Ealy, Charles. “Ang Lee goes far out with historical comedy” Austin American- statesman [TX] (Aug 28, 2009), Lifestyle, p. D1. Ebert, Roger. “Everywhere a song and celebration” The spectator [Hamilton, Ont.] (Aug 28, 2009), p. G14. Fischbach, Bob. “Film review; Lee’s ‘Woodstock’ a trip worth taking” Omaha world- herald [NB] (Aug 28, 2009), p. E3. “Focus’ far-out –plan” Variety 415/12 (Aug 10, 2009), p. 4, 9. Garcia, Chris. “Faking Woodstock” Austin American-statesman [TX] (Aug 28, 2009), Lifestyle, p. D1. Gates, Charlie. “ culture shock” The press [Christchurch, NZ] (Aug 29, 2009), 48 hours, p. 4. Gladden, Chris. “‘Woodstock’ modestly enjoyable” Roanoke times [VA] (Aug 29, 2009), Extra, p. 1. Gleiberman, Owen. “Taking Woodstock” Entertainment weekly no. 1063 (Sep 4, 2009), p. 40. Goodykoontz, Bill. “Ang Lee tunes in, turns on to ‘Woodstock’” Gannett News Service (Aug 25, 2009) Griffin, John. “Groovy postcard from 1969” The gazette [Montreal] (Aug 28, 2009), Arts & life: movies, p. D5. Groen, Rick. “Amid the sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll, one guy’s tepid tale” Globe and mail [Canada] (Aug 28, 2009), Review, p. R6. Guzman, Rafer. “‘Taking Woodstock’; Ang Lee’s re-creation of the isn’t exactly Yasgur’s farm fresh” Newsday [Long Island, NY] (Aug 26, 2009), p. B7. Hartlaub, Peter. “Lee feels the love with Woodstock; Life-affirming comedy is a change of pace for Lee; Martin says film made him better actor” Houston chronicle (Aug 28, 2009), p. E1. Haskins, Mark. “Lee film takes different look at Woodstock phenomenon” St. Lawrence EMC [St. Lawrence, Ont.] (Sep 3, 2009), p. 22. Hewitt, Chris. “Don’t go to ‘Woodstock’ and expect to hear Hendrix … or Joplin .. or anybody” St. Paul pioneer press (Aug 27, 2009), p. ? Hill, Todd. “Taking Woodstock” State Island advance [NY] (Aug 27, 2009), Awe, p. W08. Holden, Stephen. “Part of a ‘60s , even if from the sidelines; Review” International herald tribune (Aug 28, 2009), p. 10. ______. “What I saw at the countercultural revolution” New York times (Aug 26, 2009), Sec. C, p. 1. Horiuchi, Vince. “Review: ‘Woodstock’ journeys back through music history” Salt Lake tribune [UT] (Aug 27, 2009), p. ? Hornaday, Ann. “Embodying ’69 in the hair and now” Washington post (Aug 28, 2009), Style, p. C1. ______. “The garden’s side gate; Tuned to identity issues, Ang Lee plays ‘Woodstock’ for off-center warmth” Washington post (Aug 28, 2009), Style, p. C1. Horton, Robert. “‘Taking Woodstock’ well worth the trip” The herald [Everett, WA] (Aug 28, 2009), p. ? Howell, Peter. “Woodstock’s kindling” Toronto star (Aug 28, 2009), p. E4. Janusonis, Michael. “Peace, music and big money” Providence journal [RI] (Aug 28, 2009), Lifebeat, p. 1. Kaltenbach, Chris. “Capturing what festival meant to a generation; ‘Taking Woodstock’” Baltimore sun [MD] (Aug 28, 2009), p. 2C. Kamalzadeh, Dominik. “Taking Woodstock” Tageszeitung [Berlin, Germany] (Sep 3, 2009), p. 15. Kennedy, Lisa. “Checking into ‘Woodstock’; How a motel and music festival changed a young man’s life” Denver post (Aug 28, 2009), p. D1. Keyser, Tom. “What Woodstock meant to them; Tiber, lee recall freedom and happiness in 1969” South Florida sun-sentinel [Fort Lauderdale, FL] (Aug 28, 2009), p. 9. Kline, Sally. “‘Woodstock’ never really takes flight” The examiner [Washington, DC] (Aug 28, 2009), p. 34. Lane, Anthony. “Dropping out: ‘Taking Woodstock’ and “The Baader Meinhof complex’” New Yorker 86/26 (Aug 31, 2009), p. 82. LaSalle, Mick. “‘Taking’ gets it; Review; Ang lee film celebrates the memory, not the reality, of Woodstock” San Francisco chronicle (Aug 28, 2009), p. E1. Leber, Holly and Phillips, Casey. “‘Taking Woodstock’; Two enjoyable hours of peace and music” Chattanooga times free press [TN] (Sep 2, 2009), p. E4. Lemire, Christy. “Peace, love, not much else in ‘Taking Woodstock’” entertainment news (Aug 24, 2009) Leskosky, Richard J. “‘Taking Woodstock’ offers distant view of fabled fest” news gazette [Champaign, Ill.] (Sep 3, 2009), p. 10. Levy, Shawn. “Ang Lee’s jam-packed Woodstock opus fills the Catskills” Oregonian [Portland, OR] (Aug 28, 2009), Arts & entertainment, p. ? Lumenick, Lou. “Dump this ‘Stock’! Ang Lee’s music fest is long slog in mud” New York post (Aug 26, 2009), p. 39. Lytal, Cristy. “Working Hollywood. Riding herd on hippie hygiene; Extras casting was extra taxing in the film ‘Taking Woodstock’” (Sep 6, 2009), p. D6. Martin, Philip. “Re-taking Woodstock; Groovy characters rescue Ang Lee production from being a bad trip” Arkansas democrat-gazette [Little Rock, AR] (Aug 28, 2009), Moviestyle, p. ? McCarthy, Todd. “Taking Woodstock” Variety 415/2 (May 25-31, 2009), p. 18. McCollum, Charlie. “Review; ‘Taking Woodstock’ suffers from lack of focus” San Jose mercury news [CA] (Aug 28, 2009), Entertainment, p. ? McEachen, Ben. “Woodstock denuded” Sunday herald sun [Australia] (Aug 30, 2009), Play, p. 6. Menconi, David. “ ‘Woodstock’ offers the story ” News & observer [Raleigh, NC] (Aug 28, 2009), p. D1. Montepagani, Julia. “Becoming a 1969 hippie in 2009” Times-union [Albany, NY] (Aug 30, 2009), Unwind, p. UW5. Moore, Roger. “The Woodstock of his mind” Orlando sentinel [FL] (Aug 23, 2009), p. F7. Morfoot, Addie. “N.Y. hipster reign” Variety 415/11 (Aug 3, 2009), p. 31. Morris, Wesley. “Feelin’ groovy; ‘Taking Woodstock’ is a safe trip back to the garden” Boston globe (Aug 28, 2009), Living arts, p. 6. Neumaier, Joe. “Lee makes peace with Woodstock” Daily news [New York] (Aug 28, 2009), Now, p. 43. Paatsch, Leigh. “Taking Woodstock” Herald sun [Australia] (Aug 27, 2009), Extrahit, p. 41. Parker, Phil. “‘Taking Woodstock’ should be put back on the shelf; Ang lee film unfunny and awkward; Even the music disappoints” Albuquerque journal [NM] (Aug 28, 2009), Venue, p. S1. Partridge, Des. “Peace and harmony but no fireworks” Courier mail [Australia] (Aug 27, 2009), CM2, p. 40. Phillips, Casey (see under Leber, Holly) Phillips, Michael. “A footnote in the spotlight; Ang Lee recalls the fest through a minor player’s eyes” Chicago tribune (Aug 28, 2009), sec. 3, p. 1. Portman, Jamie. “Lee shakes the blues; After making a series of sad and intense films, Ang Lee says he was looking for a lighter subject. He found it in Woodstock” The gazette [Montreal] (Aug 26, 2009), Arts & life, p. D5. Puig, Claudia. “Taking meaning out of Woodstock; Lee sets iconic fest against a dull story” USA today (Aug 26, 2009), Life, p. 7B. Rainer, Peter. “Review: ‘Taking Woodstock’” Christian Science monitor (Aug 28, 2009), p. 17. Rickey, Carrie. “Ang Lee’s wry take on Woodstock” Philadelphia inquirer (Aug 28, 2009), Weekend, p. W4. Rodriguez, Rene. “Taking Woodstock” Miami herald (Aug 28, 2009), p. ? Ryan, Tom. “Taking Woodstock” Sunday herald sun [Australia] (Aug 30, 2009), S, p. 13. Schaefer, Stephen. “Movie review; ‘Woodstock’ is a trip worth taking” Boston herald (Aug 28, 2009), The edge, p. E11. ______. “Movies; ‘Taking’ off” Boston herald (Aug 25, 2009), p. 29. Scott, Mike. “One groovy trip; Lee’s ‘Woodstock’ not all about music, but it’s still a nostalgic trip” Times-picayune [New Orleans, LA] (Aug 28, 2009), Lagniappe, p. 3. Sharkey, Betsy. “Movie review; ‘Woodstock,’ take it and leave it; The ’69 rock fest so fascinates Ang Lee that he sometimes loses his way among the details” Los Angeles times (Aug 26, 2009), p. D1. Smith, Michael. “Raking Woodstock” Tulsa world [OK] (Aug 28, 2009), p. D1. Stone, Jay. “Lease and love” National post [Canada] (Aug 28, 2009), Post movies, p. PM5. Stratton, David. “Woodstock stripped bare” Weekend Australian (Aug 29, 2009), Review, p. 21. Symkus, Ed. “Peace is the word; In ‘Taking Woodstock,’ director Ang Lee takes a look behind the scenes” Patriot ledger [Quincy, MA] (Aug 22, 2009), p. 43. “There’s plenty to like, but the music is missed” Canberra times [Australia] (Aug 29, 2009), p. A26. Torrance, Kelly Jane. “Ang Lee drops a bomb; His wooden ‘Woodstock’ may be year’s biggest letdown” Washington times (Aug 28, 2009), Show, p. 10. Tsai, Martin. “Ang Lee goes to Woodstock; The filmmaker was a teen in Taiwan when descended on Yasgur’s farm, but the images that flickered on his black and white television stayed with him. Forty years later, he’s made his way back” Globe and mail [Canada] (Aug 22, 2009), Weekend review, p. R3. Tucker, Reed. “Bad hair days – ‘Taking Woodstock’ offers an untidy, alternative view of peace, love and music” New York post (Aug 23, 2009), p. 50. Vancheri, Barbara. “A so-so trip; Moviegoers can take or leave ‘Taking Woodstock’” Pittsburgh post-gazette (Aug 28, 2009), Arts & entertainment, p. E1. Varga, George. “Tuned out; ‘Taking Woodstock’ masters the mud and the mirth but misses the music” San Diego union-tribune [CA] (Aug 28, 2009), Lifestyle, p. D1. Vice, Jeff. “‘Woodstock’ recreates legendary festival” Deseret morning news [Salt Lake City, UT] (Aug 28, 2009), p. ? Vincent, Mal. “Ang Lee looks to capture music history with ‘Taking Woodstock’” Virginian pilot [Norfolk, VA] (Aug 28, 2009), p. ? Wheeler, Brad. “Weekend review; Woodstock remembered; Festival made music history – and one man’s dreams came true” Globe and mail [Canada] (Aug 29, 2009), p. R8. Whitty, Stephen. “High drama ‘Taking Woodstock’ skips the songs, finds the people” Star-ledger [Newark, NJ] (Aug 28, 2009), Ticket, p. 13.

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