
I didn’t love it.
I wanted to, because the reviews have been good and a few of my friends gave it raves. I thought it was a moderately enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours on a Sunday afternoon, but I wasn’t nearly as enthralled as I’d hoped.
Yes, the setting is lovely. What’s not to like about shot after shot of Paris? That said, I thought Nancy Myers’ cinematographer did a better job in “Something’s Gotta Give” in the scenes where Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson find their way to the city in the movie’s third act. Now those were magical. Woody’s could have been shot with a cell phone.
I get a kick out of Owen Wilson when he’s in a buddy flick with Vince Vaughn (as in “Wedding Crashers”), but not when he has to carry a movie and appears in virtually every scene. A little of him goes a long way with me. He’s just not an appealing leading man IMHO.
The plot gimmick of the time travel (spoiler alert) wears thin after the third or fourth time Owen is whisked away after midnight. I knew from the second he met the girl selling the Cole Porter record that he’d end up with her in the end.
The good news was that Marion Cotillard was in the movie. I could watch her read a grocery list. She elevates every part she plays (mostly what she does here is look alluring and smoke cigarettes). Rachel McAdams was a hoot as the acquisitive fiancee – much more fun than when she plays saccharine.
For anyone who hasn’t seen “Midnight in Paris,” here’s the trailer.