Taking Woodstock

Man was I excited about this film for the longest time. And it took me forever to finally watch it because it was like the week before your vacation. You were so excited to go that that time was almost more fulfilling than the vacation itself; the old thought that the journey is better than the end destination. I was, however, disappointed. The film follows the small town and mom and pap ran motel that helps the big shot producers find the spot for Woodstock and get everything organized.

Taking Woodstock Trailer

So I DO like that they focused entirely on the work that went into the background behind the scenes setting up Woodstock. They didn’t show any performers or vintage footage of the crowd or stages. It was completely recreated for this picture, and I applaud that. However, I wanted a lot more than what they gave to me in this film. They focused on some really useless subplots. Why do we care about the mother’s money obsession or the group of nude stage performers? Those were wasted screen minutes on this 2hour plus film. I know I sound like someone who I’m battling with regarding the Alien vs. Predator films but – this film could have been accomplished in 90 minutes.

The musical score was of course 60s rock, which is excellent. There is an acid trip scene in a hippy van that I appreciated a great deal, other than that, I was let down. I knew of some of the facts surrounding the development of Woodstock before I went into this film, so it was nice to see how they recreated the main director of the event, the small town motel family, and the actual location.

Rating: 4/10
RT: 48%