It’s the Dream, Man

“Hotshots” looks at a movie!

Taking Woodstock - Movie PosterTAKING WOODSTOCK is Ang Lee’s latest film and is based on the book, TAKING WOODSTOCK: A True Story of a Riot, a Concert, and a Life, by Elliot Tiber, who was one of the main reasons that the legendary concert happened.

In fact, the film is a comedy and is more about Elliot and his relationship with his parents than it is about the concert itself.

If you are old enough to remember when Woodstock happened or if you were one of the 400,000 who were there, the film brings back strong emotions and even tears. What is more, you cannot take it all in with just one viewing.

On the other hand, if you were born after Woodstock occurred beginning August 15, 1969, you might unreasonably and incorrectly dismiss the film as just another self-indulgence of Baby Boomers instead of the masterpiece it is about the more aptly called Woodstock generation.

Elliot has moved back home in upstate New York to live with his parents in their run-down El Monaco Motel, which is over $5,000 in arrears on their mortgage.

Fortunately, however, Elliot is president of the local Chamber of Commerce, which is in charge of granting permits for concerts, and Elliot is known for the summer “concerts” he puts on at the motel with recorded music, but he says, “This year I’m going to try to have a live quartet.”

When Elliot learns that a nearby town has canceled plans to host a music festival, he gets in touch with the promoters and offers the motel as head-quarters and his own festival permit as all the permission the promoters need.

Sure, there are problems, but Elliot and the promoters, who have already sold 100,000 tickets to the concert, manage to overcome them, and the rest, as they say, is musical, cultural, and revolutionary history.

The film uses the split-screen technique made famous in the 1970 Oscar- winning documentary WOODSTOCK, and even though this film doesn’t concentrate on the music the way the documentary does, it is still an enjoyable experience.

It is truly a creative masterpiece.

As someone said, “It’s the dream, Man. We all could use a little Woodstock in our lives now.”

TAKING WOODSTOCK brings to mind another expression in the news a lot lately:

“And the dream shall never die.”

I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”