I'm having trouble starting this review. Maybe I need a muse. Something like Paris. Yeah, Paris as a motivator for your art. No one has ever thought of that, right? While it is a well-worn premise, Woody Allen's take on it is totally unique in MIDNIGHT IN PARIS. Owen Wilson's tortured Gil wants to be a serious writer, but is trapped in Hollywood as a hack screenwriter (stop me if you've seen this from Woody before) and with a fiancé who doesn't get him(ok seriously, stop me if this is all familiar “Woody”). But these shop worn themes are given a fresh spin as Wilson is nightly transported back to his “golden age”.. Paris of the 1920's. We meet the Fitzgeralds, Hemmingway, Stein, Picasso, Elliot, Dali and more. It is a nightly escape for Wilson, who feels much more at ease in the past. What keeps the audience from rolling it's collective eyes is a fantastic script by Allen and a great job by Wilson. He sets aside his slacker/surfer goofiness that has become tired and owns the role of the out of place Gil. Fine performances by Rachel McAdams, and everyone who plays a character from the past add to the joy. And does anyone romanticize a city better than Allen(not that Paris needs any help)? This is one of Woody's finest movies in years (excepting Vicky Cristina Barcelona, which is one of his best ever). This 90 minutes in Paris is well worth the trip. — Alan Yudman

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