Midnight in Paris (2011)

Often revered as Woody Allen's most enchanting film. Well, if you count this as a departure from the polarizing, neurotic and misogynistic films that populate Allen's career, it's enchanting alright. But if you're looking for something razor sharp in wit and observance, I wouldn't call this film as sublime as a glass of Parisian wine. Wilson wanders the streets of Paris with the most consequential artistic figures of the 20th century. Hemingway, Dali, Picasso, Stein, Porter and many more spend the wee hours of the morning drinking, smoking and debating life itself like old war buddies. That in and of itself is highly amusing. Wilson stumbles into this mystical world of the past, reminiscent of a young Jimmy Stewart, confused but in constant awe of everything that's happening to him. The existential question that Midnight in Paris raises is unfortunately not as interesting. How nostalgia plays a part in finding love and inspiration. Plus, I was hoping Allen's dry sense of humor would explore the particular flaws of the artists that Wilson speaks to, but it never really comes close to hitting the mark, save for a moment with Dali and his surrealist friends which made me crack a big smile.