To say Taking Woodstock was a box office bomb is an understatement, returning just under 10 mil on a 30 mil budget. "Flawed masterpiece" is a term that's tossed around now and then, it's very hard to define in words but you sure know it when you see it. In this movie lover's personal opinion, this is one such work. I'll let you read some real reviews below but my first and foremost opinion on why it was so ill received is the wide array of characters, some unnecessary especially the Emile Hersh role as a crazy Vietnam vet. But it's based on a book that I read and they're all part of the real story, I'm sure Mr Lee had his challenges bringing it all to life on the screen. I'm just guessing, but I also imagine the casting choice of Demitri Martin in lead caused some stir, but I happen to think it's awesome as well as the whole rest of the cast. Jonathon Gruff is outstanding as Michael Lang. May surprise some but I give Taking Woodstock Three & 1/2 Pinewoods....The Horror!!
Taking Woodstock Movie Review (2009) | Roger Ebert
Luckily I saw "Woodstock" again in April, so it was fresh in my mind while watching "Taking Woodstock," Ang Lee's entertaining film about the kid who made it all possible - in Woodstock, anyway. This is Elliot Teichberg, a young interior designer who leaves a New York career to return home to upstate New York and help his parents bail out their failing, shabby motel.
'Taking Woodstock,' But Not All That Seriously
Ang Lee's agreeable comedy looks at the now-legendary music festival through the eyes of the Catskills motel owners who, in the summer of 1969, found themselves at the center of a counter-culture event. Critic Scott Tobias says it's like making the gravedigger the hub of a Hamlet remake.
The great Eugene Levy as Max Yasgur.
THE HORROR!!
