Woody Allen turns his fantasy towards Paris.

Rating: Null/10 (21 January 2012)

I almost always see what is on DVD 'extras' after I see a movie, and in a departure from most Allen films this one has an interesting and useful session with Allen, Wilson, and McAdams before a foreign audience. Allen explains that he wanted to do a Paris movie, and he first settled in on the title "Midnight in Paris" without having any idea what the story would be. Eventually of course "midnight" became a key exposition element of his story. One of my favorite Allen movies is fantasy "The Purple Rose of Cairo" and here he brings another novel, interesting fantasy to tell a very good story about life.
The key character is Owen Wilson as Gil. He is a Hollywood hack, a screen writer, but wants to do more with his talent. He is working on his first novel and finds himself visiting Paris with his fiancée (McAdams) and her parents. He is enchanted with the idea of Paris, and also dreams about living in 1920s Paris, in the rain, which he believes would be the nirvana of his existence.
If you don't already know this story involves 'time-travel' then I won't say anything else until after the 'spoilers' warning below. I don't usually like Owen Wilson, but in truth he is a very good actor and I believe this is my favorite role of his. And the story has a good moral about accepting the present rather than living your life wishing it were in a different, "more romantic" era.
SPOILERS: One evening while walking back to his Paris hotel Gil gets a bit lost and finds himself alone on some steps as the clocks sound midnight. Just then a 1920s-era taxi pulls up and summons him. He goes with them and soon figures out he really had been transported to 1920s Paris. He meets a number of historical figures, like Cole Porter, Ernest Hemmingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and others. He makes this 'trip' several times, always triggered by midnight at the same location. While in the 1920s he meets a girl who longs for the 1890s Paris, a period she thinks would be better. Soon the two of them are summoned by a horse-n-buggy cab and find themselves in 1890s Paris. Was this all a dream? No, back in 2010 Gil buys an old book, written by the girl he met, and in it she recounts their meeting, even with his exact name. Eventually he learns the lesson, to appreciate the time you are in and strive for fulfillment there.