The Night Life of Paris-Back in the 20's

Rating: 5/10 (21 April 2017)

"Gil Pinder" (Owen Wilson) is a screenwriter in Hollywood who is in the process of writing a novel but having trouble collecting his thoughts and putting them down on paper. As it so happens, while vacationing with his fiancé "Inez" (Rachel McAdams) he mentions that he would love to have lived in Paris back in the 1920's. Rather characteristically, his fiancé scoffs at his remark and dismisses it as romantic nonsense. What she doesn't realize is just how passionately Gil clings to the notion of living in another time. Be that as it may, one night while Inez is out enjoying the night life of Paris with another man, a car built sometime in the 20's pulls up and the people inside beckon for Gil to join them. He accepts their invitation and soon discovers that this mysterious car has transported him back in time to the exact same period that he has wished for so fervently. Not only that, but the people he meets happen to be famous artists and writers of that time who are able to help him with his novel. Now, rather than reveal any more I will just say that, even though it was nominated for "Best Picture" at the 84th Academy Awards, I was somewhat disappointed in this movie overall. For starters, I thought that the plot was much too pretentious and the portrayal of the characters lacked the necessary depth and subtlety required. Everything was too simple and obvious. For these reasons I have rated this film accordingly. Average.