Tries really hard to feel charming but doesn't come close to European cinematography

Rating: 7/10 (2 July 2017)

It's unfortunate that I saw this movie after I had seen Camille Claudel (1998). As good as Americans are when it comes to special effects so are they incapable of inspiring us with European spirit. Midnight in Paris tries really hard to feel and sound charming but does so only with superficial humor. Beauty of French language doesn't stand out as it's supposed to. Characters lack depth and spirit. Relationship between Gil and Inez is so superficial that I find it hard to believe that they are engaged.
What bothered me the most is the feeling that this movie trivialized the beauty of relationship instead of reinforcing it with romance which appears out of every corner of Paris. Can someone in such a bad relationship as Gil is in be as normal as he appears? In know this is just a comedy movie, but c'mon Woody - how do you expect us to take anything seriously from a couple in which partners cheat on each other with such easiness? It's as if this movie came from someone who's never been in a relationship or never thought about those matters in depth.
Aside from superficiality, kudos to Owen. He's the writer who takes life as delectable and he's the reason for which this movie was amusing to me. I'm not very familiar with historical figures he hangs out with but the way they are portrayed is very pertinent to the movie: all of them are not immersed in some kind of theory but in ordinary life and are able to drink the entire cup life offers. They are not lonely geniuses nor do they come from high-class. They are as normal as most of us are. Inez is the one who comes from high-class family! She's one of those people that will eventually die without ever having lived.
Midnight in Paris can make you giggle but more importantly make you think about living life with more candor.
And here's what I recommend: first see this movie and then French and European classics. Midnight in Paris just can't compete with those.