What is Romantic Paris?

Rating: 7/10 (26 May 2011)

Ever wonder what "Romantic Paris" is all about? The latest Woody creation showcases this hyped notion literally through a montage of photograph-like camera shots of various streets. The blatant depiction of the romanticized Paris does not get too tacky because Woody satirizes the great romantic played by Owen Wilson and the romantic in all of us; the American who wants to live in Paris, walk in the rain and write.
Wisely making Paris as the setting is perfect for the American audience who at times regard Paris as the ultimate city of romance. Climaxing with a wonderful message to this romantic protagonist, we once again get Woody's amusing, societal effacing commentary.
This is a fantastical film where the protagonist gets transported to Paris in the 1920 after midnight. He gets to briefly meet some of the great artists and writers who get to comment on him as a writer, an artist, a man, and a lover. This did get a bit cheesy but it was also a bit of fun. It is fun to see the modern man interacting with legendary people from the past but these characters from the past were mere characterizations of the great artists. Perhaps it was the intention to make these artists of the past how we envision them, containing the proper imagined eccentricities and that was OK since the modern man goes back and fantasizes about it as how he imagines them similar to how we imagine them. The charactertures and therefore not real people plagued all the characters of this film even the ones of the present. It was also not very believable that the protagonist and the fiancée ever got to the level of being on the verge of marriage since they were at such odds with each other and had such conflicting souls.
Even though the characters weren't great this is another gem of Woody's witticisms, philosophies, and scenes of natural urban beauty. It is the perfect depiction of Romantic nostalgic Paris in the rain.