Tripping on Taking Woodstock at Cannes  Ang Lee’s Taking
Woodstock, about the small town that played host to the historic
festival in 1969, has gotten a somewhat bad rap since its Cannes
screening on Saturday. That’s too bad. It’s lighthearted, smart,
and inoffensive, much like the twee stand-up routine of its
lead, comedian Demetri Martin. But Lee’s film suffers by
comparison to the aura of Woodstock itself. By showing millions
flocking to the concert but remaining in its sidelines, Taking
Woodstock feels like a tease. As a result, we feel there’s
somewhere else we’d rather be.  Nevertheless, the movie has
several things going for it, including a beefy Liev Schreiber
squeezed into a summer dress, Imelda Staunton’s Oscar-worthy
performance as a feisty Jewish mother, and the best
visualization I’ve ever seen of an acid trip. Lee hints at sex,
drugs, and rock and roll, but cuts away before the characters
can enjoy any of them, except for one entrancing scene in which
Martin shares a stamp with Paul Dano and Kel