Taking Woodstock (2009)

TAKING WOODSTOCK, Filmmaker Ang Lee’s 2009 adaptation of gay author Elliot Tiber’s 2007 memoir “Taking Woodstock: A True Story of a Riot, a Concert, and a Life.” The book discusses his participation at Stonewall in 1969, as well as his role in helping the Woodstock music festival find a home in Bethel, New York later that summer.

The film follows Elliot (Martin), a young gay Jewish interior designer, who has returned home to help his parents maintain their run-down motel and property. The motel is nearly seized by the bank, but the family is given more time to find money to pay the mortgage. 

Elliot gets a permit to hold a music festival – obtained through the small town’s chamber of commerce. When he hears of the Woodstock festival having difficulty finding a location, he calls the organizer and offers the use of his family’s land, motel, and the permit. 

Elliot’s queerness is revealed when he flirts with a burly construction worker over a Judy Garland record. It may seem cliché, but that moment, as well as their kiss on the dance floor shortly after, apparently really happened.

The film also features a transfemme character named Vilma (Schreiber). In a 2009 interview with SI Live, Schreiber stated that the original screenplay painted Vilma as a bit cartoonish. He spoke to Ang Lee about making some changes and the character then became a mix of the Vilma Tiber knew, as well as a friend of Schrieber’s mother named Silverbell he remembered from childhood. In the film, Vilma is a former Marine who lost her partner in the Korean War. As a queer elder she becomes a role model for Elliot, and helps him to feel more comfortable in his queer identity.

Despite its lack of success at the box office, TAKING WOODSTOCK is definitely worth checking out – it’s streaming on Prime (Canada), Starz (USA) - available for rent/purchase on AppleTV & YouTube – and also available on Blu-ray/DVD.

TAKING WOODSTOCK

2009. USA.

Director: Ang Lee

Screenplay: James Schamus

Based on: “Taking Woodstock” (2007) by Elliot Tiber and Tom Monte

Starring: Demetri Martin, Imelda Staunton, Henry Goodman, Liev Schreiber, Jonathan Groff, Eugene Levy, Darren Pettie, Paul Dano, Emile Hirsch and Jeffrey Dean Morgan