Woodstock State of Mind
August 31, 2009 at 3:30 am, by Julie Bain
I went to see Taking Woodstock this weekend, and I have a “back in time” crush. Not on Elliot, the kid (played by Demetri Martin) whose true story inspired the Ang Lee film—although he’s pretty cute. No, my crush is on Michael Lang, the curly-haired Zen hero in a leather vest who really made those three muddy-but-peaceful days of sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll come together. And he troubleshoots throughout—come what may—with that same calm, sexy grin. Sigh. As I flash back to my smart, geeky bookworm, Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In-watching kid self of 1969, I know I would have been totally, totally, oh-my-god so in love with Michael Lang.
I’ve been in a fervor of nostalgia for the summer of ’69 since I read Lang’s fascinating behind-the-scenes book The Road to Woodstock (I recommended it in the August LHJ). He really did wear that vest throughout. He really did ride a horse through the mud like a white knight. And the young actor who plays him in Taking Woodstock (Jonathan Groff) looks exactly like him, according to the pictures in the book. In fact, Lang still looks pretty good today (that’s him, at left). Read more
Categories: Entertainment | Tags: Ang Lee, Michael Lang, Taking Woodstock, The Road to Woodstock, Woodstock | 5 Comments
