Midnight in Paris is an inventive story mixing longing for the “good ol’ days” with a writer’s drive to create and the allure and magic of the streets of Paris.

-- Local show times, theaters, trailer.

Much of the fun of any Woody Allen movie is deciding which character is Woody. Sometimes it’s one, other times it’s all of them. In this case it is Owen Wilson who whines out Allenesque lines as an about-to-be-married and unhappy B-movie script writer. He thinks he has more in him than that and wants to stay in Paris and explore possibilities.

His bride-to-be does not.

His dream leads to late-night encounters with real people of an era he considers to be the most creative in history. To give any more than that would spoil the fun for you the viewer.

Wilson teams with Rachel McAdams and Marion Cotillard. Cameos and secondary characters are done by Kathy Bates, Adrien Brody and some excellent unknowns.

After a decade of critical and commercial flops, "The Woodman" has gone back to his roots. Allen’s unhurried tribute to the art, passion and power of the written word and to Paris is fabulous. His film lives in the past and loves that magic and nostalgia while cleverly connecting it to the present.

Mr. Movie rating: 5 stars

Rated PG-13 for mature themes. It opens Friday, June 10 at Regal’s Columbia Center 8.

5 stars to 4 1/2 stars: Must see on the big screen
4 stars to 3 1/2 stars: Good film, see it if it's your type of movie.
3 stars to 2 1/2 stars: Wait until it comes out on video.
2 stars to 1 star: Don't bother.
0 stars: Speaks for itself.