Always Woodstock
By S. Jhoanna Robledo,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Listless romcom has flat characters, drinking.
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Always Woodstock
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What's the Story?
On the same day, Catherine (Allison Miller) gets fired from her job at a New York record label and finds out that her fiance is cheating on her. All she can think to do is retreat from the city and from her life, so she returns to her childhood home in Woodstock, where her dream of becoming a singer and songwriter is re-ignited. Along the way, she manages to enlist a reclusive musician (Katey Sagal) to help her hone her craft. She also finds herself falling for a local doctor (James Wolk). But the city calls just hours away, with a recording contract possibly within reach, and her chastened fiance again available. What to do?
Is It Any Good?
This movie isn't all that entertaining, despite the plot's potential and the work of the great Katey Sagal. ALWAYS WOODSTOCK is about making choices, and even though Catherine seems to make a lot of iffy ones, everything keeps getting better and better for her. Get plastered? Not to worry: A gorgeous and kind doctor will end up being the one tending to you. No job when you move back into your hometown? All the right connections are apparently just waiting to enfold you into their embrace.
Don't even try to figure out how Catherine convinces herself that her new boyfriend is cheating or why she decides to dump him without asking about it. Or why the good doctor and she are even attracted to each other, given their tepid chemistry and thin storyline. In short, Always Woodstock isn't very believable.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how Always Woodstock depicts drinking. Are there realistic consequences? Why does Catherine drink?
Why do Catherine and Noah fall for each other? What kind of impression does she make at first?
How does getting fired turn out to be a blessing in disguise for Catherine? Why is she tempted to go back to the same company that fired her? Would that be a good decision?
Movie Details
- In theaters: November 14, 2014
- On DVD or streaming: April 28, 2015
- Cast: Allison Miller, Katey Sagal, Rumer Willis, James Wolk
- Director: Rita Merson
- Studio: Sunrise Entertainment
- Genre: Romance
- Topics: Music and Sing-Along
- Run time: 90 minutes
- MPAA rating: NR
- Last updated: November 18, 2022
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