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shanster [ 5.5 ]
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Not something I want to see again. It was just plain boring. On the positive side, it's not just a simple romantic comedy and tries to go in different directions than usual. I felt like there were too many directions, so it worked more like a rambling storyteller who gets sidetracked every time someone coughs or sneezes.
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Dancing_P [ 5.5 ]
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Cameron Crowe can do no wrong. I believed in this wholeheartedly, even when my faith was shaken by Vanilla Sky. I believed in it even when Elizabethtown bounced its lead between Ashton Kutcher and Orlando Bloom. I believed it when the press from the Toronto film festival was so thunderously bad and I believed it every second until I started watching Elizabethtown. That's when I began to doubt. I writhed and doubted for almost the entire duration of the film, one that for all intents and purposes looks and sounds like a Cameron Crowe movie but feels nowhere near. All the elements are there but there's a plasticity to the proceedings that makes it look like someone trying to do Cameron Crowe... or worse, Cameron Crowe doing Zach Braff.
Drew Baylor (Orlando Bloom) is a shoe deisgner coming off an unexplained fiasco; he's lost his company close to a billion dollars and can't wait to get home so he can kill himself. As he's about to bike-stab his way out, he gets a call from his sister (Judy Greer) telling him his dad has died while visiting his brother in Kentucky. For some reason, his mom (Susan Sarandon) and sister aren't going to Kentucky, so Drew puts off his own death to take care of the funeral arrangements. On the way he meets a kooky flight attendant (Kirsten Dunst) with whom, of course, he'll have the world's longest phone conversation.
Weaving both of the angles together proves fairly complicated; even by the halfway point, there's very little that's been convincingly laid out. The characters aren't fleshed out enough to make us care, the whole funeral angle isn't particularly well-explained and the entire film seems in search of something it's not finding. Its cutesy-hipster approach is hokey, especially considering Dunst's character who for all intents and purposes represents Cameron Crowe's perfect girl. That's fine, I suppose, except she rings patently false, a sum of parts that adds up to a mostly unconvincing whole spouting contrived lines like ''I'm impossible to forget, but hard to remember''. It's not that the movie doesn't try; there's a smattering of genuine Cameron Crowe moments here, but they're in search of an other movie entirely. It's a personal, heartfelt attempt from Crowe, but it doesn't work. It's all over the place, it's unconvincing and worst of all bears little of the mark that makes me love Cameron Crowe's work so much.
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chapter11 [ 9.0 ]
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Funny-- most reviews of "Elizabethtown" at least make some sort of mention to its ample runtime, either in passing or as a genuine detraction. I hate long movies; if it ain't "The Godfather" or "Magnolia," I'm probably not going to bother with anything that's three hours long. But "Elizabethtown" clicked for me, bad reviews be damned, and I just found the whole thing so fascinating and loveable and-- basically, what I'm saying here is that i could have watched "Elizabethtown" for three hours, easy. Its two-hour-plus runtime seemed scant to me, actually. Am I a Crowe groupie? I might be; I loved "Almost Famous" and "Vanilla Sky" and "Say Anything," but never saw any of the others. But I'm certainly not, for example, an Orlando Bloom groupie, and while I appreciate Kirsten Dunst for what she does I'm no massive fan. With "Elizabethtown," Cameron Crowe gave me something that I rarely get from movies: the chance to simply bask in the movie's atmosphere, quirks, and overall pleasantness, without particularly caring that the plot scoot itself along anytime soon. And scoot it didn't, not all that much, but almost every frame of it delighted me, and I loved all the scenes, and even got misty a couple of times. Is there something wrong with me? Yeah, probably - but at least I enjoyed my 128 minutes in the theater. And there's nothing wrong with that.
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Strangef8 [ 4.5 ]
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After causing the Oregon shoe company he works for to lose hundreds of millions of dollars, Drew Baylor (Orlando Bloom) is fired for his mistake, and promptly also dumped by his girlfriend, Ellen (Jessica Biel). On the verge of suicide, Drew is oddly given a new purpose in life when he is brought back to his family's small Kentucky hometown of Elizabethtown following the death of his father, Mitch, as it falls to him to make sure that his dying wishes are fulfilled. On the flight to Kentucky, Drew meets Claire (Kirsten Dunst), a quick-witted flight attendant, who helps him navigate the rough waters ahead and proves that amazing things happen when you least expect them.
While not as fun as Almost Famous, and not as trippy as Vanilla Sky, Elizabethtown's heart is in the right place. It sure made me think about the relationship between me and my father. Not to mention the family I have in Tennessee. The film does have it's moments. Cameron Crowe has a style that makes it hard to say that any of his movies are “bad”. The best thing about this and all of Crowe's movies is the music. The music he chooses helps to tell the story. I can't remember any specific songs except for Free Bird. And if you've seen the movie you know why this stands out. But every song he uses just sounds terrific helps to convey the emotion of whatever scene it's in.
Casting – Orlando Bloom is a handsome guy but he doesn't pull this role off to well. There are no spikes of emotion that really seem to change his character. He just kind of rolls through the movie. It may be because the ending is kind of abrupt and we don't get to see the resolution. Kirsten Dunst starts off showing some stalker like tendencies, but you warm up to her about halfway through. She really cares for this guy and it shows, especially in the “map” she made for him. Although that could be seen as obsessing over him, lol. Susan Sarandon was great as Drew's mother, at least at the beginning. At the memorial she tended to get a little mental, but then that whole scene seemed like it took a left turn into The Twilight Zone. The rest of the cast are supporting roles but some are worth mentioning, Judy Greer as the sister stuck watching after Mom while Drew retrieves Mitch's body. Jessica Biel as Drew's bitch of a girlfriend. Alec Baldwin really should have gotten more screen time. If I remember the trailer correctly there was a funny scene or two between Bloom and Baldwin in a men's restroom that isn't in the movie. Or am I thinking of a completely different movie? Anyways Baldwin has one scene. That's it. Done bitching.
So, as a fan of Cameron Crowe, this movie left me with a slightly warm spot in my heart. I've seen better and I've seen worse. Go ahead and watch it, it won't kill you. You will be more entertained than not.
So, until you can buy Spasmodicas at Foot Locker, keep reading
Mitch
Best Lines:
Drew Baylor: I'm gonna have to call you back...
Heather Baylor: Okay, just dial HELL and i'll answer.
Bill Banyon: Is there such a thing as partial cremation?
Claire Colburn: I don't know a lot about everything, but I do know a lot about the part of everything that I know, which is people.
Claire Colburn: I'm walking out the door... in last night's clothes.
Claire Colburn: I'm going to miss your lips. And everything attached to them.
Claire Colburn: Never met a Mitch I didn't like. Fun, full of life. Like... everyone wants to be in Mitch's special club. - Had to include this one, as I am a Mitch, lol.
(text written on a cloth above the stage): If it wasn't this... it'd be something else.
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DokBrowne [ 7.0 ]
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I was hoping all the negative buzz was just the sound of sourpusses backlashing against Crowe's usual genius, but no, they were right: there are times in "Elizabethtown", a film with enormous promise and made by my more or less favorite filmmaker, when I bluntly thought to myself: "this is just plain awful". Such as Kirsten Dunst's introduction on the plane, or when the kids watch that video of the exploding house, or the true-to-life yet no less painful and rambling elegy by Susan Sarandon at the end. Scenes that suggest Crowe's talent and occur in much the same style as his previous films (he loves to create embarrassing situations, and to make pathos and emotion feel like they've stumbled out of character's mouths or behavior by accident), but they walk that delicate line and fall very, very flat. It's maddening; his attempt at quirky personalities, for example, is dismal. Kirsten Dunst is a miracle of a human being in this film; she's ALWAYS around no matter what, she attaches herself to Orlando Bloom in a way that no human being ever has or would, and what she accomplishes at the end proves at last that she must be no less than an incarnation of God. She's like Kate Hudson in "Almost Famous" magnified by a million, so ridiculously idealized and mysterious of a female savior that Crowe's typically astute melding of awkward reality and whimsical romanticism is thrown totally off balance towards the land of gimme-a-break fantasy nonsense. Seriously, the road map she makes for him at the end is insanely cool - I was envious just imagining the mixes, let alone that meticulous scrapbook - but how it ever got made, let alone overnight, is distractingly astonishing. The problem is that Crowe is never interested in giving her a life and, in turn, an identity. She's just perky, wise, and lovable. Every conversation she has with Bloom is either all about him or ponderous of life. Not that I was dying to know more about her, but the fact that there is obviously nothing to know makes her seem like merely a functional tool of the plot.
And that dialogue - oh, man. Crowe has a gift for it, but he also risks everything with it sometimes. A lot of the lines in "Jerry Maguire" straddled the line between cloyingly lame and anthemically wonderful. Here almost every single one is a groaner. His pearls of wisdom are rushed through and unconvincing ("I feel like I've been asleep my whole life" has potential but is thrown in during a marathon of philosophical catchphrases and without any context, making it sound like a cynical strategy to feign profundity), and whenever he tries spinning up a novel means of expression (as in the beginning, when both Alec Baldwin and the narrator explain how badly Bloom has failed) it is rancidly amateurish. And I won't even delve into how aimless all the scenes are. It is a surreal notion to think that this was Crowe's final product, because a majority of the filmed scenes still feel exactly like unedited, cobbled-together mush. Nothing has been refined to have a point, or make any effect, and there is a recurring motif of things going on several beats longer than they should. Lines are repeated unnecessarily, scenes just keep wandering on without even atmospheric intent (I know, he's soaking it all in, but I didn't even gleam THAT from several parts), and Susan Sarandon not only talks forever but then tap dances. It's been said enough already, but truly: this is a huge mess.
NONETHELESS. Nonetheless, various moments touched me - not as deeply as I hoped, nor as often, but at least it was something. Bloom's connection to his dad wasn't explored nearly enough, but it had strong elements of emotional resonance. And for all its illogic, the concluding road trip fully won me over. I loved it. It is the reason why I finally decided to give the movie my approval. This is by far the most flawed film I have ever claimed to like (yes, even more so than all the crappy teen and/or horror junk I espouse), but I really did in a meager, wish-there-was-more way. Earlier in 2005 I had high hopes of this being one of the year's most special events, so to say I'm disappointed doesn't quite cover it. But I appreciate what it tried to do, and it succeeded intermittenly...
P.S. As for Orlando Bloom, yes, he is too lightweight (although I think a more somber or angry actor would have been wrong for the role). But he has a presence about him, something worth paying attention to. I thought he acquitted himself well. Same with Dunst - Crowe's dialogue is no doubt more to blame for her off-putting performance than Dunst herself, but she does do an okay job in the end, with one exceptional scene in a bathtub (mainly in one giddy reaction shot that just charmed the pants off me). Susan Sarandon is eh, Judy Greer never has a chance, and Alec Baldwin is a tad self-indulgent. At one point Dunst tells Bloom to "go get lost in the deep, beautiful melancholy" of his road trip, simultaneously providing a perfectly apt description of the film's ambition, and that pretty much sums it up: the movie tries too hard and not enough. It's too long yet still feels undeveloped. Its heart and soul are in the right place, but it can't get put together the right way, and is thus reduced to making basic statements about itself.
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jeff_v [ 6.0 ]
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Even though this is the lowest rating I've given a Cameron Crowe movie, I don't think it's the disaster so many critics are claiming. What makes it seem like it is a disaster is that two of the most pivotal sections of the film fall flat --Susan Sarandon's memorial speech (which feels like it should have played to uncomfortable silence, not uproarious laughter, but Crowe needed a Big Moment there so he forced it and piled on the flaming Skynyrd) and the closing musical travelogue (which brings up a host of problems by trading on national, built-in emotions, and still ignores the fact that we really don't know much about Dunst's character). But the rest of the movie is pleasant in a charming, low-key way. The all-night phone conversation is definitely a highlight, but the wake and several scenes that just soak in the atmosphere of Elizabethtown make the (ample) time go by easily.
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| Weighted Rating | : 6.2 |
| No. Ratings | : 10 | |
| No. Reviews | : 8 | |
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