“Elizabethtown” (Paramount Pictures)
Cameron Crowe of “Jerry Macguire” fame and “”Vanilla Sky” infamy delivers one of his most personal movies yet in “Elizabethtown.” This film tells the story of a young man whose father has died and the journey he takes to reacquaint himself with his relatives in a small Kentucky town. Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst star in this rambling saga that evolves into a rambling wreck.
The movie opens with Drew Baylor (Bloom) facing a catastrophe in his life. His design for a new shoe has been heralded as a masterpiece, but then it flops and the company where he works loses almost a billion dollars in sales. Shortly thereafter he gets a call from his sister (Judy Greer) saying his father has died while on a visit to his hometown of Elizabethtown, Kentucky. His mother (Susan Sarandon) wants him to go and oversee a memorial there.
On the flight to Kentucky he strikes up a conversation with a flight attendant named Claire (Dunst). She gives him her name and number and later at his hotel he calls her. They talk and talk and talk, and then eventually meet.
Talking is primarily what this movie is about, and the subject matter of these conversations is all over the map. It rambles from Drew’s failures to Claire’s obsessions with names. None of it makes a lot of sense and none of it provides much insight into the characters on screen.
Bloom is not my idea of the All-American guy which Drew is purported to be. He doesn’t look like a “son of a Mitch” as Claire calls him. He looks more like a son of an Ashley, Rupert or Cedric. I am sure there are many, many fans of Mr. Bloom who will love him in this role but I am not one of them.
Dunst on the other hand is perfectly cast. She is pert, chipper and just adorable. When she is on screen the movie lights up and never lets down.
Crowe doesn’t seem to have a fixed idea of what he is trying to say in the film, or the best way to present his vague story line. There is a huge cast of characters who populate the movie but few are clearly defined. Plus there are key plot points in the story that are never revealed. Such as: why is Drew’s father to be buried in Kentucky Why does his mother not plan to come to the service Why does his cousin seem to be raising his son alone but later the child is seated in a woman’s lap who is obviously near and dear to him Etc, etc, etc.
The movie seems to move towards an ending when the memorial service is finally held, but wait! Now there is a road trip that wanders on for another ten minutes or so. This adds to the tedium of the movie and makes “Elizabethtown” seem like it lasts three or more hours when in actuality it is only two.
The film is rated PG-13 for profanity and sexual situations.
Crowe loves to use music in his films and in this one every person, place and thing seems to have a song to go with it. In a few instances the song compliments the story but in others the music is just plain intrusive.
There are moments in the movie that are bright and enjoyable but these are few and far between. For the most part the movie is lackluster, meandering entertainment. For fans of Cameron this movie is nothing to Crowe about.
I scored “Elizabethtown” a small-town 4 out of 10.
