Elizabethtown (2005)
The Cast
Orlando Bloom ... Drew Baylor
Kirsten Dunst ... Claire Colburn
Susan Sarandon ... Hollie Baylor
Alec Baldwin ... Phil DeVoss
Bruce McGill ... Bill Banyon
Judy Greer ... Heather Baylor
Jessica Biel ... Ellen Kishmore
Paul Schneider ... Jessie Baylor
Loudon Wainwright III ... Uncle Dale
Gailard Sartain ... Charles Dean
Jed Rees ... Chuck Hasboro
It's not too often that I immediately sit down to write a review for a film I just watched. Usually I let it sit for a day or so, work things out in my head and heart, see how it feels to me. Usually when I do the write-up for a movie that I watched less than half an hour ago, it's because I feel fairly passionate about something I saw in it, whether it be positive or negative. In the case of a Cameron Crowe movie, the hat usually tips towards the positive as I find Crowe's films to be of a particular sentimental nature that appeals to the romantic in me. At this point in my life, I do believe my jaded outlook will not react in a favourable manner towards tales of "that one amazing girl".
Crowe wrote and directed Elizabethtown, and much like many of his past films, it plays like a tribute to some romanticised rite of passage that Crowe has a deep affinity for and wants to share with the rest of us. I don't recall any of his past movies feeling as pretentious as this one does though. Not even Vanilla Sky felt that way, which is saying something. I'm trying to avoid writing this review as a grocery list of failures (not fiascos) on Crowe's part since I genuinely am a big fan of his work, but there's just so much about the movie I didn't like.
We can start off with the two romantic leads though, Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst. How bad must Ashton Kutcher have been for Crowe to remove him from the movie - citing a lack of chemistry with Dunst as the reason - when Orlando Bloom is generally a black hole of suck unless he's wearing pointy ears? Watching the film, I sensed absolutely no spark whatsoever between Bloom and Dunst's characters. Drew Baylor (Bloom) meets Claire (Dunst) as the sole flight attendant on Baylor's trip to Kentucky to plan the memorial service for his late father that he'd drifted apart from in the past few years. I believe Crowe's intention for the character of Claire was for her to be a worldly, infectious guide to Drew on his emotional journey. The bad news is that she comes across as annoying and pretentious, and yet somehow Drew is inexplicably attracted to her.
It truly says something when I was longing for any scenes that involved the memorial service plans, as it injected some life and actual entertainment into the film. The supporting cast is filled with talented actors and actresses that I would pay good money to watch if they weren't in a Bloom / Dunst film. Yet, those very same actors and actresses are sadly wasted as background characters to the inept telling of the Meet Cute between Drew and Claire. Usually in a Crowe movie there are a few solid iconic scenes that you can always look fondly back on, appreciating the build-up and the execution. In Elizabethtown, that scene doesn't happen until about four fifths of the way in at the memorial service for Drew's father.
Inexplicably, the movie continues on after the natural ending place, with a series of quick cuts and montages accompanied by songs that Crowe loves. All of which would have been better served as the underlay to the credits. I didn't hate the movie, but my feelings of disappointment in regards to Elizabethtown are so strong that I just can't think of many positive aspects of it. It reminds me of when I read "On the Road" and found it to be nothing more than a boring and poorly written ode to the wonderful idea of an extended road trip. So much wasted potential.
1.5 / 5