Elizabethtown

The movie WAS NOT a series of disjointed vignettes, NOR was it lacking plausibility, as many critics have complained. Perhaps living on one of the coasts makes you too cynical and uptight to enjoy a movie that is based on the relationships and culture of the ordinary person. This movie was like reading a good book. If you've ever had a deep thought about life, or questioned the path your life has taken, or found pleasure in the small moments found in relationships with real people, you will find something in this movie that touches a chord within yourself. I think Cameron Crowe masterfully crafted a summary of those important moments in our lives that are meaningful. It didn't require a long, drawn out explanation. How many times do we think back to a particular moment, and all we remember is the person, the relationship, and the music tied to that moment? A song can take you to a precise moment in your life. He made that connection to all of us, through the life of one fictional character. I found myself enjoying being a fly on the wall, watching the characters, relating to the events, laughing at the poignant humor, and savoring the road trip reflections at the end. This was a movie worth watching, just because it is about the truths of life. The critics missed the boat on this one.

Okay, I will admit up front that maybe Orlando Bloom doesn't do much for this movie but add a pretty face and certainly I am a sucker for Kirsten Dunst. Implausible plot - sure. But entertaining? I thought thoroughly so and with a good heart. The movie is very funny. Not slapstick, but funny. I laughed out loud often. The movie really doesn't take itself too seriously and that works for me. As for the acting . . . maybe I am being too hard on Orlando, because nothing he does is particularly bad, just forgetful I guess. But I will admit that I just felt like the cast wasn't particularly important to the movie. The movie has a feel to it that I connected with. The music, the visuals, the ease with which it flowed - just struck a chord. Overall, though it isn't that the cast is bad - they simply aren't noteworthy. In fact, I cannot remember a performance that was distracting or didn't mesh. It just seemed to me that the writing, the direction and the composition of the movie produced a feeling, triggered thoughts that made this movie a special event, time well spent ... who knows - I liked it.

This movie is unlike most in that it doesn't try for reality -- it is more like an inner dialogue played out so we can see it.

There are several laugh out loud moments which should not be missed. These stand up even in a second viewing. The juxtaposition of Orlando's Bloom's fiasco-failure of historic proportions/his father's funeral/Chuck and Cindie's wedding/and perhaps finding his life mate, Kristan Dunst, are all woven into a timeless (no)place called Elizabethtown, which is magical. For me the magic worked. There were a few things that didn't click, but mostly it was genuine, funny, and affecting.

Alec Baldwin is perfect as Phil, the shoe tycoon. He has just the right mix of bonhomie, menace, and smart-guy-in-charge to fill the role.

Susan Sarandon seems a bit distracting at first but by the end "its all good," -- wait I don't say that -- "it works" there that is better. Her contribution is uplifting.

As for the "World's Second Largest Farmer's Market" -- it isn't on any map that doesn't map the human heart.

I don't know. It seems to me that Americans have lost their taste for "small" films - films that emphasize character, rather than explosions and movement. You get the same sort of comments with movies like Tim Burton's wonderful Big Fish or Spielberg's Terminal. I will admit that the Dunst character is a cliché, but this movie is really about the extras, the characters that step out of the background, have their moment, and step back again. Paula Dean stands out as a woman to whom family -- *all* her family -- is all-important and who keeps it together with food and photographs. I'm not from Kentucky or the South, although I've lived South for a number of years. I'm not that interested in *my* extended family -- and in that respect I'm far closer to the Bloom character than to the Dean character. But I recognize that this film is a great portrait of a certain kind of family life. Also, the dead father becomes a very well-rounded character indeed, as you think about the contradictions of his life. This is a film that expects the audience to do a little work, and it pays very well for that work.

I appreciate what I think Crowe was trying to accomplish here with Elizabethtown, but through a combination of missteps it falls very short. In general I like both Bloom and Dunst but feel they are both a bit miscast and present these interestingly written characters poorly. Neither quite succeeds. I very badly wanted to final road trip portion of the film to be great and to be moved by it, but alas it just rung hollow to me and I was not able to connect with it. Sure there were some nice elements and moments here, but overall it just seemed to drag on for far too long.