Dear Cameron Crowe, We get it. You've cornered the market on finding yourself and romance in the same movie. Jerry Maguire, Say Anything, Almost Famous -- they were all good. That's why we had such high expectations for Elizabethtown. But really, Crowe, at some point, you have to learn to focus. We're not mad, we're just disappointed.
Love, Jordan and Laura
Elizabethtown can't decide where to focus or how. Drew (Orlando Bloom) loses his job, his dad and his dignity in the first 15 minutes. On his way to retrieve his father's remains in Elizabethtown, Ky., he meets Claire (Kirsten Dunst,) a vivacious flight attendant. In Kentucky, he must face his roots and the new emptiness in his life. He gradually fills the emotional void during a tacked-on road trip home to Oregon.
Writer/director Cameron Crowe fails to live up to his usual standards with this ode to his father. The characters are underdeveloped, especially Claire, who comes across as the poor man's Penny Lane (Kate Hudson's character in Almost Famous).
The plot also fails to realize when to stop or where it's going, dragging out unrelated secondary storylines to the point of annoyance. Drew's road trip, the final segment of the movie, is unnecessarily long and attempts to depict a century of American history in under five minutes without relating any of the events to the story.
Two aspects save the finale, as well as the entire film: the music and Mitch. The stupendous soundtrack is appropriate for an American road trip and includes classics from Elton John, Tom Petty and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Because the actors failed to come alive in their roles, our favorite character was Drew's father, Mitch, who spends the majority of the movie as ashes in an urn.
Dunst and Bloom failed separately and together. Dunst, who shockingly enough plays a cutesy blond chick, adds nothing to the film. Bloom fails to make us believe, he was himself, not Drew. Crowe, master of the romance, cast two actors in the leading roles who have absolutely no on-screen chemistry. Whenever Drew and Claire are seen together, we were waiting for the director to yell "cut" instead of anticipating the big kiss.
The supporting cast boasts some impressive names. Jordan enjoyed Susan Sarandon's role as the mourning widow. Alec Baldwin, in a bit part as Drew's boss, impressed Laura by perfectly capturing the deranged corporate king stereotype. However, a stellar secondary cannot save the initial defense.
The promotional posters for Elizabethtown show Dunst and Bloom surrounded by a montage of snapshots. Unfortunately, that's what the film ultimately is: two disappointing performances surrounded by a miscellany of plots and bit parts that fail to coalesce. Elizabethtown falls short of the high expectations of these two Crowe fans.
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