Elizabethtown—A Different
Kind of Love Story by The
Maven and The Blonde Film Columnists
Drew
Baylor is a rising star at an athletic shoe company. His
multimillion ($972 to be exact) athletic shoe design has
failed in a MAJOR way. On the day that he is fired, his
girlfriend turns away from him. To top off this
monumentally bad day, Drew's sister calls to inform him
that their father passed away while visiting family in
Kentucky. While sis has to hold mom’s hand at home, Drew
must now go to Elizabethtown, Kentucky to retrieve dad
for his cremation. Playing the role of the
handsome but flawed Drew is Orlando Bloom (Lord of the
Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean). On the red eye
flight to Kentucky, Drew meets an eternally positive
woman who changes the course of his life forever. Of
course, he doesn't know that yet! Kirsten Dunst
(Wimbledon and Spider-Man) plays the perky, intelligent,
spontaneous Claire Colburn. Drew arrives
in Elizabethtown and realizes that almost everyone in
the town knew his dad. Apparently, to know Mitch Baylor
was to love Mitch Baylor. Drew gets to know his dad
through all the people he meets. Meanwhile, after an all
night talk fest on their cell phones, Drew and Claire
decide to meet up. Through Claire, he learns that his
business failure does not define who he is.
Now we fast forward to Mitch's memorial
service. Try to picture Susan Sarandon (Shall We Dance
and Dead Man Walking), as Hollie, (Drew's mom) tap
dancing to “Moon River.” Then picture a band similar to
Lynnard Skynnard performing “Freebird” while a white
bird on fire soars across the room.
Cameron Crowe always seems to blend
good music into his films. Look at Almost Famous and
Jerry Maguire. In a recent interview, Crowe said that he
listens to the music while writing the scripts.
Sometimes the music influences the scene, as was the
case in this film on his road trip.
Elizabethtown does seem to ramble on
occasionally, but it has sweet aspirations and needs
some rambling to get where it is going.
The
Blonde: This film surprised me. The previews absolutely
mislead you! It really is such a unique story!
Elizabethtown was like Once Around meets Home for the
Holidays meets The Majestic meets no other movie! If you
think your family is odd or small townish, then this
film will be a relief for you! Elizabethtown WILL take
you on a journey… literally. This film is a journey of
emotions; emotions of love, death, compassion,
understanding and realization. Although there are many
stars in the film, you will mostly focus on Orlando
(Drew) and Kirsten (Claire). This was a great
opportunity for these two young actors to really shine,
and shine they do. The funny thing about Elizabethtown
is it started out slow and, honestly, I was bored. Then,
it got better and better and better with the best ending
to a film I have seen in years. It will eventually grab
hold of you, but I warn you, be patient, for it does
evolve into quite an endearing tale!
The
Maven: I am quite relieved to see Orlando star in a
movie as just a regular guy. Usually, he is a
swashbuckling pirate, a knight or an elf. Finally, he
got a role that requires him to actually act! I've read
some critics reviews that say his performance is dead
and boring. I say it's DEAD ON! Here is this wunderkind
who has failed dramatically and publicly and is dealing
with the loss of his job, girlfriend and now father. How
should he play this role? Like Jim Carrey as Ace
Ventura? We see his character, Drew, come out of his
numb-like state as the film moves along. Orlando does a
wonderful job as this contemporary guy getting to know
his dad through the feelings other people had for him.
You see the transformation of Drew while he is
connecting to Elizabethtown, which reconnects him to his
dad. Pretty good acting as far as I'm concerned.
The
Blonde: Sometime critics need to be hit on the head
because they don't understand subtle. There are many
flashbacks written into this story, so you really need
to pay attention. These flashbacks brilliantly enhanced
the story and made you understand and feel why and how
the characters react as they do. One of the best parts
of this movie for me was that it was spiritually
intelligent and sensitive! This film has some profound
great movie quotes that I MUST share with
you!
The
Maven: OH, MUST YOU?
Story continued on bottom
The
Blonde: YES, even YOU WILL LIKE THEM! Here goes:
"This loss will be met by a hurricane of love," "I will
miss your lips and everything attached to them," "To
fall BIG and have the courage to stick around, that's
greatness," "If it wasn't this, it would be something
else," "Sadness is easier because it is surrender," "It
takes time to extract joy from life" and "I want to get
into the deep blue melancholy of everything that's
happened"! So good!
The
Maven: While this may not be Cameron Crowe's best
picture, it is semi-autobiographical. Maybe, some of
those quotes were too. Cameron's father was from
Kentucky and, when he died, Cameron returned to his
father's family and learned more about his dad than he
had ever known before. He traveled the area in a tour
bus (similar to road trip in film). Fourteen years
later, he finished the screenplay and immediately
thought of Orlando for the role of Drew.
The
Blonde: This movie proves, once again, that there are NO
small parts, just small actors. Susan had a nothing
part, yet she stole the screen whenever her face glowed
onto it. The character Chuck, who played the
groom-to-be, made every moment in front of the camera
shine! Not only do I simply love Kirsten's political
views, but she was radiant in this role. Men dream of a
girl like Claire! Orlando's performance, despite what
other critics have stated, was fabulous. I
wholeheartedly agree with Mav about this. He was
wonderful and true to the emotions of his character or
like any one of us would be in his shoes! The viewer
feels and literally experiences everything his character
is going through. By the way, I must commend Susan for
being way ahead of her time (i.e. Demi Moore and Ashton)
on the older woman/younger man thing!
The
Maven: Let us not forget that Goldie did it long ago,
even BEFORE Susan. That leaves hope for even you,
Blonde, to hang with Harry Potter (Daniel
Radcliff)!
The
Blonde: Maven, THAT IS SICK! And besides, I have my eyes
on actor/singer Jessie McCartney! Hey Maven, when I go,
please make sure MY funeral is a party with music,
laughter and drinking. I love how this film celebrated
the father's life and not the death, making it a
celebration rather than a time of sorrow.
The
Maven: Don't worry! Your death WILL BE a celebration!
Especially to any of your exes who had to pay
alimony! The Blonde: OUCH! OUCH! OUCH! YOU
DOUBLE FITCH! AND THEY NEVER PAID ALIMONY!
The
Maven: Well, they'll still be happy!
The
Blonde: THEN I WON'T DIE, THAT'LL SPITE THEM!
The
Maven: Good thinking???? Back to the film, I think what
I liked most about this film were the family scenes in
Kentucky. Ya know those get-togethers where you're
meeting familiar strangers? The house is always crowded,
the kids are always loud, and the food is always
good!
The
Blonde: Yeah, but that just sounds like your house on
any given day! Anyway, what is up with Jennifer and
Vince? It is SO obvious that he’s her rebound guy after
Brad!
The
Maven: First of all, how do you know that? Second of
all, if it is, than it's not a bad rebound!!! Speaking
of rebound, Kim Cattrall (from “Sex and the City”) has a
new book out called “Sexual Intelligence”! Have you seen
it?
The
Blonde: Seen it? Give me a break! I just about wrote the
thing! She called me daily while she was so called
writing it! I was her personal bevy of info! I was
her major resource! I was her guru, her teacher, her
mentor, her…
The
Maven: AH HA! ENOUGH! We get the point! Then why weren't
YOU on the cover naked with her, too?
The
Blonde: Professional jealousy! AND EXACTLY whose body do
you think they superimposed her head onto?
The
Maven: HERS!
The Blonde: You are so NAÏVE!
The
Maven: On that note of "blonde delusionment," this film
is ultimately about people. The situations are contrived
but sincere. I think Cameron writes about moments; not
on the large scale, but those moment that make up your
life. Whether you turn left, right or go straight ahead,
he wants you to LIVE the moment! It's even better with
good music. I rate this film a B for the best memorial
service I ever saw.
The
Blonde: Most interesting was that I went through so many
levels of emotions watching this film, ranging from
boredom to being totally charmed. My final conclusion
indeed was that this is a wonderful film. I rate
Elizabethtown a B+! For your movie snacks, try some
Lifesaver Candy, as Claire was truly a
lifesaver!
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