“Elizabethtown”
Paramount Pictures
Written and directed by Cameron Crowe
Starring: Orlando Bloom, Kirsten Dunst, Susan Sarandon, Paul Schneider, Bruce McGill and Alec Baldwin
Rated PG-13/123 minutes
Opens Oct. 14, 2005
Three out of four stars
After a summer’s worth of bad publicity and even worse gossip, Cameron Crowe’s semi-autobiographical “Elizabethtown” finally hits theatres, and I’m happy to report that it’s not nearly the disaster many have made it out to be. It is a good and frequently hilarious film, a delightfully idiosyncratic tragicomedy that only Cameron Crowe could have made.
That said, it is also not the best effort from the man behind “Almost Famous” and “Say Anything.”
It’s a good movie, but with a more cohesive story line and a better lead actor, it could have been great.
“Elizabethtown” bears some similarity to Crowe’s “Jerry Maguire.” In both films, the leading man has it all-the career, the office, the apartment, the girl-but loses it all, going out in a catastrophic blaze of glory and forced to pick up the pieces.
Drew Baylor (Orlando Bloom) works for one of the world’s biggest shoe companies, Mercury. His new product, an eight-year labor of love, has just become one of the biggest financial disasters in American history. To be more specific, he has cost his company $972 million. Yes, you read that correctly.
In what amounts to a five-minute cameo, Alec Baldwin shows up as the head of the corporation, and his brief performance is absolutely priceless as he calmly, kindly and cruelly fires Drew. In trying to explain exactly how much the company has lost on account of Drew, he delivers some of the film’s best lines as only Alec Baldwin can: “This product could cause an entire generation to return to bare feet,” “The sound you hear is the sound of s*** hitting the fan-globally,” “I cry a lot lately” and “We could have saved the planet.”
Depressed and lonely, Drew devises a very creative way to kill himself but is stopped short by a phone call from his sister (Judy Greer) telling him that his father has died and that he has to go to Elizabethtown, Ky., to bring back his body.
The film’s setup is extraordinary, and while the rest of the film can’t quite keep up with its early brilliance, it’s still worth the journey. On the way to Kentucky, Drew meets an adorably eccentric flight attendant, Claire, played by Kirsten Dunst (oh, if only real flight attendants looked like Kirsten Dunst).
Once in Kentucky, he gets swallowed up in a sort of extended family reunion, which only leaves him lonelier and is the impetus for a flowering relationship with Claire, which takes place mostly on the phone.
As in “Jerry Maguire,” priorities change, lessons are learned and love blooms. Crowe has always had a knack for original dialogue, and this is no exception.
Dunst is perfectly cast, but Bloom could have easily been replaced. One longs for the natural subtleties of Crowe’s past protagonists, such as John Cusack or Patrick Fugit.
“Elizabethtown” is far from perfect-it’s a bit of a mess at times. There are a couple scenes of cringe-worthy contrivance, but despite its flaws, this is both a moving drama and a hugely entertaining comedy.