Greetings,
I have no problem with a movie director having a particular way of doing what they do and sticking to it. It's usually how they build a career. But every now and then, I like it when a director takes a bit of a turn from their regular path to make something slightly different. Such was the case with the movie Elizabethtown, directed by Cameron Crowe.
Now, if you know about the work of Mr. Crowe, you know that his films have a lot to do with music, and often pop culture, or the two intertwined. And they usually have a lot of F-words. I do like Cameron Crowe, but as always, I find that unnecessary. Elizabethtown didn't really have that. There were some references to music, especially at the end, but it didn't strike me as being as much of a main character like it usually is. Yeah, you won't find any Eddie Vedder cameos in this one, thank God. Although, that also means no Peter Frampton cameos, and that sucks, but that must be the sweet and sour of life that Cameron referred to in Vanilla Sky. Oh, right, and you won't be getting any bizarre "What the heck is going on in this movie?" moments like you may have in that one. This movie seems to me, more than any of his others, as being something to which many people can relate due to the subject matter. More on that later, of course.
I guess I should mention something about the critical reception of Elizabethtown. I seem to remember it getting mixed reviews, even coming from the same reviewer. Yes, if memory serves correctly, I believe Roger Ebert had seen a first cut of this at a film festival and, based on that, he gave it a thumbs down. Said it was too long or something. BUT after seeing the final theater cut, he ended up giving it a thumbs up! So there. As far as people I know go, I have asked many of them what they thought of this film and there is literally no middle ground. Not at all. They love it or hate it, and that is it. I guess I understand that since it was a bit of a departure from what we were used to seeing from Cameron Crowe, but I found that refreshing. Anyway, on to the story. Spoiler alert.
We begin with our protagonist Drew Baylor played by Orlando Bloom. And this may surprise you, but Drew is neither an elf nor a pirate. Nope, he is a shoe designer. Unfortunately, his Spasmotica design is an abysmal failure, one that will cost his company nearly a billion dollars. How is that even possible? Anyway, he gets fired (duh!) by his boss Phil, which is a thankfully small role played by Alec Baldwin. Then, his girlfriend, Ellen, dumps him. Double whammy! But it's only Jessica Biel so this shouldn't bother him too much. It does, though, because he is a guy. So he goes home and tries to kill himself by turning his exercise bike into a stabbing machine. What in all hecks, dude? Just take some pills like a normal person. His attempts are futile, though, because he receives a call from his sister, Heather, telling them that their father, Mitch, has passed away while on a family visit to Kentucky, and Drew must go and recover the body. Where in Kentucky, you may ask? Elizabethtown. And we have a title.
I suppose I should take this opportunity to point out that Heather is played by one of my favorite people in all the land, Judy Greer. Easily one of the most underrated actresses in Hollywood. There's a nice opposite from the gross overrated status of a certain actress Cameron worked with in Almost Famous. Not that I'm mentioning names or anything. She plays the character perfectly, not that I expected any less. We've also got Susan Sarandon playing their mom, Hollie. I think I'll refrain from saying anything about her, because I usually get on a tirade when her name is brought up. Let's just say she's in the film and move on.
Drew catches a sparsely inhabited late night flight, where he meets Claire, a very spirited flight attendant or stewardess or whatever they like to be called these days. She is played by Kirsten Dunst, just a year after her second stint as Mary Jane in the Spiderman films. This character is quite different. She talks a lot, in an adorable Southern accent, by the way, and she's funny. She even offers Drew a move up from coach to First Class, mostly because she doesn't want to keep walking to the back of the plane to check on him. Yep, she is spunky, a word that can easily translate into annoying. That is how Drew sees her at first, because she will not leave him alone. Like I said, she talks a lot, and she wants to talk to him. Eventually, she leaves him be, but, after landing, she continues to try and "help" him by giving him driving directions to his destination.
After trying to follow those directions, Drew gets to where he needs to be. Here's where we begin to meet the family. There's Jessie, his cousin, played by Paul Schenider, a guy I haven't seen much but who I really like. Jessie is the free-thinking , not into too much disciplining, father of a young holy terror of a son, Samson (really). Hmm? I wonder how the kid got that way. Then, there's Uncle Dale played by Loudon Wainwright III. Oh, snap! Remember when I said that thing about no musical cameos? Well, oops. I forgot about this guy and the fact that he is a Grammy-award winning singer-songwriter, but since, sadly, a lot of people don't know about him, I think I can be forgiven. Finally, we have Aunt Dora played by (dramatic pause) Paula Deen! Yes, THAT Paula Deen. Bet you didn't see that one coming. I absolutely loved her in this. Now, admittedly, she was pretty much playing herself, but herself is so FUNtastic that I certainly don't mind it.
There is a bit of conflict that goes on here, which stems from the fact that Mitch's family never approved of his marriage to Hollie. This continues to his death when the family wants him buried and Hollie wants him cremated. Not that the family had any standing on this, but they were kind of trying to guilt Drew into convincing his mom to see things their way. There is also an issue with a guy named Bill Banyon showing up, whom Hollie considers not a friend due to some past discrepancies with Mitch. I only bring him up because I really want to give a shout out to the actor who portrays him, Bruce McGill. I have always thought of him as a character actor and one of the finest of all time. He does not disappoint in this role at all.
Now, interspersed with all the family drama, we follow the blossoming relationship between Drew and Claire. What, you thought Kirsten Dunst was just going to play some random stewardess and never show up again? It starts with a phone call that lasts the entire night, ending with them meeting to watch the sunrise, because she ironically lives a mere 45 minutes away from where he is staying. We get a lot more scenes of them just walking around and talking to each other about each other. Sometimes I'm not a fan of this type of exposition, but it was done quite well here. They get closer and closer, until, ya know, things happen. There is actually a lot of "will they or won't they" right up until the end of the movie. I liked the build up and the payoff.
Eventually, the entire family gathers together to pay tribute to Mitch. There's fire; there's water; there's a Lynyrd Skynyrd song. Need I say more. After the "show", Claire appears to say goodbye and give him a little gift. See, when they were on the phone, Drew mentioned that he hadn't traveled much and promised her to drive at least part of the way home. So what she gives him is a very, very, VERY elaborate road trip map, complete with instructions on what to see and where to stop along the way and mix CD's full of road trip music. I have one thing to say about this little map of hers - I WANT IT! Seriously, if I ever meet Cameron Crowe, I am just going to say, "Hi! Please can I have that road trip map thing from Elizabethtown?" No lie.
This leads us to the final scenes in the film and my favorite part, where we follow Drew on this road trip. It was actually very interesting hearing about and seeing all of these wonderful places in our country, and giving us some things to put on our own road trip list. Now I refuse to give away the ending, but this trip is a nice "point A to point B" way of getting us to it.
In case you haven't guessed, I am one of the people who loves this movie. I like the fact that it was so much more heartfelt and true to life than other movies by Cameron Crowe. Don't get me wrong. I do like his other stuff, but this is really one of my favorites. It must have been one of his, too, because, though I have yet to see that movie about the zoo, I hear it is quite family oriented as well. I know that Elizabethtown has received some criticism, but what's wrong with a movie that gives you some warm, fuzzy feelings inside? One that might even make you a little misty at times? I'll tell you what's wrong with that? Nothing. So, hats off, Cameron Crowe, and I'm still hoping to write with you one day.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
