Elizabethtown (2005) User Reviews (549)

My old Kentucky home

[jotix100 · 7/10 · 5 August 2006]

Drew Baylor, the young athletic shoe designer, comes up with an idea of a sneaker that will revolutionize the industry. Well, sadly to say, his invention is like the Edsel of the Spasmodica Shoe Company! His boss reminds Drew how his design is responsible for the almost one billion dollars the company stands to lose. Sad and dejected, Drew contemplates suicide; what could be worse than feeling the derision of his co-workers and his stand in the industry? As he is preparing to put an end to his life, the phone rings and it's his sister announcing their father has died while on a family visit to relatives in Kentucky.

Drew must go to take care of the arrangements for the father's funeral. Along the way, he meets on the red-eye flight a chatty flight attendant, Claire, that will be connected to him in ways he didn't expect. His relatives prove to be too much for Drew, who didn't count in seeing so many of his kin in one place. His family has not forgiven the fact that the father married a California woman and moved there. After all, these are proud people that love their life in Kentucky.

Things get complicated as Drew and the rest of his family wants to have the old man cremated, something the family in Kentucky looks down upon. One relative takes Drew to the plot in the cemetery that has been reserved for that side of the Baylors. Drew decides to go on with the plans. It's because of the kindness and love he receives from all these unknown relatives that he has a change of heart and decides to comply with their wishes, but alas, it's a bit too late as the cremation went through.

When Claire appears in Elizabethtown, whatever they felt on that first meeting has changed. Claire is a beautiful young woman who likes Drew for what he is. Claire is intrigued by why hasn't Drew made a cross-country trip. She has a plan for him to see the beauty of the country in its back roads and real people, which is what he does on his way back home. By the time he reaches Oregon, he will be a changed man.

Cameron Crowe's "Elizabethtown" appears to be a film that has captivated audiences, judging by the positive commentaries in this forum. The fact remains, this film "borrows" from other Crowe's films incorporating them into this narrative. The film is in part a road film, most notably the last sequences in the movie that involves Drew's trip throughout the land.

Orlando Bloom seemed a strange choice for Drew. His accent is perfect and he is totally believable as this man that has to come to terms with the death of a father and a failure in his designing career. Mr. Bloom makes a good contribution to the film. Kirsten Dunst plays Claire. At first she is a bit annoying and pushy. It's clear from the start she really likes the taciturn Drew, who doesn't want to get too involved with her. Susan Sarandon has only a few scenes. Her tap dancing at the memorial service for her husband is hilarious.

Although this is not one of the best films of Cameron Crowe, it is by no means a disappointment. John Toll's cinematography shows the heart of the country and its uncomplicated folk at their best.

Couldn't Find The Blooming Town

[filmquestint · 5/10 · 27 May 2006]

I love Cameron Crowe. Let's make that absolutely clear. The casting of his movies is superb not to mention the writing or the sound tracks. Here, however, in Elizabethtown, the leading man is a hole on the screen. No charisma, no projection, no involvement. I'm not a teenage girl, I grant you that, but I don't think Cameron Crowe made this film for teenage girls. There was something about returning, about rediscovering and/or perhaps about first love. Elizabethtown aims higher than most teenage bound movies. The comatose performance of Orlando Bloom makes everyone else appear as if they were high on something. Billy Wilder is always a little bit present in Cameron Crowe's movies and Kirstin Dunst's character is a Wilder character if I ever saw one. I kept seeing the young Shirley MacLaine, or longing for, I should say. Dunst is an interesting actress but here she has to work with a wooden leading man, so that piece of miscasting throws the whole well intentioned enterprise way off course. Never mind, my love and admiration for Crowe will survive this one.

Enjoyed the movie but...

[whazzupskippy · 7/10 · 1 June 2020]

Enjoyed the movie but wonder what a shoe designer has to do with a product recall. There would be prototypes developed and significant testing conducted before a company invested a billion dollars in production of a shoe designed by anyone, much less someone who was hired from a national scholarship program...

Dear Dad

[nycritic · 7/10 · 19 April 2006]

Finding closure with the parent that has passed away, while at the same time finding the inner strength to face life head on without regrets. Such is the new movie by Cameron Crowe which shouldn't quite be a coming-of-age story since Drew Baylor is a man who seems to be in his later twenties if not a shade older, but it is: situated at a point hovering between the choice to live in shame or die in shame, Drew receives the fateful call and thus commences the road to his true self. He doesn't know it, though -- all he knows because it's been hammered into his mind, by his co workers, his boss, even his ex-girlfriend, is that he lost the company almost a billion dollars. (If this doesn't seem to have shades of JERRY MCGUIRE, it does: then again, writers repeat their own stories over and over again in different montages.) Even so, his going back to his native Elizabethtown (where he's still treated as a soldier coming home from war -- all that's missing in this picture are the emblems of commendation and the parade) proves better than worse. It's the catalyst for him to reconnect with a Pollyanna of a flight attendant, Claire Colborn, whom he met on the red eye flight home. If she weren't played by Kisten Dunst, or if she were written in a lesser light, she'd come across as a nuisance, but I think Crowe liked her character and meant for her to stay for the ride when everyone else seems lost in their own worlds. Their reconnecting is one of the most well-made sequences in the movie. He makes a pity call to her while on the phone with his sister and his ex-girlfriend -- this is a man who wants to talk to someone, no matter who that may be. The ex is on her way out -- in more ways than one -- and the sister needs to let Drew know that their mother may be losing it, but Mother is just coping in her own way. What seems like hours pass as Drew and Claire talk, and talk, and then talk some more... and then decide to drive out while still on the phone and meet each other.

When they do, as they walk towards each other, it's a beautiful, breathless scene.

Claire has to be a Pollyanna; I can't see her under any other light. I know that many critics have called her "too good to be true" and "unbelievable" but I think this is due to an accrued cynicism these times have imposed on us. While Claire would seem right at home in 1941 under the guise of Barbara Stanwyck as the role she played in BALL OF FIRE, I still think the role is a strong one and true to today's sensibilities. She doesn't care about his failures. She sees Drew for whom he is, and this is all that matters to her. Having traveled all over the place I can relate to her, because I've met snippets of her in the most unusual of places. (Now, if only the stewardess aboard AA Flight 2051 bound to Dominican Republic, an insignificant witch named Teresa, who "attended" to me (the term is used extremely loosely) when my own father died in September of 2005 had been less of a battle-axe, my story would be that of Drew -- though I didn't lose anyone a billion dollars, just in case.) Her appearance in the movie is meant to be Drew's guide through his own tortuous road to self-discovery. Which of course, brings me to the second overwhelming sequence in the film, the one that closes it. After his mother's emotional eulogy, he embarks on a road trip, guided by a recording of Claire as she walks him through the little nooks and crannies of Americana, gives him only five minutes to mourn his failure, and has him truly reconnect with his own father. Seen through intercuts of a young Drew and Mitch Baylor as he treks across the land to meet Claire, it's a tour de force of one man's pain opening up to achieve solace and a rebirth.

Orlando Bloom breaks away from his roles in LORD OF THE RINGS, and TROY, bringing a vulnerable perspective on a role that by a more assured actor might have seemed forced. His conversation with his father's ashes are a moment that any one of us could have experienced; it to me was a sequence rich in poignancy and spoke to my own experience in relating to my father's death. Susan Sarandon brings in a new meaning for the word mourning: with realism, hers is beautiful, dignified suffering. Judy Greer, Alec Baldwin, and Jessica Biel fill in small roles, and most noteworthy of the three is Greer who continues to bring her own quirks into her small roles.

ELIZABETHTOWN, ultimately, fails a little here and there whenever it goes into its excesses of Americana (the quirky relatives) and rock n' roll. This looks to be a mode of making a two hour-plus movie, but only diverts the film from its main intent. Other than that, it's a good film, overlong in execution, though once those last twenty minutes arrive, they will be worth it.

Dedicated to my father, Zacarias N. Vargas (1932 - 2005).

Good Story Poorly Presented

[daoldiges · 6/10 · 20 July 2021]

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.

Poor

[Michael_Elliott · 12 March 2008]

Elizabethtown (2005)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

OK, I just got back from seeing this and I must say that I'm really shocked. After reading various reviews and hearing from people I really wasn't expecting much but I've gotta say this is the biggest mess of a film that I've seen in a very long time.

Was the film suppose to be a drama about a son losing his father? Was it suppose to be some sort of romantic comedy? In my opinion it really seemed like Crowe wanted to make a film about a son losing his father but the studio said you have to throw in some sort of stupid romance to get more people into the theater. Well, the two sides didn't mix very well together. Even on their own both sides were seriously flawed but it made them even worse when stuck together. As others have mentioned, Dunst comes off more creepy than anything else. The first scene on the plane I kept waiting for her to pull out a knife or something. It was never really clear what the two saw in one another and the stuff over the phone didn't work at all. I also didn't understand what Crowe was going for in the father/son thing. I really couldn't tell if he (the son) was returning home because he cared for his dad or if he just did it so his mother/sister wouldn't have to go.

I personally feel it's okay to use music to "get the point across" but it's a fine line you've gotta walk to pull this off. "Secret Garden" worked well in JERRY MAGUIRE and "Tiny Dancer" worked brilliantly well in ALMOST FAMOUS but none of the music here really paid off. Perhaps it's because I didn't feel any connection between the two leads. As for the performances I really don't think it's too fair to blame them because they didn't have much to work with. I was pleased with Bloom's performance and thought he did a fine job with what he had to work with. His big "crying scene" at the end was ruined due to the way it was edited and again, the music. I think we were waiting for his character to breakdown and when it finally happened Crowe kept it in the background. As for Dunst, I'm not going to blame her too much because she did have a few charming scenes but again, the screenplay made her out more of a stalker than anything else.

GARDEN STATE was a lot better. Every good director has a bad step and I believe that's what ELIZABETHTOWN will be remembered as for Crowe. I personally think VANILLA SKY and ALMOST FAMOUS are among the best films of the decade so far and I'd probably put AF at 1 or 2. ELIZABETHTOWN just seemed like a complete disaster in the writing department. I really don't know what the movie was or what it was trying to do.

Felt like a Cameron Crowe move... Oh wait, it was...

[galasius · 7/10 · 10 September 2005]

Very typical Cameron Crowe. Felt a bit like Jerry McGuire, and a lot like Almost Famous.

At 2-hours and 15-minutes, it was a relatively long film, especially for the type of film that it is. It could have had about 30-minutes or so cut out, and I think it could have made for a more powerful and capturing experience overall.

Susan Sarandon, though playing a relatively small role, gave an outstanding performance, as did Judy Greer. For me, the biggest pleasant surprise was the performance given by Kirsten Dunst - mature, intelligent, sexy, and, well, quite good. The big disappointment was Orlando Bloom - there were moments he may as well have been reading directly from the script for the first time.

In typical Cameron Crowe fashion, this is a movie about finding one's self and the journey therein. It has it's funny moments, serious moments, silly moments, emotional moments, sexy moments, and, well, a lot of 'moments'. It doesn't take a lot of thought or analysis to 'get' this movie. Its story and message are quite simple, and quite simply told. Oh, and Cameron Crow has again managed to put together a pretty cool sound track.

If you're looking for a deep analytical film, look elsewhere. If you want to explore discovering one's self with a few laughs and maybe a few tears along the way, Elizabethtown won't disappoint.

Astonishingly bad.

[jennycade · 1/10 · 13 September 2009]

My friend and I went to Blockbusters last night with the express purpose of renting a crappy romcom. We were up for some cheesiness, but neither of us was prepared for the absurdity and stupidity of this movie.

A couple minutes in -- around the time that Orlando Bloom said "I'm fine," for the tenth time -- we began to see that we had brought home a true turd of a movie. The 203- minute label on the case was worrying.

It started out ridiculous and uninteresting, but just unraveled from there. Individual scenes were unbelievable, and strung together they make up an unfathomable whole. The writing is so terrible that the question of whether the actors were good or bad is moot.

"Trainwreck" is definitely the word for it.

I have a couple theories:

1) Cameron Crowe was under the influence of horse tranquilizers while writing the script. The disjointed scenes, the odd combination of dull scenes that go on insanely long, and potentially juicy moments that are truncated, abridged, or turned into musical montages (for instance, phrases from relatives' eulogies are spliced together in about 30 seconds, shortly followed by Susan Sarandon's truly horrible and drawn-out stand-up/tap-dancing number). It doesn't seem his brain was functioning properly when he wrote this one down.

2) Does he have a 12-year-old daughter who may have written large parts of the script for him? Reflecting on the supposedly romantic parts of the film, it occurred to me that they're in line with what I understood of love and life as a seventh-grader: all-night phone conversations when what you say isn't as important as the fact that you're talking, spontaneous declarations of love (and demands for such declarations), laughing at jokes that aren't funny because you're riding high on infatuation, and the almighty mix-tape. If Drew and Claire have any chemistry, it's because they're both completely embracing the middle school concept of love and life.

3) Finally, perhaps this film is actually a genius artistic masterpiece. Maybe if you removed every other scene and mashed the remainder into a 1-hour film, it would transcend the genre of crappy romcoms and enter the realm of theater of the absurd.

Highly Underrated Movie With a Nice Feel to It

[rbueing · 9/10 · 12 March 2006]

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.

Home Sweet Home

[moviemanMA · 7/10 · 28 October 2005]

Guy meets girl. Guy thinks he has girl. Guy wants girl. Guy needs girl. These are the key elements to a romantic movie or "chick flick". There have been so many repercussions of this genre that they all end up looking the same and just fading into oblivion. Sometimes, a movie comes along to redefine the genre. Sometimes, a movie will capture the essence of a genre. Sometimes, it just works.

Writer/Director Cameron Crowe's latest film Elizabethtown can be considered one of these movies. It stars Orlando Bloom as Drew Baylor, a man who has just caused the shoe company he works for 1 billion dollars for a shoe that doesn't work. After being fired, he prepares to "deal with life" but instead receives a phone call that his father has died while visiting his uncle. It's up to Drew to deliver the suit needed for the funeral.

On his 3 a.m. flight to Louisville he meets a flight attendant named Claire (Kirsten Dunst) and she just wants to have a conversation. Since she knows the area she helps him out by giving him directions. He is too tired to really have a talk about things but instead just smiles and nods as if everything is all right.

In the Elizabethtown, Kentucky, Drew meets the family he never got to know because he lived in Oregon most of his life and was so busy with making the new shoe line. They seem to know all about him yet he doesn't really have a clue as to what is going on, only that they're family...and that's all that counts.

Elizabethtown is a great film on many levels. Crowe's script, much like his previous ones, is extremely well written. His use of dialogue is perfect for the situations the characters are thrown into. Another aspect that enhances the script is the cinematography. The way he positions the camera for each scene makes the scene come alive. It seems like so much time was used to think out each individual shot. And to top it all off...the soundtrack. Much like Almost Famous(2000), this movie has a great soundtrack. Each song is perfect for each scene and really transcends the emotion of each character. The road trip that Drew takes could be a separate soundtrack all by itself.

The only part of the movie I was anxious about before seeing the movie was the acting of Bloom and Dunst and how they would interact. Fortuanetly it worked out. Bloom was a lot better than anticipated and Dunst seemed very into her role. Probably one of the best sequences in the picture is their conversation on the phone. Their tone of voice, their body language, and their chemistry with each other, even though they are miles apart is as if they were standing right next to each other. Crowe's choice of actors was once again well thought out.

The film is a reminder that home isn't necessarily where you live, but where people care about you the most. In this case home is in many places. It can be in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, or in a hotel. Home can even be on the open road. Elizabethtown is a great romance and in some ways a rebirth. Crowe's clever writing, perfect camera work, and "cream of the crop" soundtrack really make this movie stand out. Movies like this come around every so often, so take advantage of this one.

More contrived scenes than any movie I've ever seen

[ChrisBagley · 1/10 · 2 May 2006]

Nearly every single action, reaction and interaction in this movie was contrived. Name me one scene, and I'll give you at least two contrived elements.

Crowe didn't even attempt to develop the romance between the characters. In one scene, she was an annoyance. A couple of scenes later, after a montage of telephonic laughs, they're in love.

What a horrible, horrible disappointment. Friends' comments had led me to believe it was mediocre. But it was Cameron Crowe, and I let myself be swayed by Patty Griffin's "Long Ride Home," which played in the trailers. And then the song wasn't even in the actually movie!

Save yourself the two hours. Skip Elizabethtown. Go back and watch Garden State for a second time instead.

I love love love this film!

[ericvr · 10/10 · 1 October 2014]

This is one of my all-time favorite films. I can watch it over and over again every year.

• it is insightful to the plight of chasing your call

• it is encouraging in the pursuit of truly being yourself

• it is a great road trip film with inspiring stops and killer music - top notch

• it reminds you to love your parents while they are around

(even if you don't have the best relationship with them)

• it is one of the best romantic comedy movies that isn't sappy.

• Orlando Bloom is funny, impacting and emotional without being sappy.

• Kirsten Dunst is authentic, charming, vulnerable and loving.

• The entire movie has a nice mixture of stupid funny and heartfelt inspiration.

Again, I love this movie. Watch i when you're not going to be interrupted. Put up with some of the silliness and get ready to be moved. You'll love it too!

Never Sets a Focus

[Hitchcoc · 6/10 · 25 January 2008]

I guess this film had good intentions. It means to be likable, and it is at times. But it so full of eccentricities and unmotivated cuteness, it never gets there. Saying and doing outrageous things works sometimes when done in moderation, but this is sort of an unbelievable odyssey where we lose interest about half way. Is there even a modicum of reality here, or is this some contrived fable? The two leads spar back and forth. We all know it's going to work out, but they are hiding secrets. The mere timing of things is so hard to swallow that we watch, agape. Also thrown in are all these local characters. Each is drawn up as some kind of personality with a history of unlikely behavior. They are in the way, but aren't they lovable. The principle figure is so unattractive personally (not physically) and in such a fairyland, he doesn't know what to do. All through the thing I kept saying, "For God's sake, do something." Then there's the wacko mother and all her shtick. Come on. You can create a world like this, but how about a little believability.

Unfathomably awful

[thoward1223 · 1/10 · 2 April 2006]

Just horrifying. I like Cameron Crowe, I sat through Vanilla Sky (although mostly just for the soundtrack), and I think Orlando Bloom is likable enough. But I wanted this movie to end more than any movie I've seen in years. It just seemed like one big contrived emotional breakdown in search of a catharsis that never arrives.

Here's the thing. The last section of the movie -- in which Orlando Bloom's character follows the map laid out by Kirsten Dunst's creepy stalker-ish character to finally open up and find himself and blah blah blah -- was also awful, and staggeringly dumb. BUT -- that could have been the basis for a real movie. Not the map part, just the wandering around and finding himself part. Maybe not an original movie, but a real one. Instead it was just one more disconnected sequence tacked onto a whole slew of them, and it made me angry that the movie was made in the first place.

Hated it.

This Movie Deserves A Second Chance

[Chrysanthepop · 18 April 2008]

I might have skipped 'Elizabethtown' had I not known that Cameron Crowe directed it. The title didn't seem interesting. I wasn't impressed by some of Bloom's and Dunst's earlier works. But, to my surprise, 'Elizabethtown' is an exception. First it needs to be said that I did not enjoy this movie during first viewing but after the second time, I loved it.

It starts off a bit slow in the beginning but that allows the viewer to be acquainted with the characters. The balance between drama, comedy and romance feels a little uneven at first but it gets better with subsequent viewing. Some of the characters of Elizabethtown are a little overwhelming and the humour is dry, which may not be appreciated by many.

'Elizabethtown' is about Drew reconnecting with his past, his childhood and his loved ones, especially his father. It's about him seeing joy in the simpler things of life and perhaps the best things in life are simple. And, it's also about recognizing your love. It's about being happy no matter what. The film beautifully ends with Susan Sarandon's splendid one-woman act that included her tap-dancing. This is followed by an incredible memorable sequence where Bloom's Drew goes on a road trip back home. This sequence is so beautifully executed that I'd even recommend to watch the entire film for that alone.

On the technical side, it's very well shot. I liked the framing of the scenes (particularly in the road trip sequence). The cinematography is very good. Like in Crowe's other movies, he's made sure that the soundtrack is great. It is well edited too.

Orlando Bloom does very well with a role that couldn't have been easy to play. He does shift in and out with his accent (so does Dunst) but overall delivers a subtle and balanced performance. On first watch, I was irritated by Kirsten Dunst. But during second viewing I absolutely fell in love with her Claire and now see what a good actress she is. Susan Sarandon is terrific and Alec Baldwin is convincing as the jerk of a boss. Judy Greer is great and Jessica Biel is annoying (thankfully she has a teeny role).

There's some resemblance to 'Garden State' but while I fell in love with 'Garden State' after first viewing, I felt the same for 'Elizabethtown' after second watch. 'Elizabethtown' really deserves a second chance. Try it and perhaps then you'll see why. In my humble opinion, it is best watched on a rainy day or when you have just had a bad day.

I would like to meet a "Claire" like this

[mario_c · 7/10 · 24 January 2008]

ELIZABETHTOWN is a romantic comedy about love, about life, about success. The plot begins with a desperate guy, Drew Baylor (played by Orlando Bloom), that after doing a huge "fiasco" in his professional career is about to commit suicide! When he's ready to do that, his cellular phone starts calling: it's his sister saying their father is dead! His father was back on his hometown (Elizabethtown) to see his family when he had a heart attack, and now Drew's mother wants that Drew go to that town and bring his father's body back to where they live. He goes, and in his flight he meets a stewardess called Claire (played by Kirsten Dunst)… That girl will change his life and the way he sees the world!

I enjoyed this movie but especially the character Clair… I think that a girl like that is every guy's dream! She has everything that is positive and beautiful in this life! She's gorgeous, funny, imaginative, optimistic, encouraging, and she was right there at the right time helping that guy's life, showing him that he couldn't be beaten by failure! Life goes on! In order to create such rich and wonderful character would be necessary a great actress and a great performance… and that was found! Kirsten Dunst is perfect! I always liked her as an actress, but after this role I shall like her even more!

I also appreciated the portrayal of the "deep America" which is done in the film, showing us that the USA isn't just a country with large cities. It also has its deep and rustic side…

The soundtrack is nice too

However, there's this thing I didn't like so much in the movie (and that's why I'm scoring it just 7/10 instead of 8/10), and that is: the ending! Come on, with such nice plot, created with so much imagination, providing us fun, entertainment and some unexpected situations, for almost two hours, would be really necessary such expected, banal, and "terribly seen before" romantic ending?! I guess not; and in my "modest opinion" I think the film would be so much greater if it had a different and more imaginative ending

Interpretation covering up for bad writing

[davidmvining · 7/10 · 9 February 2021]

This was the beginning of the end for Cameron Crowe. He has made two movies since, and neither was terribly well received, but it was Elizabethtown that went from anticipation to antipathy, marking what seems to be the rest of his career. It didn't help that the reception at the Toronto International Film Festival was so resoundingly negative that Crowe did an emergency cut that drastically reduced the film's length before its wide release.

The movie begins with the main character, Drew Baylor, discussing the difference between a failure and a fiasco, fodder for critics who didn't like the film overall. Drew was the lead designer on a new type of shoe that was met with critical anticipation and then derision once it was released, costing the Mercury Shoe Company $972 million. He contemplates suicide and comes up with a plan involving a kitchen knife and an exercise bike when his sister calls with news of his father's death in Kentucky. Setting out to accomplish the one goal of bringing his father's body back to Oregon for cremation and spreading his ashes at sea, he flies to Louisville. On the flight he meets Claire.

A lot of the critical drubbing the movie received was over Claire. It went so far as a critic ended up coining the term "Manic Pixie Dreamgirl" in direct response to this film. I'll admit that Claire is a problem in the film, even with my interpretation that she doesn't actually exist. She's too available, too cute, too open to Drew too early, and probably written as a real person originally with some scenes that would have undermined my theory about her reality thrown to the cutting room floor. She sees Drew completely alone in coach on an overnight flight, begs him to come to first class, draws him a map to the small town of Elizabethtown, and gives him her number. This is a lot, but she ends up disappearing from the film for a good while, blunting that impact and impression.

Drew goes home, and this is where the film works best. Isolated from his father's extended family for pretty much his whole life, he suddenly finds a huge warm embrace to greet him. Cousins, uncles, aunts, and family friends he has only the vaguest of memories of are all incredibly happy to see the son of the man they loved. This feels genuine and infectious, reminding me of when I would go to see my own father's family in Tennessee. There are a lot of people with a lot of implied history who all seem to know Drew's father better than Drew ever did. This ends up matching rather well with Drew's own personal journey dealing with his own failure and the thought that he has nothing to live for anymore. The death of his father provides him a look at new life he had forgotten with years of work. It's not new stuff, but it's solidly told.

Drew goes to his hotel and has an all night conversation with Claire after he feels alone and ends up calling everyone he can just to have a conversation. They talk and talk in an extended montage that actually does feel rather sweet as they go from one topic to the next from shot to shot. It implies the sort of easy connection between two people meant to be together. It's nice.

The rest of Drew's trip to Elizabethtown is dominated by the final discussions on what to do with his father's body with him standing strong on his father's final wishes for cremation, only to succumb to his family's wishes for burial in Elizabethtown too late to make a difference. The final wake and celebration of the man's life is actually a really nice demonstration of how people mourn in different ways, the centerpiece being Drew's mother using comedy to tell the estranged family why she loved her husband and how she'll miss him. It's odd and sweet.

Claire ends up dominating the last half hour of the film when she gives Drew an extremely detailed roadmap that she apparently created in an evening that takes Drew from Elizabethtown all the way back to Oregon, planned to the minute. He follows it, releasing bits of his father's ashes at certain spots, and eventually meeting Claire at the second largest flea market in the world. I'm not going to say the movie falls apart in this final half hour, but it's a weak ending. The movie seems to have lost any real focus by turning Drew's attention to a road trip and bits of Southern history like the visit to the hotel where Martin Luther King Junior was murdered. It feels random and out of place. Perhaps MLK's death is supposed to indicate that he died for something, a great victory in the end, with Drew's thoughts of suicide being selfish, but it's not really made clear and feels like an inappropriate way to use the assassination of a beloved figure. There had been bits of talk about Drew having planned a road trip with his father before his death, but it's Claire's voice that dominates the soundtrack, making it more about her than about Drew. I wonder if making it Drew saying the exact same things would have helped refocus the journey on where it should have been.

Now, my theory that Claire doesn't actually exist. She interacts almost exclusively with Drew. The only other people she ever speaks to are the engaged couple that are on the same floor as Drew in the hotel. She's never even seen by Drew's family or even talked about with them. Combined with the writing that makes her the Manic Pixie Dreamgirl, an unrealistic ideal of a movie creation that doesn't feel like a real woman, and it seems like a decent interpretation of her character that she actually ends up representing part of Drew's psyche rather than an actual person. She appears when thoughts of perhaps not ending it all start to perk up, and even the last shot of the film seems to underline that a bit. Drew finally gets some more voiceover in the ending, and his last word, "life", cuts to him embracing Claire in that flea market. Even in the assumption that she's real, she obviously is meant to represent more than just a woman, but Drew embracing life after his week in Kentucky. Is reading her as unreal a critical cover for bad writing? Maybe, but I do think it works.

The movie has its issues, but it is an open-hearted exploration of live after failure. That earnestness also seems to rub some people the wrong way, but I embrace it.

Go and see Elizabethtown.... Perfect reason why we have this site and NOT CRITICS

[jessie-39 · 7/10 · 14 October 2005]

This is another movie that shows that critics are overworked and just plain out of touch. A critic by definition has to see EVERY movie, not just the ones they want to see. So unlike US real people, we pick what we want to see. WE (my wife and I) have lifetime free passes to go and see any movie we want to. We pick and choose what we want to see, not see everything even though it is free. Critics have not liked this movie at all. Why? Some of them are 60 years old, some don't like Orlando, or Ms. Dunn or who knows why. We look at a movie to get our two hours of being entertained. Not anymore, not any less. I don't know what they look for? We loved this movie, I never saw a movie with Orlando Bloom and so I have no bias. My wife however, loves him and saw him umpteen times on the tube this past week. He was terrific in this role as was Kersten. It was a most enjoyable movie and we got our monies worth. Don't listen to the critics. Be your own critic.

Dull as a cloudy day at the beach !!

[statajack · 1/10 · 15 December 2006]

With OB playing the lead role, I was hoping to get a glimpse of his acting prowess in a film that doesn't involve swords, arrows, ugly creatures and fast action camera-work. The first ten minutes started quite well, with possible undertones of some ironic black humour coming up. He gets fired for losing his employer the best part of USD 1 billion. Fair do's ! Then he's on a jumbo jet heading for Kentucky, the only passenger, and the stewardess (KD) tells him with a straight face that he saved all their jobs for being on that flight. Oh Oh ! The alarm bells start ringing. Was that supposed to be serious, or an attempt at humour !! The film then switches to Elizabethtown, and dies completely........

The relationship development between OB and KD is completely nauseating, and so endlessly boring with clichéd dialogue. It goes on and on and on, with no meaningful or interesting word from either of them. I pity both these actors for having to spout the most monotonous and diabolical script I have heard in years.

After an hour and a quarter, I couldn't stand anymore, and switched it off.

A few nights later I returned to the rest of the 2-hour film hoping that it would get going. It just got worse. Susan Sarandon at a sickly American-style funeral party doing a daft little jig on stage, and finally OB's road trip which made me want to tear out teeth.

The bit that bugged me the most, we never find out how OB lost his employer a large wad of cash !! If anybody wants a free DVD, you can have my copy with pleasure, otherwise it's going for a flying lesson out the window !

A criminally underrated movie

[taylorhammons · 8/10 · 5 February 2019]

I don't know why this movie seems to have fallen by the wayside, but I haven't met anyone outside of my family who's actually seen it.

This movie is insanely underrated. It's a near perfect blend of subtle comedy and heartbreaking tragedy. It's deep and meaningful without being pretentious. It's beautifully shot without being overly artsy. It's smartly written, expertly acted, and perfectly timed. It's relatable but fresh.

Everything about this movie makes me continually want to come back to it. The soundtrack, the dialogue, the story, it's all absolutely perfect. I just wish more people knew about it.

Elizabethtown

[cultfilmfan · 7/10 · 15 October 2005]

Elizabethtown, is about a young man named Drew Baylor, who just lost a lot of money working on a new shoe for his company and now he is very depressed and suicidal. To make things worse Drew then gets a phone call from his sister Heather, telling him that their father has died. Drew's father was out visiting relatives in the South, when he had a heart attack so Heather, and Drew's mother Hollie send him to go and meet with the other side of the family and bring his father home to prepare for a funeral. On the plane ride to see his relatives Drew meets an airline stewardess named Claire Colburn, who sits and talks to Drew, seeing as they are the only two people on the back of the plane. When Drew lands he goes to meet the eccentric other side of his family and before he last left Claire, she gave him her phone number so he phones her and they start to become quite close. Drew still being depressed and Claire being the jolly person she is go well together and soon start to form a good relationship. Also while down in the South, with his family he doesn't know all too well Drew starts to find out more about himself and goes on a journey to find himself and answer his own questions. Elizabethtown. Has good direction, a good script, good comedic performances by the whole cast including Orlando Bloom as Drew and Kirsten Dunst as Claire, good original music (which is done by writer and director Cameron Crowe's wife Nancy Wilson, who used to be in the band Heart) and good cinematography. To my surprise Elizabethtown, was quite offbeat and quirky and I liked that. I also liked the different kinds of characters in this film and we have many different types of characters. I also liked the chemistry and relationship between Drew and Claire and thought that they had a good screen presence with one another. The film has some good dialogue and writing and overall is a fun and sweet film that is a little odd and quirky but I liked it for that. Some may not like the film because it doesn't have a whole lot going on and that personally didn't bother me. The only flaws I had with the film was that the last ten minutes really seemed to go on and on and I think it maybe could have ended a little sooner. The ending of the film (without giving too much away) was also a little too far fetched and unbelievable in some ways for me. Still, I enjoyed the many different characters and dialogue in this film and it is a harmless and sweet movie and I enjoyed it.

A study in the overuse of cloying, trite plot devices

[yegdad · 1/10 · 8 July 2006]

Every time I thought this movie couldn't get worse, it did.

For this reason alone, I kept watching: morbid fascination.

It was a slow-motion traffic accident.

Stereotyping small town locals as one-dimensional hicks is such a lame and tiresome plot device. NOT stereotyping would have made things interesting. (For example, the movie "Junebug" shows how apparently simple town folk can have depth.) There must have been some temporal anomalies from Star Trek afoot in Elizabethtown -- how else can you explain:

• how Claire Colburn (Kirsten Dunst) was able assemble a scrapbook/map and accompanying 42-hour CD music mix (complete with her perky voice-over!) while also spending all her time seducing Drew Baylor (Orlando Bloom), chatting him up over the phone, and saving guests from a burning hotel?

• how Hollie Baylor (Susan Sarandon) was able to take stand-up comic classes, tap dancing lessons, learn organic cooking techniques and auto-repair, and travel from Oregon to Kentucky all in the time between hearing of the death of her husband and burying him? (Her scene on stage was the most painful part of this "traffic accident". I just couldn't take my eyes away!)

• how a running shoe product launch could possibly cost a billion dollars and why 28-year old is given a billion dollars to play with in the first place?

Finally, the road trip is the final offender.

Because the movie couldn't dredge up any of its own meaningful iconic symbolism, it tries to cheat by force-feeding movie-goers with motherhood Americana. The movie takes us to the Lorraine Motel balcony where Martin Luther King was assassinated -- presumably, the audience would be loath to criticize a motherhood icon such as Marting Luther King and -- the producers hope -- would be loath to criticize the movie.

They're wrong -- we can tell the difference.

(Notice that Tom Cruise is one of the producers so, on several levels, we shouldn't be so surprised by this.)

How could so many critics have panned this amazing film?

[porterkelly · 8/10 · 24 October 2005]

For the critics who say this film meanders and rambles, I have to say this: When your dad dies, your life meanders and rambles. I can't speak for everyone who has lost a father but I can speak for myself, and I thought it was spot-on in it's portrayal of the confusing roller-coaster that surrounds the death of a parent. Elizabethtown has all of the things you'd expect from a Cameron Crowe movie: a unique and personal story, great music, beautiful cinematography, surprising humor (I was actually choking from laughing so hard during the videotape scene) and very real and touching moments. I thought the acting was great. Orlando Bloom gave a touching and subtle performance. Kirsten Dunst's accent did go in and out a bit, but she and Bloom had such great chemistry that it didn't bother me at all. Susan Sarandon was perfect, Alec Baldwin was hilarious, the Elizabethtown residents were quirky and fun...if I have a complaint it's that the amazing Judy Greer was underutilized. Overall, this movie had everything that a great movie should have. Shame on the critics who panned it simply because it didn't follow the usual Hollywood plot map—this film is about taking the scenic route and making the trip meaningful, and that's what it did.

A touching delineation of romance.

[witty_pseudonym · 6/10 · 9 November 2005]

Watching Elizabethtown gave me a great sense of satisfaction. I think it is fair to say that every single aspect of the film was magnificent bar one: Orlando Bloom. When we commenced watching this film, my friend whispered to me "See his face now? His expression won't change for the whole film"-and it seldom did. Now I'm not saying that Bloom is "razzie" material, he is not, as such, a bad actor, but he really can't portray more than one emotion. I am absolutely positive that a much more suitable lead with a much greater acting range would have been possible. For the life of me I cannot understand why Bloom was signed on for this film. I was, almost, able to overlook Blooms acting and enjoy the film for what it was; which is a credit to Crow's fine directing. This is a touching delineation of romance, full of poignant moments and hilarious situations. Wonderfully shot, amazingly acted and with great panache this is a film that should not be overlooked-even considering a certain someone's "ability"

One of the Worst Movies of my Long Lifetime

[ld8t · 1/10 · 7 August 2007]

Hell, I'm even FROM Elizabethtown (Kentucky), where most of this dog takes place, and even that fact couldn't keep me awake. Doggedly slow pace, mind-numblingly boring characters (especially the flight attendant played by the leading lady), hideous writing, no conflict, no nothing. Just two hours of dumb. My wife and I (she has also spent some time in Elizabethtown, or "E-Town" as it's known in Kentucky) can't understand how such an execrable movie got some good reviews and some good WOM. The positive comments on this site mystify us further. I don't think further words are necessary, but the IMDb just bounced my review for not being long enough -- minimum of eight lines, it said. I can't even imagine any way "Elizabethtown" could merit eight lines of criticism, but here are some tries. Thumbs down! Blech! Sheesh! Enough?