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Elizabethtown

post #1 of 12
6/18/10 at 2:11am
Thread Starter 
I just rewatched this for the first time in a couple of years, and I don't really understand the hate that gets dumped on the film. It's latter day Cameron Crowe, so if you like his stuff, this should be right up your alley. A lot of people said that it's overly sentimental, but I don't think it's any more sentimental than Almost Famous (one of my all time favorites). I think it is a bit long, but the road trip at the end was a neat way for Bloom's character to have his catharsis. Speaking of Orlando Bloom, I thought he was quite good in this, and Kirsten Dunst has never been more lovely. Also, the music is fantastic. Is there anyone better at scoring their films with existing music than Cameron Crowe? Tarantino, maybe but that's about it. It's not a perfect film, but a lot of people seem to really despise it, and I'm just interested in how many of you feel about it.
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post #2 of 12
6/18/10 at 2:21am
It's way too long and the leads have no charisma or chemistry. That's the main problem. It's also Crowe's most self-indulgent picture. It's like he threw every idea he had into a blender and this is what came out. I can't help but cringe at how embarrassing Sarandon's dance is at the end.

However, it's still Crowe and there are scenes that really work. The all night phone call being the one that really stands out. Also, no matter how implausible the whole thing is the final road trip that's scored by Dunst's character always makes me smile.
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post #3 of 12
6/18/10 at 4:22am
Bloom has no understanding of grief, and most of the film does not either. The sequence where Bloom almost kills himself, but then also, his ringtone? And Susan Sarandon's performance? So terrible. Orblando Gloom, indeed. Yeah, Crowe knows his music, and there are moments, but I think you could score most things to My Father's Gun and have a winning scene.
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post #4 of 12
6/18/10 at 9:11am
Thread Starter 
I always figured Bloom being distant from his dad's death was due to the fact that they hadn't seen each other in eight years, and they probably weren't particularly close. Add that to the fact that his world was falling down around him, and he did what a lot of people do in the face of grief that big, he shut down. He wasn't able to fully deal with everything until Claire showed him that there was more to life. As cheesy as that is, it is a viable explanation for his lack of emotion.

Or maybe Bloom is just a bad actor. I'm not sure.

"My Father's Gun" and "Let it all Hang Out" are probably my two favorite songs on the soundtrack.
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post #5 of 12
6/18/10 at 9:16am
It's not a suprise Ashton Kutcher walked off the film (Don't buy the bullshit "Kutcher couldn't act with Crowe's dialogue the Studio threw out. You don't boot someone for being unable to act and then go and hire Orlando Bloom). It's completely forgettable though, and probably the worst thing Crowe has been involved with.
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post #6 of 12
6/18/10 at 10:03am
Quote:
Originally Posted by KungFuCornelius View Post
I just rewatched this for the first time in a couple of years, and I don't really understand the hate that gets dumped on the film. It's latter day Cameron Crowe, so if you like his stuff, this should be right up your alley. A lot of people said that it's overly sentimental, but I don't think it's any more sentimental than Almost Famous (one of my all time favorites). I think it is a bit long, but the road trip at the end was a neat way for Bloom's character to have his catharsis. Speaking of Orlando Bloom, I thought he was quite good in this, and Kirsten Dunst has never been more lovely. Also, the music is fantastic. Is there anyone better at scoring their films with existing music than Cameron Crowe? Tarantino, maybe but that's about it. It's not a perfect film, but a lot of people seem to really despise it, and I'm just interested in how many of you feel about it.
Look up the phrase Manic Pixie Dream Girl. Dunst role in this movie is one the quintessential examples of that film meme.

This is a movie where the plot is uninspired, the acting is uninteresting, and the directing is unengaging. Nobody acts like people. It just hits the average slot so hard it's kind of hard to garner any discussion of it (hypocrite!).

The music is okay, though.
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post #7 of 12
6/18/10 at 10:36am
It's like Crowe told Bloom to act distant and he decided to act like an alien with no concept of human emotion. The movie only tries to come alive during the Freebird scene but it too misfires. I wasn't on board the Crowe love-train anyway but this took him completely off my radar.
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post #8 of 12
1/4/11 at 1:10am
I feel like this movie was made by Crowe as a personal attack on me. And I feel bad hating Crowe. It's like hating a puppy with flowers in it's mouth, but in this case it's a super obnoxious puppy who can't wait to tell you how wonderful life is and how much he loves flowers. I believe that Crowe believes in this film, that it's not a cynical attempt to win the crowd over. The way he treats the town is super patronizing though, sincere or not.

It's not a long movie, but it feels like several movies clumsily taped together, so it's such a slog to get through. A special mention also must go to Crowe for, in the long insipid history of "I made you a mix-tape" scenes, he has made the most offensive and preposterous one.

And what was that "If you listen to your parents you will get to see houses explode" tape? That was oddity nearly on the level of Cruising's Big Naked Black Cowboy.
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post #9 of 12
1/4/11 at 1:22am
I've seen Elizabethtown three or four times in the hopes of appreciating it - but no dice.

Looking forward to Crowe's next, of course.
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post #10 of 12
1/6/11 at 3:45am
Quote:
Originally Posted by James View Post

It's not a suprise Ashton Kutcher walked off the film (Don't buy the bullshit "Kutcher couldn't act with Crowe's dialogue the Studio threw out. You don't boot someone for being unable to act and then go and hire Orlando Bloom). It's completely forgettable though, and probably the worst thing Crowe has been involved with.



Well thats just a little sill considering Kutcher has made way worse movies than this.....like every single one.

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post #11 of 12
1/6/11 at 1:50pm

Normally I'd have a soft spot for a film that's set in the Commonwealth but Elizabethtown is such a failure on pretty much every level (direction, story, performance, etc) that even the nostalgia pangs I feel for My Old Kentucky Home quickly turn into a full scale cinematic heart attack.  This movie plays as a shitty mix tape (and sans an excellent soundtrack which Crowe does well) I struggle to find one redeeming thing in this movie or even things that make sense thematically.  Is this a redemption piece? Is it a romance? A prodigal son coming home and dealing with dead daddy issues film?  Fuck if I know.  Fuck if Crowe knows either it seems.

 

It really plays as if Crowe was listening to his record collection, reading some Wendall Berry and trying to find his "roots" by writing scenes soaked in mixture of unmitigated shit and cliche'.

 

 

 

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post #12 of 12
1/8/11 at 9:34am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Waaaaaaaalt View Post



Quote:
Originally Posted by James View Post

It's not a suprise Ashton Kutcher walked off the film (Don't buy the bullshit "Kutcher couldn't act with Crowe's dialogue the Studio threw out. You don't boot someone for being unable to act and then go and hire Orlando Bloom). It's completely forgettable though, and probably the worst thing Crowe has been involved with.



Well thats just a little sill considering Kutcher has made way worse movies than this.....like every single one.


I thought so too, until I saw Personal Effects.

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