ElIZABETHTOWN

Reviewed by Harvey S. Karten
Paramount Pictures
Grade: C-
Directed by: Cameron Crowe
Written by: Cameron Crowe
Cast: Orlando Bloom, Kirsten Dunst, Susan Sarandon, Judy
Greer, Jessica Biel, Alec Baldwin, Paul Schneider, Paula Deen,
Loudon Wainwright III, Bruce McGill
Screened at: Loews Village VII, NYC, 10/11/05

In his delightful book, "The New Biographical Dictionary of Film,"
critic David Thomson wonders whether Cameron Crowe will
become the new Billy Wilder ("Some Like It Hot," "The
Apartment"). He was at the helm of "Almost Famous,"(the story
of guileless 15-year-old boy who wants to write about rock
music, and "Jerry Maguire," a fanciful yarn about being a top
sports agent.

Alas: Cameron Crowe is not even close to Wilder, nor can his
name really be said in the same breath as those of Preston
Sturges and Frank Capra. This, at least if "Elizabethtown" is
used for comparison purposes. There are three things in the
movie's favor. First, and most important, is that this is not a
typical, formulaic romantic comedy typical of Hollywood
offerings but is quirky enough to be considered in the indie
family. A second is the music, particularly such songs as "My
Father's Gun" (Elton John) and "It'll All Work Out" (Tom Petty).
The third is that though sixteen minutes of flab were cut from the
film since its first exposure, at just over two hours it still feels
overlong.

Given the film's intimations at screwball comedy, a perceptive
cinephile will see connections between "Elizabethtown" and
Crowe's "Almost Famous" and "Jerry Maguire." The pic
combines a road trip with a nutty romance after an
introduction–the best part of the story–wherein shoe designer
Drew Baylor (Orlando Bloom) has just been fired from a major
corporate firm by CEO Phil (Alec Baldwin). Drew had designed
an athletic shoe for which the company invested $972 million.
The shoe flopped–both Phil and a Time-like business mag
called the venture "a fiasco." As though this were not bad
enough, Drew gets a call from his sister, Heather (Judy Greer),
announcing that their father had died and that Drew would have
to go to Elizabethtown, Kentucky, to pick up and dispose of the
body. Oh, and also his office girlfriend Ellen (Jessica Biel)
dumps him.

Drew meets flight attendant Claire Colburn (Kirsten Dunst) while
flying to Louisville. Driving to Elizabethtown, he meets his
extended family, who include a cousin Bill (Bruce McGill (who
had allegedly swindled the dead man) and rock musician Jesse
(Paul Schneider), who announces that his noisy son is taught
that Abe Lincoln and rocker Ronnie Van Zant are equally great.

The film is replete with embarrassing moments, chiefly when the
dead man's widow, Hollie Baylor (Susan Sarandon), rambles on
at the man's memorial ceremony, cracking the audience up with
a lame, risque anecdote, and concluding with a tap dance–a
hobby which she had taken up along with organic cooking.

The story lacks narrative drive, but ambles on in a Garrison
Keeler style, concluding with a 42-hour solo car trip that Claire
had planned for Drew in great detail, including the music that he
should play along the way. Those of us New Yorkers who think
that the United States terminates on the shores of the Hudson
River will get a look at small-town Kentucky with brief
excursions to Indiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma, and a visit to a
place that calls itself the second largest farmers' market in the
USA–where Claire has a big surprise for her new love interest.
There are no real surprises for us in the audience, however.

Rated PG-13. 122 minutes © 2005 by Harvey Karten
harveycritic@cs.com Member: NY Film Critics Online