 ELIZABETHTOWNMPAA Rating:
 for language and some sexual referencesReviewed by: Jonathan Wooten
Offensive
Moviemaking Quality:
 Primary Audience:
Teens, Adults
Genre:
Comedy
Genre:
Length:
2 hr. 18 min.
         Relevant Issues
  “It’s a heck of a place to find yourself” Producer’s Synopsis: “After causing the Oregon shoe company he works for to lose hundreds of millions of dollars, Drew Baylor (Bloom) is fired for his mistake, and promptly also dumped by his girlfriend, Ellen (Biel). On the verge of suicide, Drew is oddly given a new purpose in life when he is brought back to his family’s small Kentucky hometown of Elizabethtown following the death of his father, Mitch, as it falls to him to make sure that his dying wishes are fulfilled. On the way home, Drew meets a flight attendant, Claire Colburn (Dunst), with whom he falls in love, in a romance that helps his life get back on track.” Even on an off day Cameron Crowe is capable of creating sincere and touching moments. Whether it’s John Cusack hoisting a boom box over his head in Say Anything or Kate Hudson dancing in an empty concert hall in Almost Famous he just knows how to burn an image into your mind. Delivering a movie that is cohesive over the course of two hours has not always been his strength though and this is the main problem with Elizabethtown. Here he uses the premise of a young man (Orlando Bloom) returning to his hometown for his father’s funeral (comparisons to 04's Garden State are unavoidable). This setup works because it forces the lead to reflect. Throw in the colorful kooky characters found in Elizabethtown, KY and you have the potential for a good film. The problems start with the casting of Bloom. He’s a swell guy and easy on the eyes (um, so I’m told), but he just lacks the charisma necessary to carry a character-driven film. He and Kirsten Dunst do make a good on screen couple though, and this is a genuinely sweet love story. Also present are some positive spiritual themes. Although the couple does spend the night together in a hotel room, the relationship is not consummated (Dunst’s character later remarks that “the kissing was better than a lot of the sex I’ve had”). Also, after failing in the business world Bloom’s character must ponder the true definition of success. This is good stuff, but unfortunately the story never really gels. The fact that some 20-30 minutes have been cut since its festival run earlier this year might explain this. This director is far from a hack though, and there is a great film in here somewhere. Bloom’s road trip through America’s heartland in particular is quite moving. Crowe is at the top of his game as he melds images of landmarks such as the memorial in Oklahoma City with his trademark perfect soundtrack. Hopefully, like with Almost Famous, we will eventually be blessed with a different director’s cut. Possible objectionable content: Moderate profanity, one instance of graphic sexual dialogue Violence: Minor / Profanity: Moderate / Sex/Nudity: Mild See list of Relevant Issues — questions-and-answers. Year of Release — 2005 / USA release: October 14, 2005 (wide).
 Positive - The pain of loss and the joy of living. This is pretty much the crux of Elizabethtown, a surprisingly poignant romantic comedy centered around morbid things. I’ve been there. The phone call late at night. The funeral arrangements. Awkward conversation with people you’ve never met or haven’t seen in fifteen years. If you have ever experienced loss, you’re going to feel for Drew and his family. Negative - The first ½ hour of this film was so lame and boring that if I had not seen any previews I would have left the theatre. But I kept having faith it was going to get better and I like Paula Deen. Orlando’s acting did not bloom in this role at all and why they didn’t give him a more attractive hairstyle is beyond me. The character of Dunst was very outgoing and bright but it took until almost to the end of the movie before she could coax Bloom to even look at her twice. By then I was tired of seeing her ever smiling face filling the entire screen. In the meantime she is almost smothering him with her stalking presence and in between she keeps saying she is waiting for someone named Ben but yet tells Bloom she really likes him. Positive - I took my fifteen year old daughter to see Elizabethtown… We both enjoyed the film immensely and found it to have an overall positive message about life, love, and discovering what’s truly important in life. Negative - In terms of editing, acting, storyline, etc., the strengths and weaknesses add up to no more than average quality. For instance, although there are memorable scenes, dozens of headshots of pensive Orlando and perky Kirsten, to the backdrop of (nice) pop music, are apparently expected to hold the attention of the audience. They do not. Positive - Those who have suffered a loss and are coping with grief and family issues will be able to relate well to this movie. Those who haven’t had that life experience simply won’t. I laughed and cried and was very glad I saw the film. It actually brought me some healing. Positive - I thought this would be a romantic-comedy, which it was, but not all mushy gushy, and more than I thought it would be. There were a few swear words, no sex or nudity, although it gave the point that they slept together. It was funny and cute, romantic, but it was really heart-warming most of all. It has a good story line and had a good cast who did a good job. I would recommend it! Negative - I had a bad feeling about this movie before I took my sixteen year old to see it, and I was right. This movie is not a 'chick flick' but a 'stupidity flick'. There is no reason to waste your time watching this movie as there is no plot, no bonding with the very unbelievable characters, and no resolution to ANY of the many questions/problems these characters have. I would say this is the worst movie of the year and both of these actors' careers will be hurt by this movie. Resist this one, even when its' on the 'Rental for $l.00' shelf. By the way, my sixteen year old’s comment after seeing the movie was 'that may be the dumbest movie I’ve ever seen'. Positive - This was such a beautiful movie… The only objections: I heard the F-word twice, once used when a guy was very happy and the other was when he was mad. Also, Bloom’s mother describing the guy she hugged. Other than that…it was really, really good. Such a postive movie. He learns what is really important in life-not capatalism but love and family. Beautiful. The Chuck and Cindy wedding was so funny, as was the little boy feeding the ham to the dog. This movie is more positive than any other I’ve seen this year.… Positive - Unlike most current movies, Elizabethtown is primarily artistic in nature--in other words, it attempts to connect in some way to its viewers. Perhaps the portrayal of Southern culture isn’t completely accurate, but for the most part, I’d say that it was pretty accurate. I think that the main point of the story was to show the initial culture shock and then acceptance of a success-oriented California boy who is thrown into Southern, family-oriented culture. His growing understanding of who his father was and why he loved his Southern family and his new romance with this strange southern girl is what makes him realize that success isn’t what really matters. Not to mention, this movie probably has the best soundtrack of any recent movie that I have seen. Neutral - Not far from where we live is a town called Elizabethtown, KY. For that reason, and also because one of my wife’s favorite TV chefs (Paula Dean) had a small part in it, we decided to go and see this film. It is starring Orlando Bloom (Lord of the Rings) and Kirsten Dunst (Spiderman) in a romantic comedy about life and family. It is written and directed by Cameron Crowe (Jerry Maguire). As the movie begins, Orlando’s character is being fired because of a billion dollar failure in his company. He feels his life is over as he hears that his dad just died. Suddenly, he has to be the responsible person and go to KY and get his dad’s body and meet all of his family: A lot of aunts and uncles and cousins that he has never met before. Comments from young people
Positive - I liked this movie! It wasn’t a 'laugh-a-minute' kind of movie, but that’s okay. I like how it had a dark humor. The road trip at the end was really cool and I loved how he spread his father’s ashes all around the country. Chuck (Chuck & Cindy’s wedding) was hilarious and so was the video that made the wild kids be quiet. …They said a few mild cuss words and the 'f' word twice. But other than that, it was a cute movie. Neutral - I was looking forward to a good, funny movie to watch and was disappointed. This movie needs some serious editing. I got bored near the end and left. It could have been good, but the storyline needed some help and, like I said, it was boring. As far as moral stuff goes, it was about average for the chick-flick genre. I didn’t think it was worth spending my money on, even though I’m an Orlando Bloom fan. Neutral - I went to go see this movie with some of my friends (our main reason for going was because Orlando Bloom was in it), and while I did enjoy spending time with my friends, I didn’t really enjoy the movie as much. While some people didn’t seem to notice it, there was profanity (two times even in the background music). There wasn’t as much language as I was expecting, but still enough for me to notice it. There was even a joke that had a strong sexual reference that was repeated a couple times, seen in the movie as a joke. Positive - This is a pretty good movie. Orlando Bloom and Kiersten Dunst did a really good job! I saw this movie because I am a very big fan of Orlando Bloom, but when I saw it I didn’t just like it because of him, it had a great story to it. I would recommend this movie for the ages of 12 and up. There was a few inappropriate scenes that has to do with sex, a few curse words, and about two times somebody said God’s name in vain. Those are the only bad things about this movie. It is such a sweet story, it may get boring in the beginning but stay for the whole thing because it gets really good!! It is very funny! The people in the theatre, including me laughed. I would definitely recommend this movie… Neutral - I went to see this movie not sure what to expect. I had read some reviews and knew there was some objectional content, but not too much. Afterwards, I was glad I had gone. I went with my dad and it was fun to have some time together, the movie was sweet and I was extremely impressed with the actors. Though I’m not an Orlando Bloom fan by far, his ability to portray the man that he was in this film was very admirable. I absolutly loved the ending and how Claire showed how much she cared about him. Besides a few cuss words and a couple sexual references this movie was very good to me, I would recommend it to teenagers and adults. Positive - I went to see this movie with some friends for a birthday party. Normally love stories in any form do not appeal to me, but this was a funny and sweet movie. I was disappointed with a couple inappropriate references, including one night where the two main characters spend together, but for older teens and adults this movie is great. The entire issue of Drew learning to let go of his grief, yet lovingly remembering his father, goes deep and is touching. Claire’s optimism is refreshing and a nice change of pace. Then, of course, both learn that good things can happen when you don’t expect it. Very cute, interesting, sweet, and a reminder that good things aren’t always far away; it pays to be optimistic. |
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