Elizabethtown Reviews

There are elements in Cameron Crowe's Elizabethtown that are pure genius and then there are moments that feel lifted from some cheap second hand comedy. It is a film which is easy to go along and it is a film that is easy to like, but it ain't no flawless that is for sure.

It's truly such a shame to see film with this much potential to end up something of a mess. I liked these characters and while many of them were just pure caricatures and felt no real people at all, i still liked to watch their everyday life. This is clearly film that stands on the shoulders of Orlando Bloom. While many might consider him a not qualified enough for a role like this, but i have always find him to be very good actor who can take over major roles anytime. Here he gives fantastic performance as a Drew Baylor who has to cope with grief, love and death. His Drew is the anchor of this film and Bloom shines in a role which just might be his best to date. There are also actors like Kirsten Dunst, Susan Sarandon and Alec Baldwin in here but none of them can match Bloom's charisma. On the other hand none of them has a role as well written as Bloom does, so it is quite unfair to blame these actors from that.

As a film Elizabethtown is one of those feel good films which is destined to make you believe in better tomorrow. It might be a little naive but i admire Crowe's honest approach to his material and even the most corniest moments, and there are many, does not feel too too much to handle. Crowe's biggest strenght is clearly his great ability to use music in the soundtrack and his visual eye. With cinematographer John Toll he captures quite beautiful images from American landscape. Especially the fantastic final fifteen minutes of this film are pleasure to watch. Within those final moments Crowe creates heartbreaking beauty that stands as one of his greatest moments as a director so far. It is just too bad that the rest of the film does not match with those final fifteen minutes.

Underrated and overlooked when it was released, Elizabethtown desreves more praise than it actually got. It is quite good film with charming mood. As an entertainment it is a well made and well meaning two hours with solid production values and a good solid cast.

This is my second time watching this and 1 hour in I am removing this from the DVD player and my collection. It totally bores the hell out of me.
I like Kirsten Dunst, and she is charming here as Clare, but it is not enough to save this film and she's not in it enough.
Unconvincing on almost every level, Orlando cannot hold a film for two hours.

The movie sucked and made kittke sense by the soundtrack was excellent, shame James Brown with thats life didn't make the sound track. Movie gets 2 stars, Soundtrack gets 5 stars

I didn't expect that this film would be this good, but I was surprised. I thought that this would be your regular run of the mill chick flick, it really wasn't. The film was a great blend of comedy and drama and the performances were well done. Cameron Crowe has made a terrific film with a different style than your regular romantic film. I thought it was a fine change of pace from other films. The cast here are terrific in the parts they play. I thought that Cameron Crowe was terrific for the director's chair, and he creates a film that is sad, funny and heart warming. Elizabethtown definitely exceeded my expectations. This is a great film is a must see film and there's plenty of scenes to like about this film. I enjoyed the scene where they play Skynyrd's Freebird at the memorial. For me that was one of the best parts of the film. I enjoyed this film very much, and I didn't expect to like this film, whatsoever, but I was surprised I did. The reason that the film works so well is because of the talented cast, and great direction from Cameron Crowe. Elisabethtowm is a fun, and sad drama comedy film that is better than your usual films of the genre, because it manages to be quite different. If you love Cameron Crowe's work, then give this one a shot, it's a fun, heartwarming and sad film, but in the end you feel uplifted and happy. A very good hearted story Elizabethtown is a wonderful film with a great cast and a surprising story. The film is not your usual romance film, and it's a refreshing idea to the genre. A must see.

Confusing at times and not really that romantic. It was alright, but nothing exceptional.

This was quite good and a cutesy film but it didnt keep me too interested. Wasn't that gripping but it did have a good storyline and had loads of great funny moments. Orlando is hot.

Such an awkward, self indulgent, poseur piece of crap. I read somewhere that originally the last travel car scene was like 30 minutes longer and man am I relieved that final cut never made it in. But there were some positives, and this is surprising because I did really like these things: 1) Despite her horrendous Southern accent (and creeping creepy ways), Kirsten Dunst is quite cute in this movie. I am in love with her clothing - the simple things, like a white tank with a flowy flowery skirt, her brown messenger bag, that black and white halter number wowee, 2) Susan Sarandon's tap dance has been called cheesy by most, but that scene literally made me cry. So Cameron Crowe was doing at least something right. It was just a simple gesture and the routine was so amateur, yet so right.

Great Romantic Comedy. I adore Kirsten Dunst & Orlando Bloom. :) Just a great movie. :) Great movie chemistry :) Great music too :)

really moving

I've come to the conclusion that I didn't like this movie. I thought that the style of it was cute with Orlando's commentary here and there. But I thought that Kirsten's character was so annoying. And she had a Southern accent that came and went throughout the whole movie that that really bothered me.

I love Elizabethtown for what it is. Yes, it's a romantic comedy. Regardless of that, it still manages to tell an amazing story with very relateable situations and characters. It's probably one of my favorite performances from both Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst, they had the most amazing chemistry together.

one of my favourite movies. orlando bloom is just fantastic, though outacted by kirsten dunst in almost every scene. the sound editing in this movie is some of the best you'll see anywhere

every single thing is predictable, but in some way that helps you to sit back and enjoy it. plus i dont see how anyone doesnt find Kirsten Dunst totally adorable

"It's a heck of a place to find yourself"

A young man in need of a fresh start gets one under highly unexpected circumstances in this emotionally resonant comedy drama from writer and director Cameron Crowe. Drew Baylor (Orlando Bloom) is considered the big success story in his family, having moved away from the small Kentucky town where he was born to California, where he works as a designer for Mercury, the nation's biggest athletic shoe company. But success has begun to elude Drew -- his most recent design was a resounding flop that has cost him his job, and his girlfriend, Ellen (Jessica Biel), has given him his walking papers. Drew is contemplating suicide when he gets word that his father has died, and that he's needed back home in Elizabethtown, KY, to help organize the funeral. With his mother, Hollie (Susan Sarandon), deep in denial about her husband's passing, Drew comes home to discover no one knows about his recent poor fortune, and he's greeted like a conquering hero. As Drew reconnects with his family and helps his sister, Heather (Judy Greer), look after Hollie, Drew gets a new lease on life and is reminded about what's really important to him. Helping him learn these valuable lessons is Claire Colburn (Kirsten Dunst), a pretty and optimistic flight attendant Drew meets on his flight home who has her own philosophies about positive thinking and the curative powers of travel. Elizabethtown also stars Alec Baldwin, Paul Schneider, Bruce McGill, Loudon Wainwright III, and Paula Deen.

Review
This movie is definitely worth watching, and you will enjoy it better the second or third time you see it. The reason being that it doesn't tell us a story of one event - a funeral, but rather allows us to observe two young people dancing around each other. The reason I compare it to Pride and Prejudice is because I consider the psychology of the main characters being the focus of this movie. Although it's not described in so much detail and it certainly doesn't take some six hours as the (good) P&P, it is very funny to watch the way Claire and Drew's acquaintance develops. You could put Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt and Kevin Spacey into the movie (well, maybe I wouldn't risk Spacey, just to be sure), and in the end you would still have just Claire and Drew, laughing and talking and trying to look relaxed... and it's really fun. The result is - don't mind the simple story. Observe the characters, try to understand them - and you will greatly enjoy it.

Telling a somewhat similar story to the masterpiece "Garden State" this movie has to live with being compared to it. And loses by far. Bloom isn't all that convincing as failed shoe designer who has to deal with his dad's death while getting to know his side of the family. It is Dunst and her character that give this movie a few memorable moments, especially the ending is kinda sweet. But on the other hand there are so many scenes that just do not work, neither as part of the romance nor as family drama. That's not the cast's fault, which is full of big names, nor the directing, although we have seen Cameron Crowe do much better jobs. At least he still picks very nice music to create certain atmospheres. Sadly, the plot just didn't manage to move or interest me all that much.

Heartwarming film with plenty of smiles.

The first act of Elizabethtown was nauseating and annoying. Screaming children and annoying relatives in conjunction with extended conversations about nothing left me nauseous. Then a few slightly interesting things happened and Kirsten Dunst didn't look too bad and I eventually got a little more into it. Susan Sarandon was annoying to nearly no end and Orlando Bloom was so uncharismatic to the point of bad comedy. There's one scene where he talks about having to be charming and I actually laughed out loud. He had no presence and the wild goosechase Kirsten Dunst send him on was just contrived dogshit. In the plus column it had a decent soundtrack even if about half of it was pure shit. The narration from everyone was uninspired and godawful and the fact that Dunst couldn't commit to an accent was irritating but not entirely surprising. This is as close to a movie version of purgatory you can get. It wasn't good, but I wasn't pissed that I saw it. It definitely should've been named Bluegrass State.

Orlando Bloom has the worst American accent of all time.

OK, Kirsten Dunst is...we all know what she is, but she has been in some decent films. I happened to like this movie and was rooting for the romance.

This is a great movie. I love Orlando Bloom and Cameron Crowe is one of my favorite directors.