“Elizabethtown” Directed by Cameron Crowe Paramount
Pictures
A depressed young man heads back east for the funeral of his
father, meets the girl of his dreams, and gains a newfound
appreciation for life, all set to one of the best soundtracks of
the year. Sound like a case of deja vu? When Cameron Crowe’s
new film “Elizabethtown” hits theaters Oct. 14, it will
inevitably draw comparisons to Zach Braff’s 2004 indie hit
“Garden State.” Fans who believe
“Elizabethtown” is a rip-off or sequel to their beloved
ode to youthful angst, take note ““
“Elizabethtown” started production in 2003, before
Braff’s film even came under the mainstream radar. On the
surface, the two films bear similarities, but underneath they
differ in numerous ways, including tone. Whereas “Garden
State” was somewhat dark and featured characters with jagged
edges, Crowe’s characters are generally warmer in a feel-good
movie sense. Bringing charm and vitality to the film is Orlando
Bloom as Drew Baylor, the film’s central character. Drew has
plunged Phil DeVoss’s (Alec Baldwin) company into a
billion-dollar debt through his failed new-fangled shoe enterprise.
While Drew is on the verge of suicide, rather creatively sitting on
an exercise bike with a knife attached to the handlebars, he
receives a phone call from his sister, Heather (Judy Greer of
“Arrested Development”). She tells him that their
father has had a heart attack and that he must fly immediately to
Kentucky to make funeral arrangements. This closely parallels
Crowe’s own life. His father died unexpectedly from a heart
attack in Kentucky soon after the release of Crowe’s
“Say Anything” in 1989. This semi-autobiographical
element makes the film more personal, more endearing, and more
human than your typical romantic comedy. The love story between
Drew and Claire Colburn (played by Kirsten Dunst, a role that
allows more depth than her previous cute love-interest characters),
a flight attendant that Drew meets on a 3 a.m. flight to
Elizabethtown, Ky., is made believable by Crowe’s excellent
scriptwriting talent. In fact, the crux of the film, which arguably
makes it worth watching, is the road trip Drew takes in the second
half of the movie. Crowe initially dwells too long on Drew’s
shoe fiasco, but makes up for it with this wonderful sequence that
pays homage to the beauty of the American South and Midwest. Set to
a soundtrack that ranges from the ever-popular U2 and Elton John to
alt-country artists like Ryan Adams and Eastmountainsouth,
Drew’s road trip takes him through Kentucky, Arkansas,
Oklahoma and Nebraska, on a path outlined for him by Claire. It is
then that Drew finally comes to terms with his father’s
death, and just as Drew and his father “should have done this
(road trip) long ago,” likewise it has been too long since a
major motion picture highlighted the landscape and beauty of
America’s heartland. -Julianne Fylstra