Elizabethtown Mr. Black's Grade: C Directed by Cameron Crowe , and starring Alec Baldwin , Jessica Biel , Judy Greer , Kirsten Dunst , Orlando Bloom and Susan Sarandon.
Hours after a ruinous product debut, suicidal industrial designer Drew Baylor (Orlando Bloom) learns of his father's sudden death. As the only son, Drew must travel to their small hometown to attend to his father's memorial. On the flight to Kentucky, Drew meets Claire (Kirsten Dunst), a quick-witted flight attendant, who helps him through the rough waters ahead.
Susan Sarandon has a great speech at the end, and I like the way small town life and having a massive extended family is portrayed. The film is way, way too long (it will likely be cut before hitting the theater's), and feels like it has two endings. There are some decent laughs every once and a while, and it is well produced. However, as time passes, I like this film less and less. This is coming from someone who loved Almost Famous.
So why didn't I like Elizabethtown? Well Orlando Bloom to start with - he failed to pull off the role. He was unconvincing during the opening set-up, and I never felt for a second that he would actually do what his said he was about to (you will understand once you see the movie). Without that emotional start, the character completely fails for me. The work problem that Bloom's character experiences is not fully explained (what actually went wrong?), and the resolution was just silly, which lost the opportunity for him to grow.
Kirsten Dunst's character is annoying as hell when you first meet her, and for some it will stay that way. She is cute and adorable, if that is your thing, but she is riddled with inconsistencies. She is going on vacation and then the next day there is some type of 'job interview'? Is there a 'Ben'? Is she a lying psychopath? Orlando Bloom doesn't seem to care because he is in love with a capital "L". Some folks out there may love this movie the same way, but unfortunately this fearless reviewer is not one of them.
Hours after a ruinous product debut, suicidal industrial designer Drew Baylor (Orlando Bloom) learns of his father's sudden death. As the only son, Drew must travel to their small hometown to attend to his father's memorial. On the flight to Kentucky, Drew meets Claire (Kirsten Dunst), a quick-witted flight attendant, who helps him through the rough waters ahead.
Susan Sarandon has a great speech at the end, and I like the way small town life and having a massive extended family is portrayed. The film is way, way too long (it will likely be cut before hitting the theater's), and feels like it has two endings. There are some decent laughs every once and a while, and it is well produced. However, as time passes, I like this film less and less. This is coming from someone who loved Almost Famous.
So why didn't I like Elizabethtown? Well Orlando Bloom to start with - he failed to pull off the role. He was unconvincing during the opening set-up, and I never felt for a second that he would actually do what his said he was about to (you will understand once you see the movie). Without that emotional start, the character completely fails for me. The work problem that Bloom's character experiences is not fully explained (what actually went wrong?), and the resolution was just silly, which lost the opportunity for him to grow.
Kirsten Dunst's character is annoying as hell when you first meet her, and for some it will stay that way. She is cute and adorable, if that is your thing, but she is riddled with inconsistencies. She is going on vacation and then the next day there is some type of 'job interview'? Is there a 'Ben'? Is she a lying psychopath? Orlando Bloom doesn't seem to care because he is in love with a capital "L". Some folks out there may love this movie the same way, but unfortunately this fearless reviewer is not one of them.