Elizabethtown

Initial Reaction: Grimace and sigh.

I think I remember having different expectations for Elizabethtown than your average chick flick. I'm not sure why--could've been the buzz, or just my own reaction to the previews. But I went into it expecting more than the typical "boy meets girl, girl brightens boy's life, boy and girl get separated, will boy and girl end up together?" plot. I was satisfied, a little, but was left with an overall sense of apathy towards them after the movie ended. There was great potential for great moments, but Elizabethtown was left reaching for higher ground.
Elizabethtown stretches beyond the bounds of the standard rom com. In fact, I think that those involved in creating Elizabethtown would resent either the title of "chick flick" or "rom com." But too bad. It was like... a rom com in disguise. Which was frustrating for me. I was fed the normal "boy meets girl yadda yadda yadda" along with some depth of character. This would normally thrill me and give me hope for Hollywood romance stories, but in this film it didn't fly, for the following reasons:
Orlando Bloom didn't seem great for the role as Drew Baylor. Thinking back, it was a really good role, but Bloom didn't own it. He was given some realness regarding his life, family and emotions, and I loved his character development. (Though the fact that he apparently lost his company millions of dollars by creating the worst sneaker ever seemed rather...dumb.) Anyway, Orlando just didn't bloom. Ha.
Kirsten Dunst played female romantic lead, Claire Colburn. Oy. I'll be honest, I don't like Dunst as a romantic lead. Not too sure why. In this case, I think her accent and annoying optimism contributed to my dislike. Anyway, if you'll read my review of Hope Springs, you'll understand why I didn't like the romance in this film, as it seems to mirror the relationship progression from that movie.
So, a plot outline: Drew Baylor watches his professional life go down the drain as he loses his company a LOT of money. Understandably, he's pretty depressed, and is nearly pushed to the edge. Thankfully, his father dies. Odd as that may seem, this helps him out of his selfish down-in-the-dumps stupor by making him realize that his mother and sister need him. He rises to the challenge and goes home to see them.
As a result, he is placed into the role of mediator. His father's body is in his old hometown of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, and he is sent there to make sure his father's last wishes are carried out. On the flight there, he meets Claire, who connects with him and seems to pull him out of the pit he's in. Throughout his journey to Elizabethtown and elsewhere, they keep in touch and develop feelings for each other. As they are continuously drawn together and pulled apart, we wonder if anything will ever come of it. Will they each get over their respective problems and find each other? Or move on? Or neither? This plotline does resolve itself, but not in any spectacular way.
In short, the film didn't impress. For the most part, the positives and negatives balanced themselves out. One thing that the movie had going for it was an actual story going on behind the romance. After Drew loses his father at the beginning of the film, we follow him as he grieves with his mother and sister, as well as members of his family he's never met before. Susan Sarandon plays his mother, and is, as usual, wonderful. The most touching scene was at her husband's memorial service when she says goodbye to him. I love how they all learn about themselves and each other through their loss. Also good was the road trip near the end that Bloom takes with his father (at this point, an urn filled with his ashes).

Rating: -3

Elizabethtown had good intentions, but the main thrust of the story, which was the budding romance between Drew and Claire, lacked chemistry and purpose. It wasn't refreshing. It wasn't touching. It wasn't meaningful. It was just there. And a love relationship that just exists is less than mediocre. Which is what brought Elizabethtown down to a negative score. A decent attempt by Cameron Crowe, but ineffective at best.