Review of Aloha (2015) by Becky T — 28 May 2015

Cameron Crowe is still trying to reclaim that glow he had when he brought us Jerry Maguire and Almost Famous. The latter of which, I consider the pinacle of his career. This is far far from the bus ride that left us singing Tiny Dancer for years.

Simply put, Aloha is so flat, it should be called Kansas. The characters, try as they might, talk of things that make us feel lost, like we should have been there. And sometimes we were, and we still don't know what is going on, why it's going on, and for how long. Relationships feel pushed, character arcs get halfway up and the rocket to their end point without showing us their development.

The side story with the rocket could have been a fine story on its own, or pushed to the back, so far back it could have been a maguffin, and completely avoided, leaving more room to develop and nurture these characters and their complicated lives that go so deep and far into the past, forensic scientists will have a hard time digging deep to find the why.

It seems like Crowe is writing from a high school level with Aloha, missing bits and pieces that another writer would pick up and mold. Fortunately, it isn't as though he's coming out with boring movies with substance as complicated as jelly left and right. He's giving us time to forget his past sins, and remember the good times. One would just hope that the next one is closer to Fast Times or Almost Famous, instead of this.