Review of Elizabethtown (2005) by Dom W — 01 Feb 2011

Claire Colburn: Trust me. Everybody is less mysterious than they think they are.

Hollie Baylor: It takes time to be funny. It takes time to extract joy from life.

Drew Baylor, the young athletic shoe designer, comes up with an idea of a sneaker that will revolutionize the industry. Well, sadly to say, his invention is like the Edsel of the Spasmodica Shoe Company! His boss reminds Drew how his design is responsible for the almost one billion dollars the company stands to lose. Sad and dejected, Drew contemplates suicide; what could be worse than feeling the derision of his co-workers and his stand in the industry? As he is preparing to put an end to his life, the phone rings and it's his sister announcing their father has died while on a family visit to relatives in Kentucky.

Drew must go to take care of the arrangements for the father's funeral. Along the way, he meets on the red-eye flight a chatty flight attendant, Claire, that will be connected to him in ways he didn't expect. His relatives prove to be too much for Drew, who didn't count in seeing so many of his kin in one place. His family has not forgiven the fact that the father married a California woman and moved there. After all, these are proud people that love their life in Kentucky.

Things get complicated as Drew and the rest of his family wants to have the old man cremated, something the family in Kentucky looks down upon. One relative takes Drew to the plot in the cemetery that has been reserved for that side of the Baylors. Drew decides to go on with the plans. It's because of the kindness and love he receives from all these unknown relatives that he has a change of heart and decides to comply with their wishes, but alas, it's a bit too late as the cremation went through.

When Claire appears in Elizabethtown, whatever they felt on that first meeting has changed. Claire is a beautiful young woman who likes Drew for what he is. Claire is intrigued by why hasn't Drew made a cross-country trip. She has a plan for him to see the beauty of the country in its back roads and real people, which is what he does on his way back home. By the time he reaches Oregon, he will be a changed man.

Cameron Crowe's "Elizabethtown" appears to be a film that has captivated audiences, judging by the positive commentaries in this forum. The fact remains, this film "borrows" from other Crowe's films incorporating them into this narrative. The film is in part a road film, most notably the last sequences in the movie that involves Drew's trip throughout the land.

Orlando Bloom seemed a strange choice for Drew. His accent is perfect and he is totally believable as this man that has to come to terms with the death of a father and a failure in his designing career. Mr. Bloom makes a good contribution to the film. Kirsten Dunst plays Claire. At first she is a bit annoying and pushy. It's clear from the start she really likes the taciturn Drew, who doesn't want to get too involved with her. Susan Sarandon has only a few scenes. Her tap dancing at the memorial service for her husband is hilarious.

Although this is not one of the best films of Cameron Crowe, it is by no means a disappointment. John Toll's cinematography shows the heart of the country and its uncomplicated folk at their best.

The film begins with a recall of Mercury Worldwide Shoes' latest product, designed by Drew Baylor (Orlando Bloom). Drew is brought before the head of Mercury, Phil Devoss (Alec Baldwin), who explains to Drew that the company is expected to lose $978 million due to the failure of the shoes that he designed.

After being fired, Drew returns home, where in an act of desperation, takes all his worldly goods to the curb outside his apartment, before rigging a suicide machine from an exercise bike and a kitchen knife. However, before he can go through with his plan, his sister Heather (Judy Greer) calls him, to inform him that their Dad (Tim Devitt) has died from a heart attack while visiting family in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. Drew puts his plans on hold so that he can travel to Elizabethtown to retrieve their Father's body, while Heather contends with their Mother (Susan Sarandon), who responds to this news by learning all sorts of new things, from cooking to tap-dancing.

On the plane flight, Drew meets up with a stewardess named Claire (Kirsten Dunst), who strikes up a conversation with Drew. As she's also from an area near Elizabethtown, Claire ends up drawing out a map for Drew to follow. Drew doesn't follow the map, and almost gets lost, before finding his way to Elizabethtown.

Drew has never met his Father's side of the family until now. He is welcomed with open arms by almost everyone, but finds them apprehensive when he tells of the possibility of cremating his Father. He also meets his cousin Jessie (Paul Schneider), who seems to have little control over his noisy, mischievous son Samson (Maxwell Moss Steen, Reid Thompson Steen). At the same time, the entire Baylor family decides to throw a memorial service for Mitch, in a few days.

While staying in Elizabethtown, Drew checks into a local hotel, which is serving as the site for a raucous wedding for a couple named Chuck (Jed Rees) and Cindy (Emily Rutherfurd). One evening, wanting to speak to someone, he tries calling his sister Heather, his former girlfriend Ellen (Jessica Biel), and Claire. In a roundabout phonecall, Drew finds his sister pleading for help as their Mother won't stop doing things in the wake of her husband's death, Ellen unceremoniously dumps him over the phone, and Claire ends up providing a stimulating conversation. It is here that Drew reveals that originally, he and Mitch were going to try and take a road trip to Elizabethtown some years ago, but this never happened. Claire tells Drew that he should take a road trip on his return trip, and Drew takes this into consideration.

As it turns out, Claire has returned from her duties with the airline, and is 45 minutes away. As Drew has been talking to her into the early morning hours, the two decide to meet up to watch the sunrise, before going their separate ways.

However, Claire shortly re-enters Drew's life. Talking through things, Drew decides to remain firm on the cremation of his Father, and Claire helps him pick out an Urn for his Father, Mitch. She also provides him with a videotape that ends up quelling Samson's noisy tantrums. However, at the last minute, Drew decides to not have his Father cremated, but it's too late. Afterwards, Drew and Claire share an intimate evening together, before Drew confesses to Claire about his 'failure' with Mercury Shoes. Claire simply tells Drew to stop feeling sorry for himself, and that as a creative person, he should just keep on going.

Finally, the day of Mitch's memorial service is at hand. At the last minute, Judy and their Mother (Hollie) have decided to attend. A number of Mitch's family and friends speak, before Hollie stands up and introduces herself. After giving a humorous anecdote about life as a widow, she then does an interpretive tap-dance to her husband's memory, much to the delight of the Baylor's. Drew steps out for a moment, and finds himself face-to-face with Claire, who has brought a present for him: a kit for his road trip back home to Oregon. However, before they can say anymore, Drew's cousin Jessie takes to the stage with his band, playing the song 'Freebird' in tribute to Mitch. However, a papier-mache bird ends up catching fire and setting off the sprinkler systems, sending everyone scrambling from the meeting place.

The next day, a funeral is held in the place of Mitch's burial plot, with mementos of Mitch put in the casket. Once services end, Drew begins his road trip, following the CD's and instructions that Claire has outlined. Along the way, Drew sprinkles Mitch's ashes at various locations. Finally, Claire's instructions lead him to "The World's Second Largest Farmer's Market." After following clues in her notes and at various stalls at the market, her instructions give Drew a choice- 1) He can get back in the car, and continue his journey, or 2) He can look for a girl with a red hat. Drew chooses the second choice, and finds Claire at the market.

After causing the Oregon shoe company he works for to lose hundreds of millions of dollars, Drew Baylor is fired for his mistake, and promptly also dumped by his girlfriend, Ellen. On the verge of suicide, Drew is oddly given a new purpose in life when he is brought back to his family's small Kentucky hometown of Elizabethtown following the death of his father, Mitch, as it falls to him to make sure that his dying wishes are fulfilled. On the way home, Drew meets a flight attendant, Claire Colburn, with whom he falls in love, in a romance that helps his life get back on track...

After causing a loss of almost one billion dollars in his company, the shoe designer Drew Baylor decides to commit suicide. However, in the exact moment of his act of despair, he receives a phone call from his sister telling him that his beloved father had just died in Elizabethtown, and he should bring him back since his mother had problem with the relatives of his father. He travels in an empty red eye flight and meets the attendant Claire Colburn, who changes his view and perspective of life.

During an outrageous memorial for a Southern patriarch, an unexpected romance blooms between a young woman and man.