Review of Elizabethtown (2005) by Spangle — 19 May 2016

Elizabethtown is hit-and-miss. Completely implausible, the film is your stereotypical rom-com in which boys meets girl and etc etc. However, there is an undeniable charm to the film that touches on the small details of life that need to be appreciated and once you open your eyes to them, life seems far better than it did before.

At the very least, it shows you that your problems are not as bad as you truly believe they are. Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst have solid chemistry with one another in this piece of pure Southern charm and throwback rock songs that is quintessentially Cameron Crowe.

While a far cry from his best films (hello Almost Famous), Crowe's direction is fine though the film does hit the brakes far too often to simply take in the sights. A more assured pace would have been greatly appreciated for this slice of life type of film.

However, the film's greatest problem is its one-dimensional characters. Leading to the creation of the term "Manic Pixie Dream Girl" by one film critic, Kirsten Dunst's character is an embarrassment when it comes to writing and it is clear that the writer had no desire to create a female character.

Instead, he focused solely on the man. She has no life of her own other than that which we see with Drew and seems to exist solely to benefit him and make him happy. A tragic misfire in that regard, Elizabethtown is far too typical when it comes to romantic comedies and film in general to truly be anything truly worth your time.

As it stands, it is not a bad film, but it is one you have seen before.