Elizabethtown

I attended the 9:30 evening showing for Elizabethtown on October 22 2005 at the Coral Ridge 10 Cinema.

Drew Baylor (played by Orlando Bloom) is a young shoe company executive who spent 8 years designing a shoe called Spasmodica (yes, it is really this name and yet he wonders why the shoe fails miserably?) that just cost his company almost a billion dollars due to recalls. He then finds out his father passed away in Kentucky while visiting family. Caught between the depths of despair from the major shoe fiasco and the responsibility of handling his father's last affairs, Drew meets an airline attendant, Claire Colburn (Kirsten Dunst), on his airline flight to Kentucky. Talkative and friendly, Claire won't leave him alone and slowly builds her way into his life.

The movie light heartedly looks at life and death and how to enjoy both to the fullest. The laughs aren't profound, but the characters are likeable. Since I'm not really a huge fan of romantic movies or comedies, the main reason I went to this film was to see Orlando Bloom in a role where he wasn't carrying a sword. Unfortunately, he can't quite carry off the needed emotions such as depression or anger, so his portrayal of Drew's vast depths of despair weren't very believable. Kirsten Dunst does a better job as the quirky and funny "substitute person" who Drew might not feel he deserves but slowly begins to want.

Enjoyable to watch, I'm giving this one a decent rank but it would be fine to watch on DVD and pass the theatre run entirely. You aren't likely to cry or laugh too hard, although you might be reminded of your own family reunions where the deaths of close relatives bring everyone together, especially those who rarely get along.

Please feel free to comment on this review or on the movie itself at the forum thread devoted to it at this location.