Aaron Huddleston
Movie Columnist
October 21, 2005
Since his appearance as Legolas in the “Lord of
the Rings” trilogy, Orlando Bloom’s popularity has soared and, even though most
went for Johnny Depp, it’s hard to deny that Bloom’s performance in Pirates of
the Caribbean was superb. This said, I have yet to find one fan not leery of a
movie in which Bloom did not wield a sword, bow and arrow or accent. My own
hopes for “Elizabethtown,” however, were still high as I entered the theater and
took my seat.
My hopes were that I would find a movie that
managed to be sentimental without being sappy. A movie that managed to be funny
without making light of the subject of death. A movie that combined good writing
with great acting to both entertain and enthrall viewers. A character driven
movie that dealt with the subject matter and didn't leave loose ends.
As you may have guessed, this is not what I found.
I found instead a movie whose goal was unclear. Were they telling a story about
a man who is driven home by the death of his father? A story about a man who
falls in love with a complete stranger after meeting on an airplane? A story
about two people looking for their place in the world?
While I understand that the movie would not have
to pick just one of these stories to tell but could blend them and still
successfully tell all three, that is not what this movie did. Instead of
blending the stories into one overall beautiful story, “Elizabethtown” slopped
all three stories together and, instead of coming out with a masterpiece, came
out with something that would better compare to the finished work of a young
child with finger paint - a sloppy mess.
That’s not all, though. The directing style did
not live up to expectations either. While it is true that there were some
excellent shots, these were combined with awkward shots that not only removed
the viewer from the story but at times were actually uncomfortable. The
combination made even the good shots void of value.
Which brings us to this movie’s saving grace - and
more of its failures all at once. The acting. Failure because much of the
supporting cast was, in fact, down right terrible. It is said that the casting
director called in sick one day. He stayed home and watched the Food Network,
and in doing so discovered Paula Deen and decided that she would be perfect for
the role of Aunt Dora. In the future I suggest that this director make all
casting decisions while not heavily medicated. It could be said that Paula Deen
looked the part she played, but her overall performance was far from convincing.
The way she delivered lines screamed, “This is not real! I am only pretending!”
Removing the supporting cast from the equation and
looking strictly at the core cast reveals the saving grace of this movie.
Orlando Bloom, Susan Serandon and Judy Greer were wonderful! Bloom proved that
his acting skills don’t depend on fancy sword fights, far-off looks and accents.
Serandon’s scenes were the highlights of the film.
The one casting choice I have yet to discuss is
Kirstin Dunst. Perhaps this is because of my strong personal opinion of Dunst’s
talent, or perhaps it’s because of the character she played. To be honest Dunst
worked in this role, but I have yet to decide if this is because of her
performance or simply because the character was just as annoying as Dunst
herself. Whatever the case, I guess this could be called a good casting
decision, whether it was type-casting or not.
I give “Elizabethtown” 3 of 5 stars. The story may
have been a sloppy mess, but it had highly emotional humorous points to help the
viewer make it through to the end. The great acting was evened out with a
horrible supporting cast to bring an overall ranking of average for the acting.
Some superb shots were mixed with some awkward, even uncomfortable, shots. All
aspects of the film contained great elements and terrible elements, evening out
to the same conclusion - average.
If you’re a fan of good acting, this may be a film you would enjoy watching, but if you’re looking for a story, “Elizabethtown” is not the film for you. While Bloom’s acting is excellent, his script choice is definitely questionable. In the end, maybe Bloom should have stayed in Middle Earth.