Barnes & Noble

Cameron Crowe’s latest, while not nearly as captivating as his Jerry Maguire and Almost Famous, is a pleasantly offbeat and diverting romantic drama with a standout performance from Kirsten Dunst. Elizabethtown’s star, Orlando Bloom, is slightly miscast as industrial engineer Drew Baylor, who loses his job when his latest tennis shoe design turns out to be an expensive flop. Adding insult to injury, Drew’s girlfriend (Jessica Biel) walks out on him just before he learns about the death of his father, the patriarch of an eccentric Kentucky clan. Nearly catatonic with shock and grief, Drew makes the trip home and is befriended by Claire Colburn (Dunst), an almost unbearably upbeat flight attendant who sees him through this rough patch. Crowe’s script has one basic problem: Although Drew is ostensibly the film’s protagonist, he actually does very little but react to the craziness around him -- until the latter reels, when his budding romance with Claire supersedes the family drama. In some ways Drew is like Alice in Wonderland, drawn back into a world that hardly seems real and surrounded by eccentrics whom he either barely knows or has deliberately minimized contact with. Among the outstanding supporting cast are Susan Sarandon, Alec Baldwin, Bruce McGill, Judy Greer, and Gaylord Sartain; Sarandon, especially, is in top form as the mother who engages in a series of whirligig activities in a mad attempt to fend off her grief. Bloom is okay as the shell-shocked son, but for our money the picture’s real star is Dunst, who is positively effervescent as the garrulous flight attendant. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

A young man in need of a fresh start gets one under highly unexpected circumstances in this emotionally resonant comedy drama from writer and director Cameron Crowe. Drew Baylor (Orlando Bloom) is considered the big success story in his family, having moved away from the small Kentucky town where he was born to California, where he works as a designer for Mercury, the nation's biggest athletic shoe company. But success has begun to elude Drew -- his most recent design was a resounding flop that has cost him his job, and his girlfriend, Ellen (Jessica Biel), has given him his walking papers. Drew is contemplating suicide when he gets word that his father has died, and that he's needed back home in Elizabethtown, KY, to help organize the funeral. With his mother, Hollie (Susan Sarandon), deep in denial about her husband's passing, Drew comes home to discover no one knows about his recent poor fortune, and he's greeted like a conquering hero. As Drew reconnects with his family and helps his sister, Heather (Judy Greer), look after Hollie, Drew gets a new lease on life and is reminded about what's really important to him. Helping him learn these valuable lessons is Claire Colburn (Kirsten Dunst), a pretty and optimistic flight attendant Drew meets on his flight home who has her own philosophies about positive thinking and the curative powers of travel. Elizabethtown also stars Alec Baldwin, Paul Schneider, Bruce McGill, Loudon Wainwright III, and Paula Deen. Mark Deming

Product Details

• UPC: 097360451641
• Source: PARAMOUNT
• Presentation: Pan & Scan
• Time: 2:01:00
• Sales Rank: 38,331

This DVD is also available as part of a box set:

• Duchess/Margot at the Wedding/Elizabethtown