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Orlando Bloom, Kirsten Dunst, Susan Sarandon, Alec Baldwin, Bruce McGill, Judy Greer, Jessica Biel

The rumors of Elizabethtown’s dreadfulness have reached my ears, and it intrigued me more than bothered me. Some of the fascination stemmed from how poorly received the film was at the Toronto Film Festival in 2005, which only fueled the negative buzz around the film. The buzz triggered my curiosity to experience Cameron Crowe’s film, which now has been shortened by approximately a quarter of an hour. Crowe’s previous films such as Almost Famous (2000) and Jerry Maguire (1996) also stimulate desire to see them. These reports of the film might have slightly lessened my expectations, but in retrospect, knowing what Crowe is capable of I must bring forth the analogy of the flavors of Jelly Beans. Jelly Beans exist in a large number of different flavors and occasionally I buy these in a wide assortment of flavors. Once the intake begins, there are surprises ranging from exotically delicious to vulgarly nasty, yet it is only flavored sugar. ***

The story within Elizabethtown centers on the once successful sport shoe designer Drew Baylor (Orlando Bloom) learning the lesson of supreme failure. Drew’s efforts to create the ultimate footwear have backfired, as almost every single pair returns to the manufacturer. It is an expensive fiasco, as it will cost the company a total of 972 million dollars and tarnish the company name. Without anyone to lean on, Drew withdraws and begins to plan his next fatally dark move. However, Drew’s sister played by Judy Greer interrupts him with the tragic news of his father’s unexpected departure. Being the responsible person of the family, Drew suspends his suicidal plans and travels from Oregon to the rustic Kentucky town Elizabethtown to take care of the funeral engagements. ***

On the empty night flight across America, Drew encounters the pushy flight attendant Claire Colburn (Kirsten Dunst). Instead of allowing Drew to sleep she initiates conversation with him while Drew kindly keeps listening to her. She even provides a map for him to find his way to Elizabethtown. So far, the film kept me intrigued and left several lasting notions for continued contemplation, but as the story unfolds more ideas emerge. An overwhelming flood of constantly new concepts and thoughts enter the silver screen, which relentlessly attempts to tip the viewer over the edge of what one can handle. Within this chaotic mesh of thoughts, emotions, ideas, and actions the film provides a genuine concept of devastating confusion, as the emotional disoriented Drew seeks to find his lost relation to his father. ***

The film provides concepts such as marriage, death, joy, parenting, music, driving, listening, traveling, love, cremation, and much more. What is interesting is how Crowe presents each idea, as some of them emerge subtly while force-feeding would give justice to how other notions are illustrated. Yet, Crowe keeps it genuine, as Drew struggles to find a meaning between him and his dad while also reflecting over his own place in the world, as the refreshing Claire wants to turn his life upside down in a cheerfully bubbly manner. In some aspects, the film resembles Garden State (2004) while delicately incorporating the philosophical existentialism of both Before Sunrise (1995) and Before Sunset (2004). However, Crowe does not succeed in elevating the film to the same level of his previous film, or that of others. Instead, this remarkably clever story succeeds in loosing itself into the clichéd while appearing like a plate of mish-mashed spaghetti even though it will entertain and give room for thought, and in the end, it will just be like the Jelly Beans’ simple construct. ***

Immaculate is the word that comes to mind when watching the image quality on this DVD. The colors are rich, yet not over done. Details are clear, as if present on location while no visible digital blemishes are present from opening until the end. It is an exceptionally good transfer that augments the visual experience to a maximum. ***

Even though the film mainly focuses on dialogue, music is an essential component for its success. Together these two audio components receive an impressive treatment, as the score soars fluently through the speakers while the voices of the characters gently land on the inside of the ears. One cannot be much happier with the sound than what Elizabethtown provides, as it helps enhance the emotional parts of the film with a refined touch due to its superb quality. ***

Personally, I liked Elizabethtown, however, it did not fare as well in the theaters. It might be one of the reasons why this DVD has a very limited, and may I say, poor selection in the extras section. Training Wheels takes the audience to some practice shots set to music that runs for a brief two-minutes and then there is the Meet the Crew, which presents a 30-second longer montage of the cast and crew from behind scenes. The best part on the DVD is the two extended scenes, which runs for some 11-minutes. It colors some of the scenes from the film, but it does not do much more. A photo gallery with pictures from the set by Neal Preston allows the audience to experience some quality photography, but it seems hollow compared to the rest of the content on the disc. Lastly, the audience can find the two theatrical trailers, which of course had the purpose of promoting the film. *** ---

Elizabethtown presents a diverging tale, much like life often is, as it brings the audience through Drew’s predicament of dealing with his own fiasco while loosing his father. Maybe, I and several other viewers are missing the point of Crowe’s message, and are looking too hard for some deep philosophical meaning while it is right in front of us. In either case, Elizabethtown offers humor and melancholy in an entertaining manner, which touches on a myriad of meaningful issues. Ultimately, the film is definitely worth a viewing, and I think the viewer should then make their decision whether to purchase it, or not. ***