Elizabethtown (2005)

During a hometown memorial for his Kentucky-born father, a young man begins an unexpected romance with a too-good-to-be-true stewardess.

Director:

Cameron Crowe

Writer:

Cameron Crowe

Stars:

Orlando Bloom, Kirsten Dunst, Susan Sarandon

2 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Orlando Bloom	...	Drew Baylor
Kirsten Dunst	...	Claire Colburn
Susan Sarandon	...	Hollie Baylor
Alec Baldwin	...	Phil Devoss
Bruce McGill	...	Bill Banyon
Judy Greer	...	Heather Baylor
Jessica Biel	...	Ellen Kishmore
Paul Schneider	...	Jessie Baylor
Loudon Wainwright III	...	Uncle Dale (as Loudon Wainwright)
Gailard Sartain	...	Charles Dean
Jed Rees	...	Chuck Hasboro
Paula Deen	...	Aunt Dora
Dan Biggers	...	Uncle Roy
Alice Marie Crowe	...	Aunt Lena
Tim Devitt	...	Mitch Baylor

Storyline

After causing a loss of almost one billion dollars in his company, the shoe designer Drew Baylor decides to commit suicide. However, in the exact moment of his act of despair, he receives a phone call from his sister telling him that his beloved father had just died in Elizabethtown, and he should bring him back since his mother had problem with the relatives of his father. He travels in an empty red eye flight and meets the attendant Claire Colburn, who changes his view and perspective of life.

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Plot Keywords:

publicity | bad publicity | quote | cubicle | suit and tie | 

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Taglines:

The Best Place To Find Yourself.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for language and some sexual references

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [UK] Paramount Pictures [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 October 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Elizabettauna

Filming Locations:

1 University Drive, Aliso Viejo, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$57,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,618,711, 16 October 2005, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$26,838,389, 18 December 2005

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$13,500,000, 13 November 2005

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Cruise/Wagner Productions, Vinyl Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Drew is driving through Louisville on his way to Elizabethtown from the airport, he's actually going in the wrong direction. Cameron Crowe did this to give the scene more character. The actual route is pretty remote without much scenery.

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Goofs

When Drew sees Samson in the car starting the engine, he runs towards it from the porch to grab the boy. As he begins to run off the porch, he yells "Hey!" at Samson, but his mouth does not move.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Dock Worker: [receiving returning good] Welcome back, boys.
Drew Baylor: As somebody once said, there's a difference between a failure and a fiasco. A failure is simply the non-present of success. Any fool can accomplish failure. But a fiasco, a fiasco is a disaster of mythic proportions. A fiasco is a folktale told to others, that makes other people feel more... alive. Because it didn't happen to them.

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Crazy Credits

This film opens with the 1954 "VistaVision" Paramount Pictures logo - instead of the new 'live-action' one. This logo was used at the head of all Paramount films released from the mid-1950s through to 1986.

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Connections

Features Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)

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Soundtracks

io (This Time Around)
(2005)
Written by Jim Evens
Performed by Helen Stellar
Courtesy of Helen Stellar

User Reviews

I have never seen a film that made me cry after I left the theater, until now.

Cameron Crowe has managed to capture life in a single film. I've never seen a Cameron Crowe film before, so I didn't know he was capable of that. Basic storyline, Drew Baylor has to go to Elizabethtown, Kentucky from his home in Oregon to plan the funeral of his father and meets an interesting young woman, Claire, who helps him feel like he can live again. You see, I have a Southern family, and when I say Southern, I mean deep fried, as in Tennessee and Mississippi. I saw in this film a true Southern family with all of its dysfunctions and with all of its love. Southerners do have a distaste for outsiders, a love of food, and a strange fascination with death, but once they know you, they will take you to their bosom. And Crowe manages to portray Southerners without making fun of them, which is not something a lot of people manage. He juxtaposes a wedding with a funeral and both are big affairs in the south as they should be in life. The last part of the film is a road trip mapped out by Claire (Kirsten Dunst) that Drew (Orlando Bloom) takes with the ashes of his father. He sees the place where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. And he visits the memorial of the Oklahoma City bombing. I'm going to stop here and say that I am a native born Oklahoman, and I was in the third grade on April 19, 1995. It was nice to know that somebody who is not from Oklahoma remembered, respected, and honored the victims and the survivors of the tragedy in such a way. Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst both give wonderful performances (probably the best of both of their careers) in this film. Dunst is perfect at being sweet, Southern, and mischievous. Bloom is great when he's having his heart-to-heart with his father (who is in an urn) and he's laughing and crying at the same time. This happens in real life a lot, but you rarely see it in movies because so few actors can get to that place emotionally and sell it on screen. Overall, it's a beautiful film. I laughed, I cried, and I fell in love.