OK Crowe is no master filmmaker - his films just make you feel good and, as bad as I think this one is, it does as well. That feeling however wore off pretty fast and I'm now thinking about how disappointing I found everything but the music. Music is very important in Crowe's films but here the music does all the heavy lifting. The performances are awfulish but the actors get a pass because the writing is worse. None of the usual great lines found in films like Jerry Maguire, instead there are bits where you can feel Crowe trying to come up with something funny and romantic but none of it clicks - that is until a great song starts up and saves the whole thing and tells us how to feel. The best moments in the film are those in which there is no dialogue and we can simply enjoy the beautiful pictures and music. The whole thing feels disjointed and full of loose ends - especially the drummer guy and his dad and kid - there must have been something cut from the film. Finally, am I crazy or is this Jerry Maguire 2? The large company with the open work floors and celebrations, the guy at loose ends, the girl who teaches the guy how to live again, the classic bitch ex ... buy the soundtrack and see the film on DVD.
Review of Elizabethtown
