Elizabethtown?

**Cat** · 06-10-2007, 06:25 PM

So, this movie got a lot of bad reviews when it first came out (Orlando was said to be horrible in most of them), but I want to know what you all think of it?

Was it good? Bad? Why? Would it have been as good/bad without Orlando in it? Which scene is your favorite?

Now, we all like Orlando here, but I want your honest opinion; was he _really_ good in this movie? I'm not saying I don't think so, or that I think so. I just want to know your unbiased opinion (if that's even possible).

Intensely Deceiving · 06-10-2007, 11:36 PM

I haven't seen it yet but I've been hoping to rent it. I have a couple days off next week, maybe I'll rent it then...

baybee · 06-11-2007, 10:18 AM

I finally saw it this past week. lol I don't think he did too well on masking his British accent, it sounded really weird, but that's just my opinion.

Aside from the accent, I thought it was a good movie, Kirsten Dunst is really cute in this film, and she and Orlando have good onscreen chemistry. My favorite is the airplane scene.

Orlando wasn't really good in this film. I like him best in the period films he's done and LOTR, but I did think he was pretty good in "The Calcium Kid".

Gertrude · 06-16-2007, 07:46 PM

I saw the trailer and OB is so funny and adorable, but Kirsten is awful! Sorrrry Kirsten fans....

**Cat** · 06-17-2007, 08:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by baybee

Orlando wasn't really good in this film. I like him best in the period films he's done and LOTR, but I did think he was pretty good in "The Calcium Kid".

He was great in "The Calcium Kid". I really liked that movie.

I didn't like him in Elizabethtown. But then again, I think the whole movie was kind of hopeless. The best thing about it was the soundtrack. The whole movie is so similar to Garden State. But Garden State is so much better.

Tcup4jdh · 06-18-2007, 05:51 PM

My turn. Rubbing hands together.... Elizabethtown is one of my favorite movies and one of my favorite Orlando movies. His voice sounded weird to me... at first. There were only a couple of times where I thought the american accent wasn't quite crisp. But the next time I watched the movie, I did it with headphones so that I could really hear his voice and the accent. It worked for me. I thought he did a good job with it and a great job with the role. I don't think he is not good in comtemporary roles. I think we as the audience, as the critics, as whatever have narrowed our views of him. That's not fair to him or any other actor. I thought those reviews were unfair and based on the reception the movie got in Cannes. I thought that was the wrong place for it to screen anyway.

I don't know where everyone else is from but Elizabethtown is a definitive American movie; a definitive Southern American movie. The intimacy of the subject matter... Or better, the intimacy of the environment the subject matter was placed in doesn't always transfer universally, even though the subject matter is universal.

Also, IMO, the movie was described and marketed wrong. Romantic comedy is wrong and simplistic. Yes he did fall in love but I don't think that is the main focus of the movie. It's about a man on the very edge, at the end. With everything he has going on, he then has to deal with the death of his father and come to terms about the relationship with his father that he never had and will never have. He breaks my heart thoughout this entire movie, even up until the end. I could talk about the movie all day. I so love it. :under the way too much info category probably: When I need some alone absolute quiet time, I put this movie on at about 3 in the morning. Even though I cry a lot, I always feel better.

Intensely Deceiving · 06-19-2007, 01:45 AM

I need to rent more movies lol! It's been over a year since I last rented a movie and I really want to watch this one so I can put my two bits in.

Tcup4jdh · 06-19-2007, 02:14 AM

I hope you enjoy it. One little tip. If you find his southern family a little unbelievable, believe it. I have a southern family. They are just like that.

**Cat** · 06-19-2007, 01:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tcup4jdh

My turn. Rubbing hands together.... Elizabethtown is one of my favorite movies and one of my favorite Orlando movies. His voice sounded weird to me... at first. There were only a couple of times where I thought the american accent wasn't quite crisp. But the next time I watched the movie, I did it with headphones so that I could really hear his voice and the accent. It worked for me. I thought he did a good job with it and a great job with the role. I don't think he is not good in comtemporary roles. I think we as the audience, as the critics, as whatever have narrowed our views of him. That's not fair to him or any other actor. I thought those reviews were unfair and based on the reception the movie got in Cannes. I thought that was the wrong place for it to screen anyway.

I don't know where everyone else is from but Elizabethtown is a definitive American movie; a definitive Southern American movie. The intimacy of the subject matter... Or better, the intimacy of the environment the subject matter was placed in doesn't always transfer universally, even though the subject matter is universal.

Also, IMO, the movie was described and marketed wrong. Romantic comedy is wrong and simplistic. Yes he did fall in love but I don't think that is the main focus of the movie. It's about a man on the very edge, at the end. With everything he has going on, he then has to deal with the death of his father and come to terms about the relationship with his father that he never had and will never have. He breaks my heart thoughout this entire movie, even up until the end. I could talk about the movie all day. I so love it. :under the way too much info category probably: When I need some alone absolute quiet time, I put this movie on at about 3 in the morning. Even though I cry a lot, I always feel better.

Okay, before I start I just want to say that these are my opinions and thoughts about the whole thing.

My views on Orlando's acting have nothing to do with what the movie is about. I'm not American, nor do I have any family from the South (or any other part of the US, for that matter), and yet his Southern family didn't seem unbelievable to me. The movie didn't flop because the subject matter doesn't transfer universally, I think that's a rather shallow argument. In the end the movie is about loss, and we all deal with loss in our own way. And every culture is familiar with loss, so this should transfer even though there are cultural differences in the world. What I'm saying is that I hardly think the tough criticism of the movie had anything to do with the Southern family. If you (who are familiar with the South) think this movie might be hard to understand for the rest of the world, then maybe the story just isn't good enough. I'm sure Cameron Crowe would like a wider audience than that.

With that being said, I don't think Orlando was as bad as many critics seem to think. If he was that bad then whoever did the casting made a horrible mistake by casting him at all. I don't think that is the case. The thing is, when you are set out to be the leading man for any movie, there's going to be a lot of pressure. So much of the story is on your shoulders, not to mention the storytelling. Orlando has shown that he can be a leading man in the Calcium Kid, but to be honest, I don't think those two movies can be compared. But he just couldn't handle this one. It's kinda sad that the best scenes in Elizabethtown were the scenes where he was just on screen, not saying anything. Maybe it was too much for him to handle? Maybe it's the genre? All I know is the accent made it even less believable to me. Sure, we probably have narrowed our opinions. He seems to have become one of those actors people love to hate. But even if you try to be impartial when watching this movie, his appearance was not very strong. I usually don't think Kirsten Dunst is a very good actress, but she was miles ahead of him in this movie.

Tcup4jdh · 06-19-2007, 05:20 PM

Wow. I appreciate that this is your opinion. I'm standing my mine. No offense was intended. As far as the shallowness of my observation, I have discussed this movie a lot with many others, and that point often comes up.

**Cat** · 06-19-2007, 06:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tcup4jdh

Wow. I appreciate that this is your opinion. I'm standing my mine. No offense was intended. As far as the shallowness of my observation, I have discussed this movie a lot with many others, and that point often comes up.

No offense was taken.
I have seen that a lot of people use this as an argument at other boards, but I just don't think that's the one and only reason, if it is a reason at all. And this is coming from someone who lives pretty far away from anything Southern.

**Ophelia** · 06-19-2007, 07:41 PM

wow. Even though I'm a big fan of Cameron Crowe I've never seen this movie. Being from the South, maybe I should.

Gertrude · 06-19-2007, 10:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ophelia

wow. Even though I'm a big fan of Cameron Crowe I've never seen this movie. Being from the South, maybe I should.

Yeah me too...does not anybody else dislike Kirsten

Tcup4jdh · 06-19-2007, 10:56 PM

I have never been a fan of Kristen. Most of the time I really don't like her. I thought she was great in here. Her and Orlando played well off each. But as you can see, some are going to love it and some will hate it. We'll all have to agree to disagree on it I guess.

However, I don't see it as a movie about loss. I see it as a movie about discovery. A man discovering his life; discovering his father; and discovering a family he never knew that loved him because he was their family. The movie is still one of my favorites. And I love Orlando's performance in it.

**Cat** · 06-20-2007, 04:18 PM

Yeah, sure, but everything happened because of a loss. Without the loss the movie would be about nothing.

Intensely Deceiving · 06-21-2007, 03:30 AM

I REALLY need to see this movie! I'm working for the next week straight though, and my next day off is my dad's birthday, so it's prolly gonna be another few weeks! cr@p!

Tcup4jdh · 06-21-2007, 12:12 PM

You work too hard Miho. What am I going to do about you? I'm going to have to sneak over the border and take you for a long lunch.

Gertrude · 06-21-2007, 10:31 PM

Loss and discovery...does not that sound like OB's real life story,
I mean when he thought he lost his dad and then he was told of his biological father?
I think Cameron Crowe took this (Orlando's experience) into consideration when he casted OB in this movie.

Did you say you cry every time you watch this...I also did when I watched Andre, you know, the movie about the seal.
Andre reminded me of one of our dogs who died of distemper...who we sometimes call "harp seal." Elizabethtown must have
really touched you because you could relate to it.

Intensely Deceiving · 06-21-2007, 11:32 PM

LOL! I know T. Life kinda sucks right now but that's what I have all of you for! And all my many beautiful nieces and nephew. And I bought my season's pass for the ski hill yesterday, so I will be forced to take two days off a week to go skiing or suffer the mental breakdown of knowing I wasted $550. A friend of mine is going to try help me get a job at a really fancy ass restaurant in town so I can make some awesome tips and then I won't have to work so bloody much.

Tcup4jdh · 06-22-2007, 04:25 PM

Good for you Miho. You have to take care of yourself. And if you enjoyed your ski trip and it gave you a boost, like my mom says to me - "if the money you spent didn't land you in the street, you can always put it back later."

=============

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gertrude

Loss and discovery...does not that sound like OB's real life story,
I mean when he thought he lost his dad and then he was told of his biological father?
I think Cameron Crowe took this (Orlando's experience) into consideration when he casted OB in this movie.

Did you say you cry every time you watch this...I also did when I watched Andre, you know, the movie about the seal.
Andre reminded me of one of our dogs who died of distemper...who we sometimes call "harp seal." Elizabethtown must have
really touched you because you could relate to it.

It does sound like his real life. There's a song near the end that really fit him. I read an article in Premiere Magazine about Cameron Crowe and he talked about Orlando's situation with his father. Orlando is such a good sport. Apparently Cameron had heard about his father. So during the scene at the funeral home while Drew is looking over into the casket, Cameron had the actor playing his father talk to him. He said something like, "I'm your father Colin. Where were you last Christmas?" Can you imagine his reaction?

I do still cry everytime I watch the movie. I can relate to just about everything Drew went through. Luckily for me it didn't happen all at the same time. I was even on the verge of suicide when I was 14. My method of choice was the same as his. Much much later in my life I broke down and had that major conversation with my father - about 6 months after he died.

06-10-2007, 06:25 PM	#1 (permalink)
Cat Bloomin' crazy Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Norway Posts: 1,963 My Profile	Elizabethtown? So, this movie got a lot of bad reviews when it first came out (Orlando was said to be horrible in most of them), but I want to know what you all think of it? Was it good? Bad? Why? Would it have been as good/bad without Orlando in it? Which scene is your favorite? Now, we all like Orlando here, but I want your honest opinion; was he _really_ good in this movie? I'm not saying I don't think so, or that I think so. I just want to know your unbiased opinion (if that's even possible).

06-19-2007, 05:20 PM	#10 (permalink)
Tcup4jdh Creative Maven Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 1,680 My Profile	Wow. I appreciate that this is your opinion. I'm standing my mine. No offense was intended. As far as the shallowness of my observation, I have discussed this movie a lot with many others, and that point often comes up. Last edited by Tcup4jdh : 06-19-2007 at 05:46 PM.

06-21-2007, 10:31 PM	#18 (permalink)
Gertrude Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 272 My Profile	Loss and discovery...does not that sound like OB's real life story, I mean when he thought he lost his dad and then he was told of his biological father? I think Cameron Crowe took this (Orlando's experience) into consideration when he casted OB in this movie. Did you say you cry every time you watch this...I also did when I watched Andre, you know, the movie about the seal. Andre reminded me of one of our dogs who died of distemper...who we sometimes call "harp seal." Elizabethtown must have really touched you because you could relate to it. Last edited by Gertrude : 06-22-2007 at 06:03 AM.

06-10-2007, 11:36 PM	#2 (permalink)
Intensely Deceiving MIHO THE HARTNETT BUNNI!! Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Canada Posts: 1,584 My Profile	I haven't seen it yet but I've been hoping to rent it. I have a couple days off next week, maybe I'll rent it then...

06-11-2007, 10:18 AM	#3 (permalink)
baybee Sleven Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 684 My Profile	I finally saw it this past week. lol I don't think he did too well on masking his British accent, it sounded really weird, but that's just my opinion. Aside from the accent, I thought it was a good movie, Kirsten Dunst is really cute in this film, and she and Orlando have good onscreen chemistry. My favorite is the airplane scene. Orlando wasn't really good in this film. I like him best in the period films he's done and LOTR, but I did think he was pretty good in "The Calcium Kid".

06-16-2007, 07:46 PM	#4 (permalink)
Gertrude Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 272 My Profile	I saw the trailer and OB is so funny and adorable, but Kirsten is awful! Sorrrry Kirsten fans....

06-18-2007, 05:51 PM	#6 (permalink)
Tcup4jdh Creative Maven Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 1,680 My Profile	My turn. Rubbing hands together.... Elizabethtown is one of my favorite movies and one of my favorite Orlando movies. His voice sounded weird to me... at first. There were only a couple of times where I thought the american accent wasn't quite crisp. But the next time I watched the movie, I did it with headphones so that I could really hear his voice and the accent. It worked for me. I thought he did a good job with it and a great job with the role. I don't think he is not good in comtemporary roles. I think we as the audience, as the critics, as whatever have narrowed our views of him. That's not fair to him or any other actor. I thought those reviews were unfair and based on the reception the movie got in Cannes. I thought that was the wrong place for it to screen anyway. I don't know where everyone else is from but Elizabethtown is a definitive American movie; a definitive *Southern* American movie. The intimacy of the subject matter... Or better, the intimacy of the environment the subject matter was placed in doesn't always transfer universally, even though the subject matter is universal. Also, *IMO, the movie was described and marketed wrong. Romantic comedy is wrong and simplistic. Yes he did fall in love but I don't think that is the main focus of the movie. It's about a man on the very edge, at the end. With everything he has going on, he then has to deal with the death of his father and come to terms about the relationship with his father that he never had and will never have. He breaks my heart thoughout this entire movie, even up until the end. I could talk about the movie all day. I so love it. :under the way too much info category probably:* When I need some alone absolute quiet time, I put this movie on at about 3 in the morning. Even though I cry a lot, I always feel better.

06-19-2007, 01:45 AM	#7 (permalink)
Intensely Deceiving MIHO THE HARTNETT BUNNI!! Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Canada Posts: 1,584 My Profile	I need to rent more movies lol! It's been over a year since I last rented a movie and I really want to watch this one so I can put my two bits in.

06-19-2007, 02:14 AM	#8 (permalink)
Tcup4jdh Creative Maven Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 1,680 My Profile	I hope you enjoy it. One little tip. If you find his southern family a little unbelievable, believe it. I have a southern family. They are just like that.

06-19-2007, 07:41 PM	#12 (permalink)
Ophelia JOHO Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Joshtopia Posts: 7,018 My Profile	wow. Even though I'm a big fan of Cameron Crowe I've never seen this movie. Being from the South, maybe I should.

06-19-2007, 10:56 PM	#14 (permalink)
Tcup4jdh Creative Maven Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 1,680 My Profile	I have never been a fan of Kristen. Most of the time I really don't like her. I thought she was great in here. Her and Orlando played well off each. But as you can see, some are going to love it and some will hate it. We'll all have to agree to disagree on it I guess. However, I don't see it as a movie about loss. I see it as a movie about discovery. A man discovering his life; discovering his father; and discovering a family he never knew that loved him because he was their family. The movie is still one of my favorites. And I love Orlando's performance in it.

06-20-2007, 04:18 PM	#15 (permalink)
Cat Bloomin' crazy Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Norway Posts: 1,963 My Profile	Yeah, sure, but everything happened because of a loss. Without the loss the movie would be about nothing.

06-21-2007, 03:30 AM	#16 (permalink)
Intensely Deceiving MIHO THE HARTNETT BUNNI!! Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Canada Posts: 1,584 My Profile	I REALLY need to see this movie! I'm working for the next week straight though, and my next day off is my dad's birthday, so it's prolly gonna be another few weeks! cr@p!

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06-21-2007, 12:12 PM	#17 (permalink)
Tcup4jdh Creative Maven Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 1,680 My Profile	You work too hard Miho. What am I going to do about you? I'm going to have to sneak over the border and take you for a long lunch.

06-21-2007, 11:32 PM	#19 (permalink)
Intensely Deceiving MIHO THE HARTNETT BUNNI!! Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Canada Posts: 1,584 My Profile	LOL! I know T. Life kinda sucks right now but that's what I have all of you for! And all my many beautiful nieces and nephew. And I bought my season's pass for the ski hill yesterday, so I will be forced to take two days off a week to go skiing or suffer the mental breakdown of knowing I wasted $550. A friend of mine is going to try help me get a job at a really fancy ass restaurant in town so I can make some awesome tips and then I won't have to work so bloody much.