Elizabethtown reviewed

Well, I got to go see it last night. The settings of a movie can really affect an experience. First of all, I'm in Louisville, and most of the scenes were shot here in town, so as everyone saw the same old streets they drive on everyday suddenly lit up on the Big Screen, they all clapped and cheered. It was like seeing a home movie almost. Can I just say, one of my pet peeves is people who clap in a theater. The actors/director CAN'T HEAR YOU, stop applauding. Applause has to be given to someone.

Secondly, there was a huge girl behind us that kept trash talking the movie, making fun of Kirsten Dunst (calling her ugly and psycho etc - yes, the pot was calling the kettle black), and relentlessly snorting. Yes, snorting. It reminded me of the story of when Jesus sent a legion of demons into a herd of swine. She wouldn't stop cussing about the actors, story line, etc. She was just trying to get attention, but people didn't come to the theater to give her attention.

Aside from external factors, I also had my own biases influencing my experience. Having lived here for over 3 years, and knowing the town very well now, I have to say it was rather exciting to see my world from the point of view of someone who doesn't live here. Crowe really brought out a lot of the beauty of the area.

Concerning the movie: Kirsten Dunst, who I typically don't like (I think she's often overrated) did a great job with the Southern accent, really brought life to the character, and after the movie I'm a bigger fan of her now. Orlando Bloom also acted the character he was portraying well; a guy on a downward spiral after a big crash in his business.

I would almost say that this was the Garden State of the South, but I'm not going to because I actually think that as a story it upstaged Garden State, although Zach Braff did a much better job than Orlando Bloom. The soundtrack is, I think, my new most favorite soundtrack of all times in any movie. I'm going to have to go buy it.

I left the movie realizing that I was falling for the idealistic, overly romanticized fantasy of relationships that never really happens. Chick flicks don't do that to me because they're always so unrealistic, but I wouldn't classify this movie as a chick flick because there was too much depth in the storyline, and some of it's almost realistic (specifically when they're up all night talking on the phone - we've all been there). It definitely made my car a lot emptier and lonelier on the way home. However, I would recommend it to everyone.

Grade: A-

AMENDMENT: You may entirely disagree with me, because according to my cousin Sara and a couple of friends of mine, this movie wasn't that great, and I'm overcrediting it. Well, you make the decision and let me know what you thought. Like I said, I have a biased opinion.

Here's a funny site making fun of romance novels