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Talk About It

1. When lecturing his son Jesse about keeping a tighter reign on his own young son, Uncle Dale says, "You can't be friends with your own son!" Do you agree? Why or why not?
   
   
2. "So, you failed," Claire says to Drew. In essence, she's saying it's no big deal. What do you think of her take on failure? How should Drew respond to his professional collapse? How would you respond?
   
   
3. The death of his father provides Drew an opportunity to embrace life. Can you think of any negative events in your life that turned out to be catalysts for positive changes?
   
   
4. How do you define what it means to lead a well-lived life? Consider Micah 6:8—what additional Scripture passages provide guidance for defining a well-lived life?
   
   

The Family Corner

Claire and Drew are shown kissing and then waking up in bed together. The language is mild.

Photos © Copyright Paramount

© Lisa Ann Cockrel 2005, subject to licensing agreement with Christianity Today International. All rights reserved. Click for reprint information.

True love. Attractive young people. A soundtrack full of classic rock and fresh new pop music. A sense of humor. These are the building blocks of a Cameron Crowe film. He's made this combination work in several audience favorites, from Say Anything to Singles to Jerry Maguire to Almost Famous. After misfiring with a mixed-up thriller called Vanilla Sky, Crowe has now gone back to what he does best. The result is Elizabethtown. Is he back on top his game?

Not quite. While most mainstream film critics are praising Elizabethtown for serving up some memorable sequences, many of them agree that the film is severely flawed … even though the negative early reviews provoked Crowe to do a last-minute re-edit of the film.

Elizabethtown is the story of an audacious young professional who hits rock bottom and learns hard lessons about family through a series of emotional epiphanies. In an ironic twist, Drew Baylor (Orlando Bloom) is saved from a suicide attempt when he hears about his father's death. On the flight to join his mourning family, Baylor meets a sexy flight attendant (Kirsten Dunst), and they fall in love just as his life becomes entangled in family dramas.

Christian critics share mixed responses, praising Crowe's obvious convictions about family values, but criticizing his storytelling skills.

David DiCerto (Catholic News Service) calls it a "sentimental, though not wholly satisfying, romantic comedy-drama which paradoxically uses death to celebrate life. … The movie's baggy script and cutesy dialogue are surmounted by the movie's genial message that life, though full of risk, is ultimately worth living."

"Beyond the film's cool soundtrack and intriguing aesthetic, it tackles important issues such as recovering from failure and coping with the loss of a loved one," says Bob Smithouser (Plugged In). "It discourages denial, wants audiences to hang tough and take risks, and recommends that we rely on family for our safety net. … It makes you want to call home while there's still a home to call." He also cautions viewers about "ambiguous sexual ethics and a few choice words."

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Related Elsewhere:

'A Certain Bit of Optimism'	Printer view
Director Cameron Crowe doesn't apologize for avoiding cynicism in his films, including his latest, Elizabethtown, which he says he hopes "encourages people to be truly alive."