Critic Reviews
Elizabethtown (2005) Rank 5 Reviews
Expert Review Summary
based on (286) reviews
Click on the numbers to the right of the graph to see reviews of that rating
Reviews by Score:
RopeofSilicon (Laremy Legel)
FilmJerk.com (Edward Havens)
Wraps us up with a warmth not unlike a favorite sweater or comforter. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at FilmJerk.com (Edward Havens)
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
That rare animal, a dialogue-driven comedy -- and a good one at that. While one or two of its scenes may seem a tad too talky for today's low-attention spans, the script is mostly razor-sharp acerbic and sophisticated. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The New Yorker (David Denby)
Crowe is attempting a modern screwball comedy--the kind of thing that, sixty years ago, Howard Hawks, directing Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck, would have turned into romantic farce--but he has scaled the movie as an epic and turned his gabby heroine ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at The New Yorker (David Denby)
artechock (Rüdiger Suchsland)
Empire Magazine [UK]
The Gate.ca (W. Andrew Powell)
Empire Magazine [UK]
If you've found Cameron Crowe guilty of excessive sentiment in the past, this atypically heavy-handed 'dramedy' will leave you cold. But Crowe is still a master navigator of swampy territory, and any movie that can warm the heart and tickle the funny ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Empire Magazine [UK]
The Movie Chicks
PM Media Review (Patrick Vu)
San Francisco Chronicle (Mick LaSalle)
Cineclub-Filmkritik
ToxicUniverse.com (Lee Chase IV)
Hero Realm (Stefan Halley)
With characters easy for most anyone to relate to, Crowe has made yet another really enjoyable movie. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Hero Realm (Stefan Halley)
CHUD (Devin Faraci)
[I]f you’re open to the experience, Elizabethtown is one of the sweetest, funniest and better films of the year. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at CHUD (Devin Faraci)
Cinema Signals (Jules Brenner)
Dunst radiates devilish, sprightly mettle and a feisty, winsome personality that will generate a glow in the hearts of men (and older boys). ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Cinema Signals (Jules Brenner)
Empire Magazine (--)
eFilmCritic.com (David Cornelius)
Even when Crowe trips with his plotlines and his pacings, at least he has a world of exciting, wonderful people to keep us wanting more. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at eFilmCritic.com (David Cornelius)
Orlando Weekly (John Thomason)
The Boston Phoenix
Is This Movie For You.com (Keifer Albin)
Empire Movies (Liam Cullin)
MovieMaze (Toni Strasser)
Cinema Signals by The Filmiliar Cineaste
Detroit Free Press (Terry Lawson)
Cameron Crowe's romantic comedy Elizabethtown is a mess, but it's such an amiable, bighearted mess that it manages to remain entertaining even as it's going hopelessly astray. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Detroit Free Press (Terry Lawson)
Oregonian (Shawn Levy)
It's a film of chunks that vary wildly in quality, tone and content, and while sometimes that heterogeneity seems lifelike, more often it feels confused and forced. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Oregonian (Shawn Levy)
Reno Gazette-Journal (Forrest Hartman)
Elizabethtown , the movie, quietly nudges us toward the simple -- and important -- things in life. Family, friends, food, music. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Reno Gazette-Journal (Forrest Hartman)
La Presse, Montréal
Cinema in Focus (Denny Wayman and Hal Conklin)
Miami Herald (Rene Rodriguez)
It's an uncommonly optimistic meditation on death and lament, befitting a filmmaker whose movies (Jerry Maguire, Singles, Say Anything), no matter their subject matter, always double as a celebration of life. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Miami Herald (Rene Rodriguez)
Movie Parables (Michael Elliott)
A personal film that works better in parts than it does as a whole. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Movie Parables (Michael Elliott)
Christianity Today (Lisa Ann Cockrel)
The performances are solid . . . but it's Kentucky that really steals the show. Crowe paints the eccentricity of the locals with an affectionate brush. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Christianity Today (Lisa Ann Cockrel)
eFilmCritic.com (Erik Childress)
Two stories fighting for dominance - One full of the usual Crowe magic for romantic fantasy and the other bogged down in slapstick and middle class hick humor. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at eFilmCritic.com (Erik Childress)
JoBlo's Movie Emporium ("JoBlo")
Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
Nowhere near one of Crowe's great films (like "Almost Famous"), but it is sweet and good-hearted and has some real laughs. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
zBoneman Movie Reviews (Kevin Jones & Adam Mast)
Elizabethtown is certainly the best movie this particular weekend had to offer (don't bother with The Fog or Domino ), but I'd hoped for a little bit more. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at zBoneman Movie Reviews (Kevin Jones & Adam Mast)
The Land of Eric (Eric D. Snider)
Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies (Nell Minow)
I've always suspected that a failed Cameron Crowe movie would be more entertaining than a successful movie by most Hollywood screenwriters, and this shows I was right. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies (Nell Minow)
Bangor Daily News (Maine) (Christopher Smith)
A warm and fuzzy parable about failure and redemption, life and death, love won and love lost, love hanging in the balance. And yet it doesn't hang itself--well, not quite. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Bangor Daily News (Maine) (Christopher Smith)
Scott's Movie Reviews (Scott Mantz)
Dallas Morning News (Philip Wuntch)
The film's golden moments run the gamut from warmhearted to satirical, but a sense of incompletion hampers their effect. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Dallas Morning News (Philip Wuntch)
Miami Herald (Rene Rodriguez)
It's an awfully self-indulgent picture, but Crowe's indulgences pay off beautifully. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Miami Herald (Rene Rodriguez)
Los Angeles Daily News (Glenn Whipp)
It makes you feel truly alive to the possibilities of life. That's an act of magic. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Los Angeles Daily News (Glenn Whipp)
Aisle Seat (Mike McGranaghan)
Elizabethtown is a wonderful comedy/drama about those moments in life when you get lost and have to find your way back again. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Aisle Seat (Mike McGranaghan)
Scene-Stealers.com (Eric Melin)
...overflowing with fully realized characters, perfect little details that ring true, and iconic moments that will live on ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Scene-Stealers.com (Eric Melin)
Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
I've seen Cameron Crowe's "Elizabethtown" twice, and remarkable is the difference between the two versions. Critics were warned before seeing the Toronto film festival version that it was not the final cut, and was it ever not. The new version is 18 minut ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
Bucket Reviews (Danny Baldwin)
Steve Rhodes <Steve.Rhodes@internetreviews.com>
"I'm fine" is the halfhearted mantra of the central character inCameron Crowe'sElizabethtown, but the phrase could also describe the feel of film itself unconvincing and muddled, despite the cheery disposition sometimes plastered painfully across ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Steve Rhodes <Steve.Rhodes@internetreviews.com>
7M Pictures (Kevin Carr)
A Guide to Current DVD (Aaron Beierle)
DVD Verdict (Joel Pearce)
Christian Spotlight on the Movies
Montreal Film Journal (Kevin N. Laforest)
filethirteen.com
DVD Authority.com (Daniel Pulliam)
BumsCorner.com (Scraps)
Sacramento News & Review (Jim Lane)
Bigfanboy (Mark Walters)
A Nutshell Review
Jackass Critics (Thomas Blain)
Premiere Magazine
Paul McElligott's Movie Review Diary
TheCinemaSource.com (Mark Plante)
Elizabethtown is written and directed by Cameron Crowe and stars Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst. It follows the journey of Drew Baylor (Orlando Bloom) who has found great career success in his twenties, but when a shoe he designs turns into a billion ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at TheCinemaSource.com (Mark Plante)
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
Cinema Blend (Joshua Tyler)
Cinema Blend
Elizabethtown is the kind of film that wastes the one “F” word its rating allows on its soundtrack. But then it’s a Cameron Crowe movie, and long before Zach Braff was kicking ass on movie music, he was locked in a room obsessing over piles of ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Cinema Blend
Ain't It Cool Movie Reviews (Harry Knowles)
/Film (Maria Belilovskaya)
Mutant Reviewers From Hell
Reel.com (Pam Grady)
The Phantom Tollbooth
allesfilm.com (Markus Steiger)
Privatjokr Movies
Bina007 Movie Reviews
NP2k - DVD Review (Chad Peter)
eFilmCritic Reviews
City Pages, Minneapolis/St. Paul
digitallyOBSESSED.com (Joel Cunningham)
DVD Town (Justin Cleveland)
Crosswalk.com Movies (Holly McClure)
Exclaim! (Erin Oke)
The Trades (R.J. Carter)
Film Monthly (Anna Keizer)
MovieFreak.com (Sara M. Fetters)
The BigScreen Cinema Guide - Reader Reviews
Hours after a ruinous product debut, suicidal industrial designer Drew Baylor learns of his father's sudden death. As the only son, Drew must travel to their small hometown of Elizabethtown, Kentucky to attend to his father's memorial. On the flight to ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at The BigScreen Cinema Guide - Reader Reviews
Entertainment Weekly
Think of Elizabethtown as Cameron Crowe's rambling amateur travelogue, one from a well-liked professional filmmaker momentarily so distracted by private notes scrawled on his souvenir map that he gets lost en route to telling his story of self-renewal. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Entertainment Weekly
MovieEye.com (Jessica Nicolle Donohue)
The Sydney Morning Herald
Screen It! Entertainment Reviews for Parents
Tulsa TV Memories (Gary Chew)
eFilmCritic.com (Erik Childress)
In Review (Adam Suraf)
Actors Ink (Ray Wong)
Planet Sick-Boy (Jon Popick)
Movie-Vault.com (Nate Anderson)
Film Journal International
Portland Oregonian (Shawn Levy)
There are wonders here, but there are as many things that just plain make you wonder. By the end you're too addled to be truly moved. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Portland Oregonian (Shawn Levy)
Lawrence Journal-World (Jon Niccum)
Deseret News, Salt Lake City
Slate (David Edelstein)
New York Daily News (Jack Mathews)
Cinemalogue.com (Rubin Safaya)
Reel Talk (Betty Jo Tucker)
PopMatters (Cynthia Fuchs)
eye WEEKLY (Andrew Braithwaite)
Cameron Crowe's first feature since 2001's Vanilla Sky is a bit like Crowe's filmmaking career itself: flashes of brilliance, but ultimately held down under the weight of its own hollowness.
Orlando Bloom plays Drew Baylor, a sneaker designer who ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at eye WEEKLY (Andrew Braithwaite)
Confessions of a Film Critic (John Maguire)
Puremovies.co.uk (Dan Higgins)
The Onion A.V. Club
Close-up Film (Mike Bartlett)
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Combustible Celluloid (Jeffrey M. Anderson)
In Film Australia
Slant Magazine - DVD Review
Flak Magazine (Chris Shadoian)
moviereview (Colin Fraser)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
The Arizona Republic
Spirituality & Health (Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat)
Houston Community Newspapers (Gary Brown)
Pajiba (Dustin Rowles)
Premiere (Allison Williams)
Beyond the tunes, however, Elizabethtown falls short of actual emotional resonance, and is really nothing more than a passable "Garden State" doppelgänger. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Premiere (Allison Williams)
Charlotte Observer (Lawrence Toppman)
Crowe likes to work with large ensembles...But he doesn't know when we've had enough, however interesting they all may be; he's like a guy who decorates a Christmas tree with so many ornaments that you can't see the foliage. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Charlotte Observer (Lawrence Toppman)
ReelViews (James Berardinelli)
What's sad is that Elizabethtown contains two GREAT sequences. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at ReelViews (James Berardinelli)
Mediajonez (Andy Spain)
The Nick Schager Film Project
filmcritic.com (Sean O'Connell)
Must See Flix (Darren Brown)
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Ed Blank)
The Stranger (Andrew Wright)
MovieWeb (J.P. Mangalindan)
DVD Clinic (Jason Adams)
The Cinema Source (Edward Kasche)
Zertinet Movies (Steven Snyder)
ReelViews (James Berardinelli)
Following scathing audience reaction to a "work copy" of Elizabethtown shown at several major late-summer film festivals, writer/director Cameron Crowe went back to the drawing board, paring down the 138-minute "director's cut" to a slightly more manageab ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at ReelViews (James Berardinelli)
EmanuelLevy.com (Emanuel Levy)
Can a director survive 3 failures in a row? Elizabethtown is a pale imitation of zany Capra and Sturges screwballs, marred by Bloom's weak turn and overlong plotless text ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at EmanuelLevy.com (Emanuel Levy)
About.com Hollywood Movies (Rebecca Murray)
Spectrum (St. George, Utah) (Bruce Bennett)
Crowe has some very good ideas here, many of them interesting and funny, but the story lacks cohesion, focus, and contains one too many scenes that simply fall flat. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Spectrum (St. George, Utah) (Bruce Bennett)
The New Yorker (David Denby)
Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)
"Sets an affable mood but is saddled with a slight and pointless story." ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)
OhmyNews (Brian Orndorf)
Reel Movie Critic (Mack Bates)
Las Vegas Weekly (Josh Bell)
A joyous mess of a film. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Las Vegas Weekly (Josh Bell)
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (Jack Garner)
Though the film boils over with way too much material, enough kernels of truth and wit emerge to make the film generally worth your time. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (Jack Garner)
IGN Movies (Todd Gilchrist)
If, as the film suggests, true greatness is defined by the willingness to fail, fail big and still stick around afterwards, then consider Elizabethtown a sweet, melancholy paean to that sad truth. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at IGN Movies (Todd Gilchrist)
Greenwich Village Gazette (Eric Lurio)
the sum of the parts are far greater than the whole ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Greenwich Village Gazette (Eric Lurio)
Orlando Sentinel (Roger Moore)
But as messy, unfocused and rambling as this is, fundamentally flawed as any movie about loss that doesn't let its characters or its viewers feel that loss, it's still a most-enjoyable mess to sit through, a Southern-fried Garden State. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Orlando Sentinel (Roger Moore)
The Onion (A.V. Club) (Keith Phipps)
Only a truly great director can make a film of high artistic merit, filled with personality and memorable scenes, that's still a borderline disaster. (Think One From The Heart or 1941.) So the heartfelt and woefully miscalculated Elizabethtown may be the ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at The Onion (A.V. Club) (Keith Phipps)
LA Weekly (John Patterson)
Crowe's undeniable gifts -- his well-crafted individual scenes and his love for his characters -- are more evident here than his flaws. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at LA Weekly (John Patterson)
Chicago Tribune (Michael Phillips)
Not Coming to a Theater Near You (Chiranjit Goswami)
Baltimore Sun (Chris Kaltenbach)
Cameron Crowe crams at least three movies' worth of plotlines into Elizabethtown, and gives short shrift to all of them. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Baltimore Sun (Chris Kaltenbach)
CineFile : il Cinema in Rete (Luciana Morelli)
Shadows on the Wall (Rich Cline)
Boxoffice Magazine
Cinema 2000 (Eurico de Barros; João Lopes)
Xi-online (Deniz Karaman)
Austin Chronicle (Marc Savlov)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Duane Dudek)
Elizabethtown strikes a note here and there, but does so while remaining tuneless and formless overall. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Duane Dudek)
Sun Publications (Chicago, IL) (Josh Larsen)
`Elizabethtown' flounders, flopping about in search of a consistent theme, narrative and even character. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Sun Publications (Chicago, IL) (Josh Larsen)
Toronto Star (Peter Howell)
Elizabethtown isn't a refuge for the soul, it's a dead end for the senses. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Toronto Star (Peter Howell)
ViewLondon (Matthew Turner)
Boston Herald (James Verniere)
Zap2it.com (Dan Fienberg)
There's regret in imagining just how much better this would have played with an age-appropriate John Cusack or Tom Cruise (or, heck, Patrick Fugit) in the lead role. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Zap2it.com (Dan Fienberg)
TV Guide Entertainment Network, Movie Guide
EDGE Boston (David Foucher)
The movie gives us nothing productive – save the unfortunate realization that Orlando Bloom can’t dance. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at EDGE Boston (David Foucher)
Philadelphia Inquirer
DVD Talk (Francis Rizzo III)
Newark Star-Ledger (Stephen Whitty)
Like most journeys, Elizabethtown could have used a bit more planning; its detours make backseat drivers of us all. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Newark Star-Ledger (Stephen Whitty)
Arizona Daily Star (Phil Villarreal)
They should have hacked off another half-hour, including the ridiculous ending. The result might have been a disjointed film that made little sense, but then, so is this one. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Arizona Daily Star (Phil Villarreal)
Rolling Stone (Peter Travers)
The film's problems lie with the lack of spark between a wired Dunst and a bland Bloom. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Rolling Stone (Peter Travers)
Minneapolis Star Tribune (Jeff Strickler)
Just as we're reaching for our coats so we can beat the rush to the parking lot, the movie launches a new chapter. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Minneapolis Star Tribune (Jeff Strickler)
Kalamazoo Gazette (James Sanford)
the more the movie screams, 'love me!' the more resistible it becomes. ...the shorter version is not an improvement: It's just less of the same. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Kalamazoo Gazette (James Sanford)
Film Threat, Hollywood's Indie Voice
San Antonio Express-News (Larry Ratliff)
Crowe's mood-indigo swing through the Sentimental South, an odd blend of whimsy and overly sentimental Hallmark moments, lacks the entertainment punch of his earlier work. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at San Antonio Express-News (Larry Ratliff)
MovieCrypt.com (Kevin A. Ranson)
... reeks of the same kind of emotional manipulation that sends the average (male) running screaming from the theater. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at MovieCrypt.com (Kevin A. Ranson)
Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema (Mark Pfeiffer)
With Elizabethtown [Crowe] has made another heartfelt movie shot through with his sensibility. He's also made a gigantic mess, the first directorial misfire in his six-film oeuvre. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema (Mark Pfeiffer)
Charlotte Observer (Lawrence Toppman)
At least Elizabethtown always looks and sounds appealing. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Charlotte Observer (Lawrence Toppman)
ToxicUniverse.com (John Nesbit)
Sacramento Bee (Carla Meyer)
It's pretentious as well as sappy, despite some nice moments. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Sacramento Bee (Carla Meyer)
Salt Lake Tribune (Sean Means)
The first words - 'There is a difference between a failure and a fiasco' - are, alas, more prophetic than either Bloom or writer-director Cameron Crowe probably intended. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Salt Lake Tribune (Sean Means)
TV Guide's Movie Guide (Maitland McDonagh)
This lighthearted meditation on life, death, love and timing contains some genuinely lovely scenes, but they're buried in a shapeless jumble of cutesy-pie vignettes. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at TV Guide's Movie Guide (Maitland McDonagh)
Movie Habit (Marty Mapes)
Story doesn't have an arc so much as a winding S-curve ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Movie Habit (Marty Mapes)
movies.com (Dave White)
Rolling Stone (Peter Travers)
Q Network Film Desk (James Kendrick)
Village Voice (Laura Sinagra)
Where the earlier flick (Garden State), in its smallness, felt like an honest representation of writer-director-star Zach Braff's struggles with notions of home, Crowe's is a hodgepodge of great ideas and moods in search of a plot to enrich. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Village Voice (Laura Sinagra)
USA Today (Claudia Puig)
Though it's no fiasco -- there's nothing mythic about its disjointed story -- it is a failure. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at USA Today (Claudia Puig)
Boston Globe (Wesley Morris)
Audiences of a certain hipster disposition, in fact, will see Elizabethtown and pine for Zach Braff's ''Garden State," the movie to which Elizabethtown bears an unfortunate and inferior resemblance. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Boston Globe (Wesley Morris)
San Francisco Chronicle (Mick LaSalle)
That gift doesn't desert him [Crowe] in Elizabethtown, but he clutters his movie with plot elements that confuse the focus, the central character and, ultimately, I suspect, Crowe himself. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at San Francisco Chronicle (Mick LaSalle)
Rolling Stone (Peter Travers)
The film's problems lie with the lack of spark between a wired Dunst and a bland Bloom, and the meltdown of Drew's mother (Susan Sarandon), who grieves by tap-dancing. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Rolling Stone (Peter Travers)
Los Angeles Times (Carina Chocano)
A mess of a movie -- but a warm, friendly mess that's hard not to like, even when it tests your patience. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Los Angeles Times (Carina Chocano)
Philadelphia Inquirer (Carrie Rickey)
With Say Anything, Jerry Maguire and Almost Famous, writer-director Cameron Crowe set the bar so high that you forgive him a miss like Vanilla Sky. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Philadelphia Inquirer (Carrie Rickey)
Dallas Observer (Robert Wilonsky)
It's a mess, absolutely, more a collage than a narrative. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Dallas Observer (Robert Wilonsky)
The Hollywood Reporter (Ray Bennett)
Tedious humor and sentimentality bury what could have been a pretty good road picture. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at The Hollywood Reporter (Ray Bennett)
The New York Times (A.O. Scott)
Elizabethtown is a long, lurching trip to nowhere in particular, but Elizabethtown is a place where you wouldn't mind spending some more time, though perhaps under different circumstances. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at The New York Times (A.O. Scott)
Variety (Leslie Felperin)
Although rich in screwball silliness and sharp one-liners, film lacks the narrative drive one finds in the classic comedies of Preston Sturges, Frank Capra and Billy Wilder, whom Crowe always seems to try to emulate. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Variety (Leslie Felperin)
Christian Science Monitor (Peter Rainer)
It may not be much of a movie, but it's a terrific concert. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Christian Science Monitor (Peter Rainer)
Kansas City Star (Robert W. Butler)
Moments occur in the film’s first hour when Elizabethtown seems poised to take off. But it never quite happens, and the second hour is a total mess. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Kansas City Star (Robert W. Butler)
TV Guide (Maitland McDonagh)
This lighthearted meditation on life, death, love and timing contains some genuinely lovely scenes, but they're buried in a shapeless jumble of cutesy-pie vignettes. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at TV Guide (Maitland McDonagh)
One Guy's Opinion (Frank Swietek)
Couched! (Chris Hartley)
Cameron Crowe is a good filmmaker who showed a knack for capturing realistic characters and dialogue with his earlier efforts Say Anything... and Almost Famous. Crowe also fills his movies with quirky little sub-plots and bit roles making them a lot more ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Couched! (Chris Hartley)
Three Movie Buffs (Patrick Nash)
ViewLondon (Matthew Turner)
Sentimental hogwash ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at ViewLondon (Matthew Turner)
New York Times (A.O. Scott)
Cameron Crowe's tale of romance and redemptions struggles to sustain a tone of bittersweet whimsy, but its emotions are in the end as undercooked as its ideas. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at New York Times (A.O. Scott)
Cinenganos (Luis Martinez)
Esta cinta ya la vimos...aún antes de entrar a la sala. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Cinenganos (Luis Martinez)
Providence Journal (Michael Janusonis)
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) (Ken Hanke)
Rarely has a film managed to be this maddeningly meandering, forced, unbelievable and, ultimately, phony and uninvolving. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) (Ken Hanke)
efilmcritic.com (Uri Lessing)
How sad that Cameron Crowe, the man behind Say Anything and Almost Famous should become so infatuated with whimsy. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at efilmcritic.com (Uri Lessing)
Salon.com (Stephanie Zacharek)
Elizabethtown is a sprawl, perhaps the victim of a kind of ADD of the heart. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Salon.com (Stephanie Zacharek)
Chicago Reader (J.R. Jones)
An especially lame variation on Crowe's feel-good formula. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Chicago Reader (J.R. Jones)
Seattle Weekly (Tim Appelo)
Much of it is not half bad. Some moments achieve the transcendence they ache to find. But it's like a concept album with no concept, Singles with fewer hit singles. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Seattle Weekly (Tim Appelo)
Film Threat (Pete Vonder Haar)
The biggest problem with Elizabethtown isn't in its shopworn theme, but that it's perhaps the first of Crowe's movies (though "Jerry Maguire"comes very close) that really feels forced. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Film Threat (Pete Vonder Haar)
Austin Chronicle (Marc Savlov)
When she's (Dunst) off the screen, Elizabethtown goes dark and broody, stranding us with the morose Bloom during a third-act road trip that goes everywhere and nowhere at once. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Austin Chronicle (Marc Savlov)
filmcritic.com (Sean O'Connell)
spins and falters like an intoxicated couple on New Year’s Eve ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at filmcritic.com (Sean O'Connell)
New York Daily News (Jack Mathews)
Crowe was going for something magical in all this, but the film is so affected and mannered, so preciously in love with itself, that it's painful to watch. Scenes go on and on, and when you think the movie's over, it goes on and on some more. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at New York Daily News (Jack Mathews)
New York Post (Lou Lumenick)
Rambling, schmaltzy romantic comedy. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at New York Post (Lou Lumenick)
Flipside Movie Emporium (Rob Vaux)
Palo Alto Online (Jeanne Aufmuth)
Detroit News (Tom Long)
This, folks, is not entertainment. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Detroit News (Tom Long)
Future Movies (Paul Greenwood)
Denver Rocky Mountain News (Robert Denerstein)
Contra Costa Times (Randy Myers)
The film frustrates with its ADD nature. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Contra Costa Times (Randy Myers)
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) (Rick Groen)
It's obvious now that the cinematic junk routinely released every Friday can be safely categorized as a mere failure. But this alleged comedy is a whole other species entirely. This is a bona fide, absolute, unmitigated fiasco. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at The Globe and Mail (Toronto) (Rick Groen)
Denver Post (Michael Booth)
Plot development in Elizabethtown comes purely because the script says it must, not because the actors or the story make it seem probable. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Denver Post (Michael Booth)
WaffleMovies.com (Willie Waffle)
a movie full of great, emotional moments, but not a great movie. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at WaffleMovies.com (Willie Waffle)
Reeling Reviews (Robin and Laura Clifford)
Chicago Tribune (Michael Phillips)
So many romantic comedies come and go without making the slightest impression. Elizabethtown is not one of them; I found it galling. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Chicago Tribune (Michael Phillips)
Cinema Source (Mark Plante)
Film Freak Central (Walter Chaw)
Dunst plays an android programmed to bestow idiosyncrasy like a Pez dispenser geeked at regular intervals. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Film Freak Central (Walter Chaw)
Tail Slate (Douglas Strassler)
Newsday (Jan Stuart)
It must have required a lot of chutzpah on Crowe's part to couch that quest in a meditation on the differences between failure and fiasco. When an endeavor goes as spectacularly awry as Elizabethtown , the point is moot. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Newsday (Jan Stuart)
South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Phoebe Flowers)
Elizabethtown feels decidedly impersonal and, even worse, enormously contrived. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Phoebe Flowers)
Killer Movie Reviews (Andrea Chase)
Star-Democrat (Easton, MD) (Greg Maki)
No one in the movie feels like a living, breathing individual... ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Star-Democrat (Easton, MD) (Greg Maki)
Groucho Reviews (Peter Canavese)
A character plans out a 42-hour-and-11 minute journey accompanied by a 16-CD soundtrack.... Elizabethtown feels every bit as long and music-saturated... ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Groucho Reviews (Peter Canavese)
Globe and Mail (Rick Groen)
This is a bona fide, absolute, unmitigated fiasco. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Globe and Mail (Rick Groen)
Palo Alto Weekly (Jeanne Aufmuth)
A jumble of potentially intriguing concepts that rarely gel and leave the sticky residue of bad impromptu theater ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Palo Alto Weekly (Jeanne Aufmuth)
The Cinema Source (Mark Plante)
Washington Post (Desson Thomson)
It's hard to believe the creative mind that gave us "Almost Famous," "Jerry Maguire," "Say Anything" and "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" looked up with satisfaction after typing 117 pages of this. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Washington Post (Desson Thomson)
Boxoffice Magazine (Shlomo Schwartzberg)
Pretty much a disaster on all counts. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Boxoffice Magazine (Shlomo Schwartzberg)
ShowBIZ Data (--)
eFilmCritic.com (Oz)
30 seconds in, it lost me. 3 minutes in, it angered me. 13 minutes in, I wanted to start randomly garotting people in the next row. 23 minutes in, I actually tried to. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at eFilmCritic.com (Oz)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Eleanor Ringel Gillespie)
[A] hugely disappointing film, which goes beyond blunder into something akin to meltdown. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Eleanor Ringel Gillespie)
St. Paul Pioneer Press (Chris Hewitt (St. Paul))
Elizabethtown sticks to a pattern -- joke, pronouncement about life, meaningful song, repeat -- that becomes irritating and then pretentious and, finally, unbearable. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at St. Paul Pioneer Press (Chris Hewitt (St. Paul))
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) (John Beifuss)
By the time Elton John sings, 'Soon as this is over, we'll go home,' moviegoers will be way ahead of him. ...read the complete Elizabethtown movie review at Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) (John Beifuss)
User Reviews
by Ellebell222 on August 02, 2009
The first time I saw it i have to admit I didn't like it that much, but I realize that's only because I have HUGE expectations whenever Cameron Crowe releases ANYTHING. Seriously, when is the last time you saw something by CC that wasn't better than the ...
by M. Davidson on October 02, 2008
My husband has been pestering my for a long time to get this movie and I haven't been able to find it locally. After a few minutes at the site, I found just what I was looking for and managed to order it and receive it before his upcoming birthday. ...
by Theresa H Warren on September 15, 2008
Elizabethtown is a beautiful town in Kentucky, and I will admit it rented the DVD simply for that reason. I visited there once, over 25 years ago, and fell in love. ...
by John W. Schlatter on August 21, 2008
I judge the value of a film by how much I can identify with the characters....I've been single my entire life because I never found a 'Clarie'.....That special soul with a third eye that sees things within others they may have missed themselves...I just ...
by Sharon P. Davis "... on January 20, 2008
This is a video that I purchased. It is delightful! Every day life has it's challenges and when we don't loose heart in these situations, it's easier to press through without looking back. We can only go forward. This movie opens our hearts and hopefully ...
by J. White "Soul Ma... on October 08, 2007
Think of being at the bottom of the ocean. The crushing darkness that surrounds you, truly think about it. Slowly suffocating, but never reaching the surface because of the mass that lies above you. Where do you go, how do you get out, or do you? And ...
by G. Morton on August 09, 2007
I suspect this is Crowe's best. Yes, it is a bit of a quirky love story perhaps too sweet for some, but really the film is more of a salute to family, love, life and America. Elizabethtown itself seemed the quintessential mid-American small town that one ...
by Phillip Overton "... on June 15, 2007
Everyone has a film that comes along once in a lifetime and forever endears itself to their heart. For myself, Elizabethtown was that film. No longer do I have to defend my favourite film selections against comparisons with the golden era classics such ...
by Theresa Gauthier ... on June 14, 2007
When I first heard about this movie, I thought I would hate it because it ...
User Comments
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