Something Nice to Say: The Case for Elizabethtown

Article by: Abigail Marshall

Everyone’s heard the line before: if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say it. “Something Nice to Say” is a column that takes another look at “certified rotten” movies and finds a redeeming quality in each one.

If you were anywhere near a movie theater in 2005, you may have had the chance to observe the “original” Manic Pixie Dream Girl in her natural habitat. Nathan Rabin, the critic who came up with the term, called Kirsten Dunst’s Claire Colburn “a fantasy figure who exists solely in the fevered imaginations of sensitive writer-directors to teach broodingly soulful young men how to embrace life and its infinite mysteries and adventures.” Personally, I much prefer his 2014 essay, “I’m sorry for coining the phrase ‘Manic Pixie Dream Girl.’” The MPDGhas unfortunately cheapened a few films that deserve a second look, and Elizabethtown is among the casualties.

Even at my most optimistic, however, I do think it’s safe to say that this movie (which scored a 28% on Rotten Tomatoes) is not Almost Famous by any stretch. Disappointed critics proclaimed Elizabethtown “an awfully clunky, self-indulgent little heap of garbage,” and branded the screenplay “the most maudlin thing (Cameron Crowe) has ever written.” However, there’s actually much more to the film than its critics would have you believe. And their first mistake is writing Claire off as a manic pixie anything.

If you’ve seen the film, you know the story: Drew’s debut in the shoe design world turns out to be an entrepreneurial flop on a billion-dollar scale, which apparently merits a personal scolding by Alec Baldwin himself. Drew consequently decides to kill himself, but just before he does, he gets more bad news: his father has passed away. Suddenly it’s up to Drew to go back to his dad’s hometown of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, and plan the funeral. From there, it’s a sometimes rambling, almost Faulknerian story of redemption, reconnection, and yes, romance.

But here’s the big twist. When Drew meets Claire on the plane, I don’t think he’s just conversing with a flight attendant. He’s talking to an angel. And no, I’m not talking metaphors.

If Claire is an angel, it legitimizes lot of the character quirks that have been dismissed as MPDG traits. (She can’t be a dream “girl” if she isn’t, strictly speaking, an actual human.) Roger Ebert published a letter on his site back in 2006 that goes into more detail on this theory. In short, I think Claire’s mission is to help people deal with the spectrum of absences in their lives. While, yes, her focus is primarily on Drew, it shouldn’t go unmentioned that she also helps Drew’s apparently wifeless cousin Jessie who doesn’t particularly understand his son (remember the Rusty video?). Her appearance eases Drew through the end of his relationship with Ellen as well as the loss of his father. An angelic mission also deepens Claire’s purpose in the story. Suddenly she’s not just there as “an accessory to character development.” She’s on a journey of her own—one far bigger than Drew’s valid, but self-focused recovery from failure and loss. At its core, Elizabethtown isn’t only about Drew’s “fiasco”—it’s the story of Claire’s success.

Crowe has never directly confirmed or denied the angel theory, but did say this: “Claire is indeed more than just a chatty flight attendant, and the movie is certainly more than a vehicle for classic rock. The last couple movies I’ve done have been experiments in layering, and creating some extra gifts for any second- or third-time viewer.” This would, of course, explain the film’s low ratings—if you only watch it once, you’ve probably missed out on its full complexity.

Elizabethtown suffered from the typical viewer’s tendency to take the story literally and oversimplify Claire’s character. It makes an unfortunate kind of sense; after all, if basic character roles are misunderstood, the whole story takes a hit as a result. If more critics had taken the time to see Elizabethtown through this alternate lens—essentially a gender-swapped City of Angels with a happier ending and no Nicolas Cage—would the reviews tell a different story?

If you view Elizabethtown as a simple rom-com, you’ll probably be disappointed and you’ll definitely miss the point. It’s admittedly flawed (please, Susan Sarandon, never tap dance again), but ultimately triumphs as a multi-layered portrayal of the grieving process—grief for professional failure, familial loss, and personal regret. Seriously though—if you’ve been feeling underwhelmed by character reactions to death, just watch Orlando Bloom babble at an urn of his father’s ashes as Elton John sings in the background.

And of course, since it is a Cameron Crowe film, the music does merit a mention. Elizabethtown has a Rolling Stone-acknowledged soundtrack featuring the likes of Ryan Adams, James Brown, and Tom Petty. Some of the most musically beautiful moments are found in the frustratingly under-appreciated road trip scenes—meltdown montage and all.

Overall, Elizabethtown has a lot to offer the open-minded viewer, and it probably only tanked because it isn’t a one-watch movie. So give it the benefit of the doubt and watch it again. Even if you still hate the film, it’s pretty damn hard to thumb your nose at a Cameron Crowe soundtrack.