BEFORE: Desperately trying to catch up here, since I lost almost all of Saturday to working that film festival, and then Saturday night I had to finish my Saturday film, then most of Sunday I was watching shows to try to clear my TV DVR, which has been filling up again now that TV shows are back. So I had to start my Sunday film on LATE Sunday - shocker, I know, I've been lucky enough to almost always START my film the day before and finish it in the early morning of the day of posting. I don't see how I'm going to catch up, so I may have to skip a couple days in March, those are the breaks. Kirsten Dunst carries over from "The Power of the Dog".
I'm so behind that it's already March 7 as I'm posting, and the new TCM broadcast day starts in just a couple hours - as does the Monday work day, but who cares about that when there are MOVIES to be watched? Anyway, here's the TCM "31 Days of Oscar" line-up for Monday, March 7, and remember, these are all Oscar WINNERS:
6:30 am "Broadway Melody of 1936" (1936)
8:30 am "Gold Diggers of 1935". (1935)
10:30 am "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (1935) - you know, that play from "Get Over It"
1:00 pm "Swing Time" (1936)
3:00 pm "The Great Ziegfeld" (1936)
6:00 pm "A Star Is Born" (1937)
8:00 pm "Wings" (1927)
10:30 pm "The Adventures of Robin Hood" (1938)
12:30 am "The Champ" (1931)
2:15 am "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" (1932)
4:00 am "Viva Villa!" (1934)
Wow, I'm not sure why TCM put these films together on the same day, other than the fact that they were all released in the 1930's. It could also be that many belong to the theme of films that I've see other versions of - I've seen the 1954, 1976 AND 2018 versions of "A Star Is Born", but not the one from 1937. I saw the 1979 version of "The Champ", but not the 1931 film, and I have the 1941 version of "Dr. Jekyll and. Mr. Hyde on DVD, but not th 1932 version. So I've only seen TWO of Day 7's films, "Swing Time" (because I did a Fred Astaire thing a few years back) and "The Adventures of Robin Hood" with Errol Flynn. I really SHOULD watch "Wings" because it was the first film to win Best Picture, but I haven't got time - plus, how would I link to it? With only 10 Best Picture winners I haven't seen, I could just knock them all out one day, that would be something to do.
But another 2 seen out of 11 brings me to 31 seen out of 78, which drops me down to 39.7%. If I could finish around 40%, that would be fine.
THE PLOT: During a hometown memorial for his Kentucky-born father, a young man begins an unexpected romance with a too-good-to-be-true stewardess.
AFTER: This is a strange film - and I know I probably say that a lot - but it's a different kind of strange then a film where, say, Bruce Willis fights aliens from another galaxy, or Shang-Chi saves China from a giant dragon attack. This is supposedly just a quaint little film about a guy visiting his late father's hometown, and falling for a flight attendant he meets on the way there. But it's just so full of elements that come out of left field that it's hard to get a handle on it - there's no clear direction for the characters most of the time, the lead is confused about what to do with his life, and the two people falling in love keep saying that they're not doing that, except isn't that what they're doing?
Really, there are three things going on here, there's the story of the man dealing with his father's death (and his mother and sister, they're affected by this too, only they stay in Oregon for most of the film) then there's the story of a man who's just suffered an incredible business failure in the sneaker market (though it's never quite explained what exactly happened, and how) and then mixed in with that is the romance, between two people who should be, what's the term she uses, "substitute people". This means, I guess, that they're both used to being other people's rebound romantic partner, or they've both had partners that didn't want to be in committed relationships, so they've both developed skills to survive during the alone times, while waiting to serve as a substitute romantic partner for the next person, at least until that person finds what they're looking for, with someone else. It's a rather cynical way of looking at relationships, I think, and that's saying something, coming from a divorced guy. (That feeling that relationships are fragile and could disappear tomorrow just never completely goes away.)
So maybe that's why it's tough to see a through-line here, tough to figure out exactly what the film is trying to tell us, because it's trying to do too much all at once, juggling Drew's business troubles, family troubles and then the new relationship. One scene in particular stands out, where he's bouncing between three phone calls, to his ex-girlfriend & co-worker, to his sister and mother, and to the new prospective girlfriend, Claire. He keeps talking to each party for five seconds before saying, "Wait, I have to call you back." or "Let me put you on hold for a second." and this goes on for what feels like fifteen minutes, where the only thing he tells each person is that he can't talk to them right now. And honestly, there's nothing all that interesting about watching him talk on the phone, three calls at once, and not saying anything of any importance. Why does this take up so much screen time?
The details of the story are weird, too, like why are they so darn specific, like the name of the Kentucky town, the number of the highway exit, and the locations where Claire is scheduled to fly next - none of this really matters. This could be set in Anytown USA, why Elizabethtown, Kentucky? Is this based on real-life things that happened to the writer/director, Cameron Crowe? He did write "Almost Famous", based on his teen years spent touring with that band and writing about them for Rolling Stone, right? Why do I need to know the name of the Brown Hotel in Elizabethtown, what purpose does that serve? Why does Drew choose that particular method of suicide, it's pretty unusual - and I don't think anyone has ever tried suicide by exercise equipment before (people may have died while using exercise bikes before, but not intentionally). Why choose to focus on the choice between burying Drew's father and getting him cremated? Why make such a big deal about Drew missing that highway exit, doesn't that happen to drivers all the time? These things, among others, feel like they came from some personal experiences.
Yes, I believe I'm correct - the IMDB trivia page says this was all inspired by Cameron Crowe's visit to his own father's grave in Kentucky - but it was 16 years after his father's death when he first visited. So some details were changed, obviously, but I was right, I could just tell this came from a very personal place. However, I've still got some problems with the events as depicted, like would an airline really run a whole flight for just ONE passenger? Seems to me that this would never happen, like if only one ticket was sold for a flight, any airline would probably cancel that flight, or merge it with another one, weeks before take-off. It would never come down to a situation where the crew outnumbers the passengers on a flight, that's inefficient and would never generate a profit for that airline, therefore this situation would never come to be.
Oh, yeah, after all those other storylines get semi-resolved, this film sort of turns into a travelogue, as Drew drives back alone from Kentucky to Oregon. But I also found it quite unbelievable that anyone would "curate" a road trip for somebody else, even if they were best friends or potential lovers - Claire really seemed like a piece of work, someone who would be very controlling or micro-managing in a relationship, to the point of that being very annoying. Sure, as a flight attendant she might know places to visit in a lot of cities, but that scrapbook she made for Drew, complete with CDs timed to the road trip, specific instructions about where to eat, where to shop, what to see in each town, it's quite a lot. And it would probably take WEEKS to put that together, where did she find the time, especially with a flight attendant's busy travel schedule? It doesn't make much sense AND it's a huge red flag, right from the start. This is not a person who knows how to have fun, this is a control freak.
(I say this, of course, as the man who worked out detailed itineraries for our last THREE pre-pandemic October vacations. We did two BBQ crawls in 2017 and 2018 across the South, plus a Buffet Crawl in Las Vegas in 2019. Yes, of course I did research, of course I had copious lists and notes about where to eat and what to do in each city BUT in my defense, all of my plans were made at the request of my wife AND there was a fair amount of flexibility in all of my plans. Also, I'd asked her before each trip about places she might like to go, and I was respectful of her wishes at all times, including when she asked for a change of plans on the fly. This is the difference between being properly prepared, and being a control freak - I gave her choices, plus we were free to add to the itinerary if we stumbled on something fun to do that wasn't part of the original plan. I'm not a monster.)
That all being said, I approve of SOME of Claire's recommendations - the Sun Records Studio was a must-visit for me, too, when we went to Memphis. We also visited Graceland, saw the ducks at the Peabody Hotel, ate at The BBQ Shop, and visited the world's largest Bass Pro Shops, located inside a giant pyramid - there's a restaurant on top with a restaurant that serves wild game and has a great view of the Mississippi River at sunset. Would I want to visit the hotel where MLK was assassinated? No, I would not. The second time we were in Dallas we visited Dealey Plaza and JFK Assassination Museum in the old Book Depository building, and it was fascinating at first, then just felt really creepy after a while.
I thought it was a bit weird that the film suggested a man could drive all that distance across the country in 48 hours, by himself. That would be impossible, because a man driving solo would have to stop and sleep, he can only drive so many hours in a day, plus Claire recommended all those great places to eat and things to see. I suppose perhaps she was talking about 48 hours of "driving time", but realistically, that trip with a solo driver, assuming 8 to 10 hours of driving each day, would take about four to six days to complete. Sure, it's possible, but that's with minimum stops - realistically, a solo drive that long could take a week or even two, depending on the driver. Any way you slice it, this is a big NITPICK POINT.
Kirsten Dunst's character in this film caused one reviewer to create a name for a whole category of movie characters, called "The Manic Pixie Dream Girl", essentially she represents a fantasy that writer/directors have, where a very chipper, positive woman comes along quite accidentally and teaches brooding, depressed men how to embrace life and all of its mysteries and adventures. The men, of course, are the stand-ins for said directors, and the women, in real life, don't really exist, sorry. Natalie Portman in "Garden State" and Sandra Bullock in, well, just about anything are other examples. Roger Ebert had a different take on the story, he felt that since Drew met Claire on a plane (in the heavens) that she represented some kind of angel, and her influence guided him through his depression, potential suicide and allowed him to find redemption after his corporate failure. Hmm, I'm not really sold on that idea, perhaps working for a sneaker company is a form of hell, but isn't it better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven? And isn't that way too much pressure to put on a relationship? Redemption, like happiness, should come from within, not from proximity to another person.
Also starring Orlando Bloom (last seen in "Unlocked"), Susan Sarandon (last seen in "Romance & Cigarettes"), Alec Baldwin (last seen in "Drunk Parents"), Bruce McGill (last seen in "Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde"), Judy Greer (last seen in "13 Going on 30"), Jessica Biel (last seen in "The Rules of Attraction"), Paul Schneider (last seen in "Bright Star"), Loudon Wainwright III (last seen in "28 Days"), Gailard Sartain (last seen in "The Grifters"), Jed Rees (last seen in "The Onion Movie"), Paula Deen (yes, THAT one), Dan Biggers (last seen in "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil"), Alice Marie Crowe (last seen in "We Bought a Zoo"), Tim Devitt, Ted Manson (last seen in "Nights in Rodanthe"), Shane Lyons, Emily Rutherfurd, MIchael Naughton, Griffin Grabow, Nina Jefferies, Kristin Lindquist, Allison Munn, Patty Griffin, Rod Burke, Nate Mooney (last seen in "Seraphim Falls"), Jim Fitzpatrick, Kelly Pendygraft, with archive footage of Mike Connors, Ron Popeil.
RATING: 4 out of 10 organic cooking classes
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