'Elizabethtown':

Making most of Second Chances
Brooke Heald, staff writer

“Elizabethtown” is about a young man who works for a big-time Oregon shoe company, and he causes them to lose hundreds of millions of dollars.

Drew Baylor (Orlando Bloom) is fired for his mistake, and he is automatically dumped by his girlfriend, Ellen (Jessica Biel). On the verge of suicide, Drew finds out that his father has just died, and he has to make a trip to Kentucky to talk to his father’s side of the family.

On his journey through this rough but awkwardly, happy time, Drew meets Claire Colbourn (Kirsten Dunst) and falls in love. He is suddenly given a new purpose in life.

You might recognize Orlando Bloom from “Pirates of the Caribbean” and the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. I wouldn’t say this is one of his greatest performances, but it is definitely the most heart-warming. Drew Baylor (as is his name in the movie) makes it through a harsh reality in his life, and it teaches us all a lesson that we can make it too even when everything seems out of reach or pointless.

Drew’s fighting spirit kicks in when he meets Claire, and she helps him realize that there is no reason to give up and that he is strong and does have a purpose in life, and it very well may be her.

 Dunst has starred most recently in “Bring it On”, “Spiderman”, “Spiderman 2”, and “Mona Lisa’s Smile”. Her performance in this movie is absolutely stunning. She is so powerful in her role that she makes you believe in what she’s telling you through this character.

This movie has a great cast, including: Susan Sarandon (Drew’s mom), Alec Baldwin (Drew’s boss), Judy Greer (Drew’s sister) and Tim Devitt as Mitch (Drew’s father). Cameron Crowe did a simply fantastic job of directing this film. Crowe takes us on this intimate, romantic journey through a selection of wonderful music to back up the emotional temperature. Crowe tells this story with warm, gentle humor, even if the main character is going through the most horrible time of his life. It is then that he meets his savior and true love (Dunst).

The moral of the story is, “When something bad happens, it could be the best thing that has ever happened to you.” When Drew is driving on his way home, he takes his time and gets many surprises from a map that Claire gives him. She teaches him to take time and appreciate everything around him, and that every second of your life counts, so why waste a minute of life’s precious gift, life.

I rate this movie a five-star film. It made a definite impression on me, and I learned that life is precious, so make it count. If you haven’t seen this movie yet, please go check it out. I promise it will be money well spent.

If you have a special someone, take him or her with you. This film is a great date movie. When I went, couples surrounded us, and they all loved it. My boyfriend and I concluded that every second we have together, we need to cherish.