about "Elizabethtown" again

As I have written here before, I have issues with the movie "Elizabethtown". Though I felt I was hardwired to like it (with the possible exception of "Vanilla Sky" I like Cameron Crowe-whimsy and all-I'm from Kentucky, and it has Paula Deen, My Morning Jacket and Patty Griffin in it) instead it turned into, as Dennis Miller would say, "one of those you can't off your mind or the bottom of your shoe." It just went so wrong for me it was almost car wreck like.

It has been on my mind cause a Kentucky friend of mine watched it recently for the first time and our discussion brought back my bad feelings about the movie.

Seperate from the poorly written, meanadering script (in my opinion if you make Susan Sarandon look bad in a movie it's a baaad script) and the uneven acting (Orlando Bloom should perhaps confine himself to movies with swords) my chief complaint was this:

Guys, the quirky girl can't save you. Ya'll have to save yourselves, then you'll be ready for a real relationship.

Now this is a movie conceit as old as stories themselves (hello Pygmalion!) and in better hands, or at least better circumstances, it certainly can make for enjoyable watching. Think "Pretty Woman" or "Pretty in Pink" to name just two. Or "Breakfast at Tiffany's".

But in a far better movie, the one you should put in your Netflix queue instead of "E-Town", "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", our quirky girl, Clementine, expresses it best.

"Joel, I'm not a concept. I want you to just keep that in your head. Too many guys think I'm a concept or I complete them or I'm going to make them alive, but I'm just a fucked up girl who is looking for my own peace of mind. Don't assign me yours."

Gentleman, please bear that in mind.