The move Elizabeth town (see post below first) has a number of interesting themes.
Red state/Blue state. The movie deals with the cultural differences between small town middle American and the west coast. The family from Oregon want their father and husband cremated and the ashes scattered and the family in Kentucky want him to be buried in a nice casket in the family plot in Kentucky. However this cultural difference and others are dealt with in a respectful way that does not degrade the folks from "Middle America" which is unusual for Hollywood today. As I said below Crowe shows Middle America as being full of loving an caring people who love America. There are American flags everywhere. My parents came from the Midwest (South Dakota) and I noticed the cultural differences on my trips back to my parents home town. Everyone knows their neighbor and there is much more of a feeling of community.
Road Trip. The movie ends with Orlando Bloom taking his father home to Oregon in a car road trip that he never took while his father was alive. During the trip he comes to terms with his life and his relationship with his father. His father always wanted to take the trip but Bloom was always too busy. Something we should all think about..... Follow that dream while you can still do it.
Bloom/ Dunst Relationship. I really liked Kirsten Dunst as the quirky flight attendant. I felt too much time was spent on being quirky and this part of the movie could have been tightened up.
DVD. According to Roger Ebert this was originally a longer movie. There was more about his job at the shoe company in Oregon and the road trip was much longer. I can't wait for the DVD and only hope they include the missing parts and in particular the longer road trip. I love DVD.
Moon River. Any movie that has Moon River on the sound track has to be worth watching. Hint... Stay for all of the final credits and you will hear a second version of Moon River..
Lyrics to Moon River:
"Moon River, wider than a mile, I'm crossing you in style some day. Oh, dream maker, you heart breaker, wherever you're going I'm going your way. Two drifters off to see the world. There's such a lot of world to see. We're after the same rainbow's end-- waiting 'round the bend, my huckleberry friend, Moon River and me"
