While all that has been officially announced about Cameron Crowe’s return to film is the genre – “romantic comedy adventure” and the leads (Ben Stiller and Reese Witherspoon), someone has gotten their hands on the movie’s script and given it a thorough examination.
And from the sounds of it, Crowe’s latest is a blend of the troubled male genre that is one of his hallmarks, blended with more of a mystical angle. If the reviewers over at Gone Elsewhere are right, the pic – currently, and typically, called “Untitled Cameron Crowe Project” will be both familiar territory for Crowe fans and something more unusual for the helmer.
The plot description runs thus: “Brian Gilcrest (Stiller), 37, is a military contractor for the US Army. He hasn’t done many things right in life. He’s married the wrong women, broke up with the only good one and most people don’t like him. His only friend is a military techie named Jeremy who lives in the caves of the Cheyenne Mountains who he’s only spoken with on the phone. Brian is an angry man, but he learns that this doesn’t bother him. He’s just relieved that he doesn’t have to pretend to be anything else. Unfortunately, this has also killed his career.”
Mysticism In Hawaii
“However, Gilcrest soon gets a shot at redemption thanks to escalating tensions between the United States and China. The military needs him to set up the launch of a private satellite at his old stomping grounds in Hawaii. There, Gilcrest gets a chance to meet up with “the one who got away”, Tracy (Witherspoon), her kids and her new husband. He also meets the designated liaison officer for the mission, Major Lisa Ng.
“Together these two must secure the blessings of the native Hawaiian council and see that the launch happens on schedule. If only they weren’t haunted by visions of Hawaiian ghosts in green mists, mistaken for incarnations of the Hawaiian gods Lono and Pele, and prophesied to bring about the ‘Arrival’. Oh, and they have to toss a sacrifice into an erupting volcano.”
Hhhm… Has someone been watching Joe Versus The Volcano again? We’re just crossing our fingers this unexpectedly twisty Crowe project offers a chance at box office redemption.
