“Jerry Maguire” and “Almost Famous” writer/director Cameron Crowe has brought together, possibly the best ensemble of the year for his new romantic dramedy “Aloha”, which hits theaters on Friday. It’s Crowe’s first big-screen film since 2011’s “We Bought a Zoo”, a family drama that was so emotionally manipulative it made me emotional: angry.
I’ve been looking forward to “Aloha” since seeing the one and only trailer back in Feb. The highlight is a cast montage at the end, accompanied by the song “First” (by Cold War Kids), and Bill Murray’s voice-over about the future. It’s an early contender for “Trailer of the Year”.
Stars Bradley Cooper and Emma Stone have recently given the performances of their respective careers, he in “American Sniper”, she in “Birdman”. Alec Baldwin was quite good last year in the Julianne Moore Alzheimer’s drama “Still Alice”. Murray’s title role in “St. Vincent”, released last October, was his most noteworthy work since “Lost in Translation”. And his co-star, young Jaeden Lieberher, is also in “Aloha” and reportedly helped convince Murray to take the role and join him in Hawaii for the film.
Rachel McAdams has been consistently good over the last several years, especially in “Sherlock Holmes”, Woody Allen’s “Midnight in Paris” and the TV news rom-com “Morning Glory”, an overlooked gem that also released only one theatrical trailer. And let’s not leave out John Krasinski (“Promised Land”, TV’s long-running “The Office”) and Danny McBride (“Pineapple Express”, HBO’s popular “Eastbound & Down”).
The promotional campaign for “Aloha” has been steady but unspectacular. Heaven knows Sony and Columbia Pictures need a hit and it looks like there’s no chance this will be a total wipe-out. Everyone would jump at the chance to take a trip to Hawaii with Cooper, Stone and co., but will moviegoers choose to take a chance on Crowe this weekend over The Rock saving the planet from the worst earthquake of all-time?