"Elizabethtown" sticks to the theme and features all the signatures of a Cameron Crowe movie. There's the quirky female character guiding the male lead toward enlightenment with enough homespun wisdom to fill a new collection of magnetic refrigerator poetry.

And of course, there's

the Elton John-happy soundtrack that draws heavily on Crowe's early career as a rock journalist.

The distinguishing characteristic of Crowe's latest is a less welcome addition. Whereas the aforementioned films were mostly unified charmers, "Elizabethtown" makes several unsteady detours from its road-tripping soul.

Fresh from a monumental failure as a shoe designer for a Nike-esque Oregon company, Drew Baylor (Orlando Bloom) learns that his father has died. Drew's family sends him to Elizabethtown, Ky., to tie up loose ends with family he hasn't seen in years and bring dad home.

On the flight to Kentucky, Drew meets Claire (Kirsten Dunst), a free- spirited flight attendant who helps him re-evaluate ideas about life and success over the next few weeks.

"Elizabethtown" deals with a lot of relationships and ideas, and most of them are presented in the clear, quirky, charming manner of most Crowe films. Life is revealed in bright, airy wide-angle shots of people dashing into a world of unlimited opportunities and alternately trembling before the same possibilities.

The clash between culture and estranged family is funny and sentimental without being stereotypical or over the top. Crowe captures the essence of blending with a big family in a small southern town with a clever sequence that incorporates his favorite mementos - music and photographs.

"Elizabethtown" is less successful at creating a unified mix tape from the competing pressures of Drew's life. The initial career fiasco takes a backseat to family issues and newfound romance, so when the movie makes an attempt to find the nexus of life, love, work and success after the funeral, it feels tacked-on.

But while Crowe can be accused of being too thematically ambitious - and Dunst's Southern accent lapses and Bloom will never be Jerry Maguire - the ideas behind "Elizabethtown" are typically thoughtful. Crowe jabs at a self- obsessed world in which basic things like shoes have become so complex that a single misstep can alter the economic health of thousands.

His remedy is a return to simplicity: family, music, long drives, photographs, late-night phone calls, sunrises and a good bowl of chili.

"Elizabethtown" is not Crowe's best work, but like the irresponsible cousin that you only see a few times a decade, there are enough good qualities here to make it worth the trip.

Daniel Goldberg can be reached at movies@upstatelink.com.