Aloha * *

Going to a see a film directed by Cameron Crowe is a roll of the dice.  But since he hasn’t done anything lovable since his stellar run between 1996 and 2000 of,  Say Anything, Singles, Jerry Maguire and  Almost Famous some might say a Cameron Crowe film today is a sure bet; and on that level Aloha offers no surprises.  It’s a dud.
How can Cam be getting older, becoming more experienced, and getting worse?  Whatever, I hope he finds his groove again.
Aloha isn’t bad so much as badly served.  Like flat champagne.   What is really irritating about Aloha is that you can see it’s a good story, it’s a good idea and it should take wing.  You feel like shouting at the screen “Come on Cam, get it together!”  
Set in Hawaii  a megalomaniac multi-millionaire (Bill Murray) wants to launch a satellite with military assistance.  Gilcrest (Bradley Cooper)  is the civilian tech who is contracted to help with the launch and he is chaperoned by Ng (Emma Stone) looking and acting  like the most unconvincing test pilot that was ever put on the screen.  Even less convincing is her claim that she is part Hawaiian native.  Despite their prickly beginning their relationship takes a romantic turn (of course).
Whilst in Hawaii Gilcrest takes the time to visit his old girlfriend Tracy (Rachel McAdams) who is married now to a military man, Woody.  There are problems with her marriage.  But there is still a spark between Tracy and Gilcrest, as well as  a hidden secret which Woody suspects.
Then there is the necessary negotiations with the native Hawaiians about this satellite launch. Their demands are rather amusing and insightful.  The United States annexation of Hawaii seventy years ago didn’t make all the natives happy and some remain restless.
Other than its lazy “all is forgiven” conclusion Aloha is not a bad story.  But the pacing and the emphasis on petty unimportant scenes to the detriment of critical scenes, just makes you think where are we going with all this?   Nevertheless there are some moments, like the wordless communication between Woody and Gilcrest, and  - as always with Crowe - the perfect use of music.   But to be honest it’s almost painful to see those flashes of his original  brilliance among all this dross.