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DVD Review
Sweet Home Alabama
By Lee Tistaert Published February 11, 2003
US Release: September 27, 2002
Directed by: Andy Tennant
Starring: Reese Witherspoon , Josh Lucas , Patrick Dempsey , Candice Bergen
PG-13
Running Time: 102 minutes
Domestic Box Office: $127,613,000
Directed by: Andy Tennant
Starring: Reese Witherspoon , Josh Lucas , Patrick Dempsey , Candice Bergen
PG-13
Running Time: 102 minutes
Domestic Box Office: $127,613,000
C-
74 of 143
The lack of chemistry and humor is as brutal as suffocation
With an ending that is paved before we even sit down and watch this Reese Witherspoon romance, Sweet Home Alabama is almost dead in the water due to its lacking of humor and chemistry, as well as a solid script.
This is Cinderella fairy tale #7,324. It does nothing new that any other film before it hasn?t presented, yet it was green-lighted because yes, audiences love the formula pieces and adore walking out happy even if it is guess-able to the detail. In other words, it?s a moneymaker. Without Mrs. Witherspoon flashing that cheery and very tolerable smile and grins and displaying her usual upbeat charisma, Alabama would be far from a sweet home to get comfortable in. But even as it stands, there isn?t a whole lot to like in this cheesy little romance. Characters are lacking depth, it?s slow and boring, and to top it off the bag has barely a laugh to behold.
Melanie Carmichael (Witherspoon) is a New York fashion designer who has just been given the wedding proposal of her lifetime. Her boyfriend, Andrew (Patrick Dempsey), is a very wealthy bachelor who?s willing to give Melanie all she needs to be content, and proposes in a glorious wedding ring shop where she can choose whichever one she desires. But there?s a problem. Melanie needs the divorce papers signed from her husband, Jake (Josh Lucas), who is not at a free-giving mood at the moment. Jake lives in Alabama with his ultra-annoying barking dog and carries along every other clich? in the book of romance guidelines. Since Jake is not comfortable with the notion of signing, Melanie decides to jump the gun and give him the ultimate test; staying at his shack for a little bit to see how long he?ll put up. Only when her visitation is in gear, Melanie is confronted with the reality of her situation, forcing her to ponder upon her destiny and where she really wants her life to end up.
The problem with Sweet Home Alabama is that it?s marketed as a cute little romantic comedy, yet the trailer has more oomph than the entire film. I can take one of these clich?-run projects depending on how skillfully its executed in the long run, but this movie just doesn?t have enough jewels to fulfill much entertainment. There are films in the genre that have gone the right way in script and the director?s pull off. Such examples include Sleepless in Seattle and You?ve Got Mail; even when both pictures can be labeled as the same movie.
What allows both predictable flicks to gel properly is that the script in both cases is soaked with characters who are real and not just thin cardboard personas we?re observing just waiting for the finale to come save us. We as the audience get to know the characters and grasp their personalities. Seattle and Mail are formula pieces with smart and witty screenplays, and actors who are very well acquainted with each other, which permits the chemistry to be in sync. In the end, they?re worth it because they?re handled with brains.
Sweet Home Alabama just doesn?t make us care about many of the people involved in the story. The wedding proposal in the very beginning of the show is done at a time where we don?t know any background knowledge on either of our main characters, making our real care and sympathy level bare minimum, as we don?t know whom the hell they are. By the time Jake is introduced, he?s given the standard scruffy-looks image and white trash we aren?t supposed to like given his physical appearance. In character analysis, the guy is slim to none in substance.
Josh Lucas has a moment or two during the middle segments within the serious conversations his character and Melanie are having, but outside of these brief few spots the actor is given nothing special to any extent in order for us to care whatsoever. Patrick Dempsey is the traditional rich guy scenario, wanting to marry the innocent girl but things are rapidly changing in pace. His character is nothing unique and everything we?ve seen before.
One of the biggest complaints I had with the flick, despite it being unfunny, was that it seemed to go on and on forever as if it was avoiding the ending punch-line on purpose. This film didn?t need to be as long as it is, but even so they could?ve at least added a bunch of humorous notes to make it worth watching to a reasonable degree. The humor (if you can classify it as such) in the film is very cheesy and corny, and the style of which director Andy Tennant has applied to some of the scenes is very desperate and really demonstrates that he doesn?t have a great deal of understanding in how to tell a story correctly. Tennant was behind Anna and the King, which what a surprise, also happened to be a way overly long romantic drama with a climax that was written out by the audience before the trailer even arrived.
Sweet Home Alabama is saved a little bit by the commandingly sweet presence of Reese Witherspoon, but her material is far from winning. Her cheerful smiles and her easygoing personality make some of the ride better than it would be with any other actress in the position. This romance would?ve presumably been that much more intolerable with the wrong casting, which can be noted as a positive comment for the film. But even so, Sweet Home Alabama just doesn?t present anything we haven?t seen before and the lack of chemistry and humor is as brutal as suffocation.
This is Cinderella fairy tale #7,324. It does nothing new that any other film before it hasn?t presented, yet it was green-lighted because yes, audiences love the formula pieces and adore walking out happy even if it is guess-able to the detail. In other words, it?s a moneymaker. Without Mrs. Witherspoon flashing that cheery and very tolerable smile and grins and displaying her usual upbeat charisma, Alabama would be far from a sweet home to get comfortable in. But even as it stands, there isn?t a whole lot to like in this cheesy little romance. Characters are lacking depth, it?s slow and boring, and to top it off the bag has barely a laugh to behold.
Melanie Carmichael (Witherspoon) is a New York fashion designer who has just been given the wedding proposal of her lifetime. Her boyfriend, Andrew (Patrick Dempsey), is a very wealthy bachelor who?s willing to give Melanie all she needs to be content, and proposes in a glorious wedding ring shop where she can choose whichever one she desires. But there?s a problem. Melanie needs the divorce papers signed from her husband, Jake (Josh Lucas), who is not at a free-giving mood at the moment. Jake lives in Alabama with his ultra-annoying barking dog and carries along every other clich? in the book of romance guidelines. Since Jake is not comfortable with the notion of signing, Melanie decides to jump the gun and give him the ultimate test; staying at his shack for a little bit to see how long he?ll put up. Only when her visitation is in gear, Melanie is confronted with the reality of her situation, forcing her to ponder upon her destiny and where she really wants her life to end up.
The problem with Sweet Home Alabama is that it?s marketed as a cute little romantic comedy, yet the trailer has more oomph than the entire film. I can take one of these clich?-run projects depending on how skillfully its executed in the long run, but this movie just doesn?t have enough jewels to fulfill much entertainment. There are films in the genre that have gone the right way in script and the director?s pull off. Such examples include Sleepless in Seattle and You?ve Got Mail; even when both pictures can be labeled as the same movie.
What allows both predictable flicks to gel properly is that the script in both cases is soaked with characters who are real and not just thin cardboard personas we?re observing just waiting for the finale to come save us. We as the audience get to know the characters and grasp their personalities. Seattle and Mail are formula pieces with smart and witty screenplays, and actors who are very well acquainted with each other, which permits the chemistry to be in sync. In the end, they?re worth it because they?re handled with brains.
Sweet Home Alabama just doesn?t make us care about many of the people involved in the story. The wedding proposal in the very beginning of the show is done at a time where we don?t know any background knowledge on either of our main characters, making our real care and sympathy level bare minimum, as we don?t know whom the hell they are. By the time Jake is introduced, he?s given the standard scruffy-looks image and white trash we aren?t supposed to like given his physical appearance. In character analysis, the guy is slim to none in substance.
Josh Lucas has a moment or two during the middle segments within the serious conversations his character and Melanie are having, but outside of these brief few spots the actor is given nothing special to any extent in order for us to care whatsoever. Patrick Dempsey is the traditional rich guy scenario, wanting to marry the innocent girl but things are rapidly changing in pace. His character is nothing unique and everything we?ve seen before.
One of the biggest complaints I had with the flick, despite it being unfunny, was that it seemed to go on and on forever as if it was avoiding the ending punch-line on purpose. This film didn?t need to be as long as it is, but even so they could?ve at least added a bunch of humorous notes to make it worth watching to a reasonable degree. The humor (if you can classify it as such) in the film is very cheesy and corny, and the style of which director Andy Tennant has applied to some of the scenes is very desperate and really demonstrates that he doesn?t have a great deal of understanding in how to tell a story correctly. Tennant was behind Anna and the King, which what a surprise, also happened to be a way overly long romantic drama with a climax that was written out by the audience before the trailer even arrived.
Sweet Home Alabama is saved a little bit by the commandingly sweet presence of Reese Witherspoon, but her material is far from winning. Her cheerful smiles and her easygoing personality make some of the ride better than it would be with any other actress in the position. This romance would?ve presumably been that much more intolerable with the wrong casting, which can be noted as a positive comment for the film. But even so, Sweet Home Alabama just doesn?t present anything we haven?t seen before and the lack of chemistry and humor is as brutal as suffocation.
Lee's Grade: C-
Ranked #74 of 143 between Stealing Harvard (#73) and The Tuxedo (#75) for 2002 movies.
Ranked #74 of 143 between Stealing Harvard (#73) and The Tuxedo (#75) for 2002 movies.
Lee's Overall Grading: 3025 graded movies
| A | 0.4% | |
| B | 30.0% | |
| C | 61.7% | |
| D | 8.0% | |
| F | 0.0% |
