Can anything stop Reese Witherspoon from success in Sweet Home Alabama? Her husband from home, and a whole lot of lies about her past may just do the trick.
The Plot
Melanie Carmichael is an up-and-coming fashion designer in New York City. She is on the cusp of success, is dating the Mayor of New York City’s son, and is about to release her first clothing line.
With success, her boyfriend Andrew proposes, and she says yes. There is just one problem, she’s still married to her high school boyfriend back home. Rushing down south to finalize her divorce and with hopes of keeping her past a secret from her fiancée Andrew, Melanie realizes that she and her husband Jake still have a connection.
When Andrew and his mother arrive to host the wedding in Melanie’s hometown, her secret is out, and now Melanie Carmichael must make a choice. Does she go with the rich and successful present life that she has in New York, or does she stick with her husband and see where that takes her.
The Good
Reese Witherspoon owns this film. Not only is she charming in every scene, but she also has such a complex character in Melanie that it is the actor’s talent that allows a swift transformation as the story builds and shows us how complicated life has been for Melanie. Reese is divine in this role and though she has starred in similar rom-coms Sweet Home Alabama is the best.
Josh Lucas as Jake could not have been cast more perfectly. Lucas has that southern feel to his demeanor and dialogue that lets the viewers understand why Melanie married him, and why it is such a struggle to divorce him. Lucas has so much appeal and charisma that when competing with Patrick Dempsey, Lucas blows him out of the water with his charm.
This is a film with a stacked cast of greats in supporting roles that help the story shine. Fred Ward and Mary Kay Place as Melanie’s parents, Candice Bergen as the Mayor of New York City, Ethan Embry, Jean Smart, Melanie Lynskey, and even 24 fans will spot Mary Lynn Rajskub. The movie is overflowing with talent.
Candice Bergen makes an excellent villain. She is the heavy in the film, but I could empathize with her thoughts, and her frustrations.
The Bad and the Ugly
The story is familiar. Small town girl makes it big in the big city, embarrassed by her past, tries to hide it from her present, the worlds collide, and she realizes that she had nothing to be embarrassed about.
What happened to Josh Lucas? This guy should have been a mega star. It’s not a complaint about the film, I just wish he broke through and became the superstar that he could have been.
Beyond the Film Facts
- Dakota Fanning plays young Melanie at the start of the film.
- The movie was celebrated with award nominations from GLADD Media Awards, Golden Trailer Awards, and the Teen Choice Awards.
- Reportedly, this was the first film to shoot in New York City after the World Trade Center Attacks in September of 2001.
- The production was fined $300 for landing Jake’s plane on Lake Peachtree in the film, because planes are not allowed to land on the lake.
- Charlize Theron was originally cast as Melanie but dropped out. Reese Witherspoon signed on the same day that Legally Blonde premiered.
- The downtown scenes in the film were shot in Crawfordville, Georgia, with a population of 572.
- There is a Bollywood remake of the film called Barsaat where the gender roles are reversed.
- The movie earned over $35 million its opening weekend at the box office.
- The film sold $2 million in DVD copies on the day it was released.
The Streamy Award
{The following four categories are based on a Film Reel scale.
1 Reel-Bored and Killing Time, 2 Reels-When You Have Some Time, 3 Reels-Make Some Time, 4 Reels-Big Screen Event}
I enjoy romantic comedies when they are good. Many films that fall under this category tend to repeat the same tropes and it makes the film predictable and dull. Sweet Home Alabama has multiple commonly used tropes from this genre, but it doesn’t matter, because the performances are fantastic.
The key to a successful romantic comedy in my opinion is the cast. You must nail the perfect casting to make the story work, and in this film, the cast is excellent. It doesn’t matter that we have seen this type of story before, because we are so heavily invested in the characters that we want to see Melanie make the right choice. We don’t really hate anyone, because this film feels more real than many other competitors with the same storyline.
Witherspoon and Lucas are perfect, and I would love to see them together again. But I fear that is not going to happen.
Cast and Crew
- Reese Witherspoon as Melanie
- Josh Lucas as Jake
- Patrick Dempsey as Andrew
- Candice Bergen as Mayor Hennings
- Mary Kay Place as Pearl
- Fred Ward as Earl
Directed by Andy Tennant
Produced by Touchstone Pictures / Original Film / D&D Films
Release Date: September 27, 2002
Budget: $30 million
Box Office Gross
Domestic: $127,223,418
Worldwide Total: $180,622,424
Coming Soon
Next week a look at the Hollywood Pictures tale Simon Birch.