Sweet Home Alabama
After establishing herself as a bankable star with the fish out of water comedy Legally Blonde, Reese Witherspoon returns in what could be described as a "fish back in water" comedy. Melanie Carmichael (Witherspoon) is a successful New York fashion designer who is dating Andrew Hennings (Patrick Dempsey), a wealthy socialite whose mother, Katherine Hennings (Candice Bergen), is the Big Apple's mayor. One day, Andrew pops the big question and asks Melanie to marry him; Melanie is overjoyed, but unknown to Andrew, Melanie has some unfinished business to take care of first. Despite her polished uptown image, Melanie grew up poor in the deep South, and as a teenager she married her high school sweetheart Jake Perry (Josh Lucas). Things went sour and Melanie moved East, reinventing herself along the way, but Jake never bothered to legally end their marriage. Now Melanie has to return to her hometown of Pigeon Creek, AL, to tell her parents (Fred Ward and Mary Kay Place) the news and convince Jake to grant her a divorce; however, the more time she spends with her old flame, the more she feels sparks flying between them again, while she also learns her Eastern affectations don't fly with everyone back home. more..
Director: Andy Tennant
Starring: Reese Witherspoon, Josh Lucas, Patrick Dempsey, Candice Bergen, Mary Kay Place
It is a fantasy, a sweet, light-hearted fairy tale with Reese Witherspoon at its center. She is as lovable as Doris Day would have been in this role (in fact, Doris Day was in this role, in "Please Don't Eat the Daisies").
There's a certain formulaic and familiar quality about Sweet Home Alabama, but it doesn't matter.
It's only when you're leaving the theater that her spell wears off and you realize just how bad the movie, directed by Andy Tennant, really is.
Unbearable were Witherspoon not such a genuinely attractive performer.
Witherspoon has the class, the sass and the full-out talent to sustain a major career. Who else could turn the wimpy Sweet Home Alabama into a date-movie winner? She's one of that select group who is worth watching in anything. Even in this less-than-magic kingdom, Reese rules.
George Fenton
BMI Film & TV Awards (2003)
Outstanding Film - Wide Release
GLAAD Media Awards (2003)
Best Romance
Golden Trailer Awards (2003)
Best Contemporary Hair Styling - Feature
Hollywood Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist Guild Awards (2003)
Best Female Performance
MTV Movie Awards (2003)
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