I have seen Reese Witherspoon in a few different movies over the years. She has become a popular actress in the last few years. I do like her so I tend to see many of her movies. I wanted to see Sweet Home Alabama when I first saw the previews for it, but I didn’t make it to the theater to see it.

Melanie Carmichael was an up and coming designer in New York. Melanie was dating Andrew Hennings, Mayor Kate Hennings’s son. They had been going for a while and were happy together. One night before an event, Andrew proposed. Melanie said yes though she was panicked about telling her family. She convinced Andrew that she just wanted to keep it between them for a little while before making an announcement. That didn’t work since Kate spotted the ring. She was less than thrilled about the news. Kate didn’t like Melanie and was hoping Andrew would go back to his former girlfriend. Melanie’s life seemed to be perfect, but she had one little problem. She was already married. Melanie and her high school boyfriend Jake Perry had gotten married very young. Several years before, Melanie left Jake and headed to New York. Divorce papers were filed, but Jake continued to refuse to sign them.

Melanie headed home to Alabama to get Jake to sign the divorce papers, intending to head right back to New York. Jake didn’t cooperate with her plans even when she resorted to doing some childish things. She did spent some time with her parents, Earl and Pearl Smooter. Even though she was focused on getting the divorce papers signed, she was happy to see a few old friends like Bobby Ray, but that didn’t stop her from saying some very nasty things one night when she got drunk. She had decided certain things about her hometown and the people who lived there while she had been away, and she was surprised when things happened that she didn’t expect. As she spent more time around her hometown, she realized that it wasn’t as bad as she had made it out to be. When she started to become successful in New York, she invented a different past for herself because she was embarrassed by how she had grown up. Now she was worried that the truth would come out, especially when Andrew arrived looking for her.

Sweet Home Alabama was a romantic comedy that mostly focused on Melanie trying to juggle two men. I thought that the movie was entertaining. It was a fun lighthearted movie that wasn’t serious and didn’t have surprises. It was predictable for the most part. This was a movie to watch just for entertainment. I believe most people would consider this to be a chick flick type of movie. I do think that women would be more likely to enjoy it. The movie is worth seeing, especially if you like this type of movie or are a fan of Reese Witherspoon. It was still entertaining even though it wasn’t one of her best movies. Director Andy Tennant made a romantic comedy that worked better with 2005's Hitch.

Throughout Sweet Home Alabama there were jokes poking fun at the South and Southern people. Several stereotypes were used that might offend some viewers, especially if they are from that part of the country. It did get a bit old to keep hearing jokes about how slow people from the South were. Melanie did several things in her attempt to get Jake to sign the divorce papers that were there to add humor to the movie. Most of what was done for laughs was rather silly. That type of humor did seem to work for the most part with the story. The movie did make me laugh, though I think it could have been funnier. A few more serious things, like Melanie’s relationship with her parents, were briefly touched on without being explored deeply.

Melanie became engaged to Andrew, the man she had been dating for several months, early in the movie. She was happy in the relationship, but she had some old business with Jake to take care of before she could move on and marry Jake. Melanie had created a new past for herself after moving to New York, so Andrew didn’t know anything about Jake. Once she got back home and saw him again, Melanie did seem to still have feelings for Jake, which set up a love triangle. She was still drawn to Jake even though she had convinced herself she was over him. There was a bit of romance in the movie, but it wasn’t over bearing. The romance aspect of the movie was really under used for this type of movie. Melanie and Jake had a long history that was barely touched on after a short scene of them as children that started the movie. I would have liked it if there had been more of their history shared. There were some sexual references made in the movie, but there were no sex scenes and no nudity in the movie.

Melanie was a young fashion designer whose career was just starting to take off. She grew up in a very small town in Alabama where she married her high school boyfriend. She left him and headed off to New York where she reinvented herself. She created a different past for herself and she came to look down on her true past. She was in a new relationship and seemed happy. She realized that there were things about her hometown that she liked when she had to go back. She was a little stuck up at times, but overall she was a nice person. Reese Witherspoon was very good and believable as Melanie. She was funny in some scenes and more serious in others. She seemed to light up the screen when she showed up. Reese has played some very different characters, and she has been good as all of them. I really enjoyed her in Legally Blonde and Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde.

Jake was Melanie’s husband that she hadn’t seen for years. He’d been refusing to sign the divorce papers for years. When she turned up wanting him to sign the papers, he didn’t seem thrilled to see her. He could be stubborn at times, like when he insisted that Melanie spend time with her parents. I thought that Josh Lucas was good as Jake. He fit the character well. He and Reese had good chemistry together in their scenes. He is very good looking and has gorgeous eyes. He had a small part in Secondhand Lions. Andrew was the son of the Mayor or New York City. He was considered the city’s most eligible bachelor. He had been dating Melanie for several months before proposing to her. He was understanding most of the time. He had no idea about Melanie’s real past. Patrick Dempsey wasn’t in as much of the movie, but he was good as Andrew.

Andrew’s mother, Kate, did not like Melanie. Kate wanted Andrew to get back together with his former girlfriend and wasn’t happy about the engagement. Kate was a very determined, judgmental, woman. Candice Bergen was good as Kate, but nothing about her performance really stood. She was also in Miss Congeniality. Earl and Pearl Smooter were Melanie’s parents. They were glad to see Melanie, though Pearl seemed to have some mixed emotions. She wanted a better life for Melanie, and wasn’t shy about letting that be known. Earl and Jake were still close. Fred Ward and Mary Kay Place were fine in the parts. Ward also played a father in the movie Enough. Stella Kay was Jake’s mother. She still thought a lot of Melanie even after everything that happened. Jean Smart was really good in the part, but only have a few very short scenes.

CAST

Candice Bergen - Mayor Kate Hennings
Patrick Dempsey - Andrew Hennings
Ethan Embry - Bobby Ray
Josh Lucas - Jake Perry
Mary Kay Place - Pearl Smooter
Jean Smart - Stella Kay
Fred Ward - Earl Smooter
Reese Witherspoon - Melanie Carmichael

Andy Tennant - Director

Sweet Home Alabama was made in 2002. It is now available on VHS and DVD. I rented the DVD. There were some extras on the DVD, but I didn’t get a chance to check them out before I had to take the movie back. The movie was 108 minutes long and rated PG-13 for some language and sexual references. I don’t think that young children should see this movie.

I did enjoy Sweet Home Alabama. It was a fun lighthearted movie with some problems. People who like romantic comedies or Reese Witherspoon may also enjoy this movie.

Related Reviews
Miss Congeniality ~ Secondhand Lions ~ Enough ~ Legally Blonde ~ Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde ~



Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older