Cute movies usually aren’t my cup of tea. There are the occasional “chick” flicks that I enjoy. Say Anything is a winner and so is Singles. Jerry Maguire is also an entertaining film. I guess looking at those three films, there is one thing that stands out—Cameron Crowe. Unfortunately, Crowe is not affiliated with Sweet Home Alabama. While Reese Whitherspoon is usually entertaining on the screen, this film falls flat.
Whitherspoon plays Melaine Carmichael. She’s a hotshot fashion designer that fits right at home in the big city of New York. She’s pretty, confidant and seemingly happy dating the son (Patrick Dempsey) of the mayor of New York played by Candice Bergen. Their courtship develops quickly and Andrew proposes to Melaine in the middle of a closed Tiffany store. She can pick any ring she wants. How romantic! Melaine accepts the proposal, but wants to wait before she tells Andrew’s mother. Why would you want to wait to tell people that you are engaged to the mayor’s son? Something must be amiss in Melaine’s life. I wonder what it could be?
Melaine quickly boards a plane to Alabama so that she can tell her parents, Earl (Fred Ward) and Pearl (Mary Kay Place) of her impending nuptials. Before she stops to see her parents, she stops by the house of Jake Perry (Josh Lucas). It seems rather odd that she would stop at a random person’s house before visiting her parent. Needless to say, Jake is far from a random person. Jake is actually Melaine’s husband. She needs a divorce from Jake before she can marry Andrew.
Melaine needs to get Jake’s signature on the divorce papers so that she can get on with her life. Jake doesn’t want to sign the papers because he’s still in love with her. From here, a cat and mouse game develops. Each one yells, tricks and bugs the other person to try and get their way. At some point, Melaine begins to have feelings again for Jake. However, Jake has supposedly moved on and he signs the papers. So it would seem that the problem is solved and the wedding can go on as scheduled. As the wedding is beginning, Melaine’s lawyer informs her that she accidentally (on purpose) forgot to sign the divorce papers. She struggles to make a decision on whether to sign them or not. Obviously, she doesn’t and she and Jake live happily ever after.
The performances in Sweet Home Alabama are not the problem with the film; it’s the tired script. Witherspoon is her normal cute self. She’s exceptional when she stretches her acting skills like in Election or Pleasantville. However, even her ample talents can’t save her from a poorly developed character. She never really comes off as a “New York” girl. There’s always a hint of Southern Belle in her and it comes as no surprise when she decides to stay in Alabama. Lucas is also pleasant in his role. He’s good looking and confidant, but at times too confident. It’s like he knows that Melaine is his and nothing he can do will turn her away.
The supporting cast is made up of some big names and they are all underutilized. Bergen is correctly cast as the mayor of New York. However, nobody with her hatred and annoyance factor could ever get elected. Again, this is the script’s fault, not hers. Patrick Dempsey plays the role he was born to play---the “other” guy. He amazingly takes rejection rather well. His bride leaves him at the altar and he acts as if it is no big deal. The roles of Melaine’s parents (Ward & Place) are wasted. They are white trash caricatures. The film attempts to shove as many trailer and poor jokes as it can into an hour and a half and they are the subjects of the majority of them. Only Ethan Embry as Bobby Ray gets to challenge himself. He plays the closeted friend of Melaine and Jake only to be outted in Melaine’s drunken tirade.
The real problem with Sweet Home Alabama is the script and directing. The script is a cookie cutter fish out of water love story. Everyone knows when the film starts that Melaine and Jake are going to end up together. The key, as a scriptwriter, is to keep us in suspense and entertain us along the way. C. Jay Cox does none of this. The film is predictable and only entertaining in spots. Sometimes, a talented director can save a poorly written film. Unfortunately, Andy Tennant isn’t up to the task. I shouldn’t have been surprised considering he is best known as the director of The Amy Fisher Story. One completely out of place scene occurs when Jake is pounding a beer in his house. The shot looks straight out of Parker Lewis Can’t Lose. Guess who directed several episodes of that show?
Overall, Sweet Home Alabama is not a terrible film; it’s just uninspired. Witherspoon and Lucas are enjoyable personalities and fine actors. However, they can only carry a contrived and cliché written script so far. Many of the jokes come off as mean spirited and even unfunny. If you are looking for a date movie, this might be a film you would want to check out. Be advised, there is not much entertaining value in the film and attractive actors can only go so far.
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