The Popkorn Junkie :: Sweet Home Alabama

Melanie Charmichael is an up-and-coming New York City fashionista, engaged (with a rock of a Tiffany's ring) to the Perfect Man, but forced to deal with her past in Alabama. What should be an easy trip home, of course, isn't. Unfortunately, the audience can never be sure why Melanie is wrestling so with her past, or why her honey suddenly seems so much less sweet. We do hear quite a bit of bickering, though. The question is, do we ever care?

If Jerry Springer wanted to sweeten his tea a little bit, add a southern twang, and subtract some hair pulling, he could definitely film his show in the stereotypical 'Bama town. Or, for that matter, he could go New York and film the city's fictional mayor, played by Candice Bergen. No twang there, but all of her useless and selfish yelling is just as annoying.

      The first hour of this film offers enough obnoxious, non-sensical screeching to perfectly fill one of Mr. Springer's timeslots. Most of it isn't any fun to watch. Thank goodness Reese Witherspoon was cast in the role of a fashion designer. She fills that role nicely (as she does the clothes which she sports, as anyone can appreciate). Indeed, it's her eventual donning of head-to-toe denim that marks her re-entry into the world of Small Town, USA.

      Witherspoon is charming. There's no denying it. You can't look at her and wish anything ill for her character. You want her to be happy. You want her to be satisfied. You want things to work out for her, even when the character is being totally self-centered. Even when she's whining. (Even when she's belligerently drunk?)

      Unfortunately, there is never a believable reason for her foray back into her old life. It's never clear why she starts to accept it, or why all of the people she spurned on moving to New York begin to take her back. It's never perfectly clear why she left, and certainly not why she begins to consider coming back.

      When she explains that she is happy in New York, but that Alabama "fits, too," it indeed sounds as if she may be referring to her clothing.

      The only real resolution here comes during the closing credits, through photographs that somehow seem to prove just how shallow this film's sentiment runs. As long as everyone ends up smiling for the snapshot, we can smile, too. Right?

-- Liz ( 2 out of 4 pops )

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Billy Ray ( 3 out of 4 pops )

Being from Alabama, I can safely say that this film is a much better portrayal of Alabama life than the horrible, terrible, awful "Crazy in Alabama", which featured the dreadfully boring and immensely idiotic Melanie Griffith. Reese Witherspoon is just flat out funny most of the time. "Pleasantville" is one of my all-time favorite films, if not my overall favorite. "Election" was one of the best pictures of it's year, and "Legally Blonde" surprised me also. "Sweet Home Alabama" is just another romantic comedy, but it managed to deliver quite a few laughs, most coming from Witherspoon and her family. I liked Fred Ward in this picture, and it was also nice to see Patrick Dempsey step back into the mainstream, if even for a short time. Will he ever recapture the charm and finesse of "Can't Buy Me Love"? Anyways, this is an enjoyable little ditty, especially as a date movie, and I recommend it. Now, after my having seen it, I can say every person in Alabama has seen this flick.