Movie Review: Sweet Home Alabama

Sweet Home Alabama

Sweet Home Alabama tells the story of a small town southern girl who runs off to the big city seeking fame and fortune. She finds it, of course, and her life back in Alabama is something she'd just as soon keep in the past. Melanie Carmichael (Reese Witherspoon) has made a wonderful new life for herself in New York, and is on the brink of making the big time as a fashion designer. Her boyfriend (Andrew Hennings, played by Patrick Dempsey) is wealthy, handsome, and the son of New York City mayor Katherine Hennings (Candice Bergen). As if that's not enough, the guy is also as sweet as can be, and he obviously adores Melanie. But when Andrew proposes to Melanie, she's got a much bigger problem than looking for a place to hold her reception: it turns out she's still married to a boy back home (Jake Perry, played by Josh Lucas).

Melanie heads back to Alabama to divorce her high school sweetheart, a man she hasn't seen in years. Hoping to avoid running into anyone else, she heads straight for Jake's. Although he's not thrilled to see her, he's also not inclined to cooperate with her because, as he says, he likes making her mad. As Melanie tries to put her past behind her once and for all, she's beset by constant reminders of why she wanted to leave her hometown in the first place. At the same time, she can't help but remember the good times she had growing up there and spending time with her friends and the boy she once loved.

Sweet Home Alabama is billed as a comedy, and it does have its funny moments. It's more a coming-of-age story, however, as Melanie is forced by circumstances to come to terms with herself and the past. There's some relatively slow going as the story gears up, and there are scenes that could certainly be funnier. On the other hand, the movie avoids slipping into a slapstick mode that would be almost too easy to do with this kind of story.

As stereotypical as some of the southerners are, it's hard not to care about each of them and to understand - and forgive - their various individual foibles. To be fair, there are some pretty stereotypical New Yorkers who put in appearances as well. Candice Bergen is perfectly cast as an overbearing and ambitious mother, and Josh Lucas has eyes and a smile that convey mischief and pain, both at the same time, making me suspect he'll be in more movies like this in the future. Reese Witherspoon gets to play scenes from laughter to tears, but watch especially for her drunken night out. Fair warning: there are some very funny moments in Sweet Home Alabama, but bring a kleenex for a scene in a pet cemetery that is, at least for this pet owner, heart rending.

FAMILY SUITABILITY: Sweet Home Alabama is rated PG-13. There's no nudity, very little off-color language, and few adult situations. The average 12 year-old girl will love the movie; the average 12 year-old boy will hate it. Neither would have a problem following the story line, and the movie is perfectly suitable for that age and up. I'd recommend Sweet Home Alabama especially as a date movie, but the romantic script brings out some nostalgia for anyone who's ever been in love or who has tried to escape the past.