Sweet Home Alabama *** (2002, Reese Witherspoon, Patrick Dempsey, Josh Lucas, Candice Bergen, Mary Kay Place, Fred Ward, Jean Smart, Ethan Embry, Melanie Lynskey) – Classic Movie Review 768

Director Andy Tennant’s 2002 romcom stars Reese Witherspoon as Melanie Smooter, a pert and cute hick from the sticks who makes it big in the Big Apple fashion biz, and is soon talked into marriage by Andrew Hennings (Patrick Dempsey), the extremely nice, charming and handsome son of the New York City Mayor (Candice Bergen).

But before the wedding, she must nip back home to Alabama to sort out a divorce from her secret hubby, Jake (Josh Lucas). Now she’s hanging around while waiting to talk Lucas into signing the papers, but is seduced by the delights of her sweet home town and its ‘real’ folk.

Witherspoon is quite appealing in this over-cosy, girly, reactionary romantic comedy with too many clichés and cardboard characters and rather too few good jokes.

With its stream of jokes at the expense of the supposedly phony Democrats, rich folk and Manhattanites, this is an unashamedly Republican, small-town, Deep South values movie and did very well at the US box office.

Also in the cast are Mary Kay Place, Fred Ward, Jean Smart, Ethan Embry, Melanie Lynskey, Courtney Gains, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Rhona Mitra, Sean Bridgers, Fleet Cooper and Nathan Lee Graham.

Colin Ford broke into feature films at the age of five where he played as Clinton Jr in this movie. Happy 19th birthday on 21/09/2105!

Witherspoon, performing all her own songs, won the Oscar as Best Actress for her show-stopping performance as Cash’s second wife, June Carter, in the 2005 biopic Walk the Line. Legally Blonde, Election and Cruel Intentions are her other standout movies.

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© Derek Winnert 2014 Classic Movie Review  768

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