Sweet Home Alabama

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BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 20 WIDTH="575"><div> <B>Sweet Home Alabama  (2 ½ stars)  </B> ( PG-13 ) </div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><div> Reviewed by Cathy Edsey Collins</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="575" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 20 WIDTH="575"><div> <B>Southern Comfort </B></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="580" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> Reese Witherspoon: Melanie Carmichael</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="268"><div> Josh Lucas: Jake</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="305"><div> Patrick Dempsey: Andrew</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Candice Bergen: The Mayor</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="305"><div> Fred Ward: Melanie's Dad</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Mary Kay Place: Melanie's Mom</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="305"><div> Ethan Embry: Bobby Ray</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="268"><div> Andy Tennant: Director</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <B>30 Second Bottom Line</B>: On the brink of a successful fashion designing career in New York and an engagement to the son of the city's mayor, a young woman must return to her Alabama roots to secure a divorce from her estranged husband.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Tell Me More About It</B>: Watch your back, Meg Ryan! Reese Witherspoon is well on her way to stealing your  "America's Sweetheart" crown. Capitalizing on her hilariously popular performance in "Legally Blonde," Witherspoon once again ventures into romantic territory with this story of a woman who must confront her roots and her beleaguered heart.</div> <bR> <div> Fresh from a deliriously successful fashion show, up-and-coming designer Melanie Carmichael encounters the proposal of a lifetime when boyfriend Andrew gets on bended knee, amidst the diamonds of Tiffany's, to pop the big question. Not only is this guy gorgeous and wealthy but his mom (deliciously played by a bitchy Candice Bergen) is the mayor of the Big Apple.</div> <bR> <div> All would seem just hunky-dory but Melanie has a shady past. Apparently she has not legally shed herself of her white-trash Alabama hubby and somehow neglected to even mention his existence to her new man. In a flash, she makes a quick exit to her hometown to secure a signature to her divorce papers.</div> <bR> <div> But of course, nothing is that easy. Alabama Jake looks just like Matthew McConaughey, with charm to spare. And Jake has made something of himself in the last seven years to boot-starting a successful glass-making enterprise. (One wonders if newcomer Josh Lucas has landed this starring role on the basis of that striking likeness.)</div> <bR> <div> There aren't any surprises in this rehash of many romantic comedies. Indeed, if there was anything fresh here, the countless commercials have given it all away. Suffice it to say Reese Witherspoon's natural charisma carries the show here and raises this mediocre script a notch via her radiance alone.</div> <bR> <div> Certainly the story makes little sense. Usually in this type of tale, the rich handsome fiancé-to-be would have some fatal character flaw. Not so here, in fact Patrick Dempsey's Andrew is nearly the perfect mate, making Melanie's final decision truly questionable…at least to this very married reviewer.</div> <bR> <div> Ultimately, "Sweet Home Alabama" is a harmless diversion that warms the heart, without adding anything of note to the art of film making. </div> <bR> <div> An added aside: "Sweet Home Alabama" provides a reunion of sorts for Witherspoon and Ethan Embry (who overplays his role as a closeted gay). When they were just teens, this duo co-starred in 1993's "Far Off Place," a Disney/Amblin adventure set in Africa.</div> <div>    </div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="621" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="617"><div> Rated PG-13  for language/sexual references</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="617"><div> Cathy Edsey Collins © 2002</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="617"><div> <A HREF="Cathyedsey@aol.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Cathyedsey@aol.com"><U><U>Cathyedsey@aol.com</U></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <B>Mini Filmography </B></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="622" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 20 ><NOBR><div> Reese Witherspoon: <B>"Legally Blonde"</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="329"><div> Josh Lucas: <A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/2001/id1846.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/2001/id18"><U><B>"A Beautiful Mind"</B></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 20 ><NOBR><div> Patrick Dempsey: <A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/holiday2002/id1713.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/holiday20"><U><B>"Emperor's Club"</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Candice Bergen: <A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/2000/id810.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/2000/id81"><U><B>"Miss Congeniality"</B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 38 ><NOBR><div> Fred Ward: "Tremors", "Summer Catch"</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Mary Kay Place: "The Big Chill"</div> <div> Andy Tennant: "Anna and the King"</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.mrqe.com/lookup?sweet+home+alabama" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.mrqe.com/lookup?sweet+home+al"><U><B>For over 150 reviews on this film, go here.</B></U></A></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>