The Moose Hole - 'Alabama' Signals Rise of the South
Released September 27th, 2002
Starring: Reese Witherspoon, Candice Bergen,Patrick Dempsey, Ethan Embry, Josh Lucas, Melanie Lynskey, Mark Matkevich, Rhona Mitra, Mary Kay Place, Jean Smart, Katherine Towne, Fred Ward
Director: Andy Tennant
Premise: This is the story of a young woman, Melanie, from a "white trash" background who runs away from her husband in Alabama and reinvents herself as a New York socialite. When her Park Avenue boyfriend, whose mother is the mayor of New York City, proposes marriage, she returns home to tell her parents the good news and obtain a divorce from her husband. In doing so, she is confronted with her past and must choose between the men.
Resse Witherspoon has risen from out of nowhere to become a big item in Hollywood. After starring in daring films like Cruel Intentions and Trumpet of the Swan, she received a large audience with her roles in comedies like the sleeper hit of 2001, Legally Blonde. Now she enters the arena of romantic comedies, of which only a select few have gone on to great success. The question now is not whether Resse can bring in the audience but rather if she outshines the rest of the movie. Will Sweet Home Alabama see the South rise again or will it fall much like before?
The story goes that Melanie Carmichael has risen up in the big city of New York. Not only is she becoming the next big fashion designer but she is also dating the son of the mayor. Melanie finally has it all when the man of her dreams proposes to her until she realizes what she left in her past. She travels to her hometown in southern Alabama seeking a divorce from her former husband, Jake. When she returns home, she finds that many things have changed and she isn't the same person she once was. Even Jake, her former drunk hick husband, has changed dramatically and seems to still be in love with her. Now Melanie must decide whether to choose her "picture-perfect" life in New York or a better life in Alabama. The story of Sweet Home Alabama holds up pretty good but like most romantic comedies, it shows predictability. The opening sequence was a nice if not weird touch to start off on. But the story feels dragged near the final stretch of the film. The plot is more entertaining, though, then most recent romantic comedies which has just tossed the same things at the movie going public over and over again.
Obviously the main focuses based on characters is Resse Witherspoon as Melanie Carmichael. She is definitely the star of the show and should be the main focus of the audience. Her acting is fabulous in this film and she not only brings a comedic aspect to it but a emotional one as well. Though time could be spent talking about her, there were others who performed well in this movie. Candice Bergen is hilarious as the mayor of New York and the mother of Andrew, who proposes to Melanie. She shows great effect as her character tries harder and harder to prevent the marriage. Josh Lucas represents a perfect mix of southern hick and Alabama pretty boy impact on the audience. All the other supporting characters bring great aspect to Sweet Home Alabama that none could reproduce. They offered great comedic timing as well as a sense of southern community within the plot of the film.
Overall, Sweet Home Alabama is another predictable romantic comedy but one that is done in great style. Resse Witherspoon and crew set this film out from the rest of the pack of wannabe romantic comedies.The plot is almost the same as any other but there is more comedy that mixes well with emotional moments and even offsets them sometimes. Some moments have too many "inside" southern jokes or two but those quickly passed. The acting was much better then expected for a movie of this genre though many characters seemed the same as in other movies. But those are minor things to pick at. There were holes in the plot that did confuse the audience and weren't completely answered which didn't really deliever the impact the ending was suppose to have. And suprise, surprise hearing the song, same as the title of the movie, heard not once but twice within the course of the film. Not that is a bad song but this was probably seen from a mile away by everybody. Once again Touchstone Pictures and Resse Witherspoon have a hit. This film will really launch Resse into a new direction in the film industry with more successes like this one.
My Rating: **** out of 5
