Sweet Home Alabama (2002)

I am glad I didn't listen to critics and watched this movie! It is a very good movie with charm, humor, sadness and most of all, genial acting! Reese Witherspoon and Josh Lucas are the two characters that you can relate to. Especially the dog part is very fun. I think what makes this movie good is that it is a story you can relate to, but made with humor. Yet there are a part sadness in the story.

It begins with that Melanie is asked by the son of the mayor if she wants to marry him. Then she says yes, but she has things to make up and decides to go down to her hometown in Alabama to get a divorce from her husband who she hasn't met for years, not after she lost her child and he was drunk on their wedding.

The concept and plot is very smart, when the tone is told with humour even in situations that are serious. In fact, if the movie hadn't humor, it had been falling apart. The humor is lifting the story to a little more than just good. It is so fun, so full of genial and amusing characters, excellent acting and an excellent ending. Maybe a movie that mostly girls like to watch, but anyway a good movie.

Fmovies: Everyone is taking this movie too seriously. It's my favorite chick flick movie. There is no violence, except when she hits the mayor, no drugs, sex and only a little bit of questionable language. And some of the accents are accurate, at least the ones from the people I know from Alabama. Plus, it's a MOVIE. It's so funny! I'm from NJ and I don't think it portrays the South in a bad light. It's not meant to be a serious movie, just something to make you laugh go awwwww. If anything it portrays New York as a crowded dirty place...and it is..but not everyone in New York is rude...um OK, maybe I take that one back. Anyway don't criticize it, it's just a romantic comedy and how many of them are actually worth watching??? Go Ethan Embry and Josh Lucas!!!

"Sweet Home Alabama" is about a young woman, Melanie Carmichael (Reese Witherspoon), who is learning who she is. She must choice between her new life in New York City and the one she left behind in Pigeon Creek, Alabama. The theme of the film is that you can't be two different people; you have to be who you are. You have to face your life and your past and not pretend that you are someone you're not.

The city versus country motif is brought to life throughout the entire film in such actions as a civil war re-enactment, shooting anvils across the plantation yard, and a diverse, yet, predictable group of characters residing in Melanie's hometown. This is far from her world in New York City where she is a fashion designer, engaged to the mayor's son, Andrew Hennings (Patrick Dempsey), and lives life in the fast lane.

The city versus country conflict begins when Melanie returns home to finalize her divorce from her lovable, redneck husband Jake Perry (Josh Lucas). The laughs continue when, much to Mayor Kate Hennings (Candice Bergen) dismay, Melanie and Andrew decide to have their wedding in Alabama. Mayor Hennings is a stiff, conservative ice queen. This makes the first meeting of the happy couples' parents, Mayor Hennings and Pearl and Earl Smooter (Mary Kay Place and Fred Ward), incredibly predictable, yet, still hilarious when you see it play out.

As she was in "Legally Blonde" and "Just Like Heaven", Witherspoon is sweet, smart, and sassy. She pulls you into the film, and you want to see her happy. She has great chemistry with both Jake and Andrew, which makes it difficult for viewers to decide which she should be with. Melanie, herself, can't decide who is for her until she decides who she is.

Director Andy Tennant masterfully uses music to contribute to the theme. With the use of songs such as "Sweet Home Alabama," "What This World Needs Is a Few More Rednecks," and "Marry Me," he transports you into the south. This music prompts you to root for the south and the southern girl who has just returned home. Tennant, also, impressively did not over use the song "Sweet Home Alabama." He used the song only in the situations were it would make the largest impact.

Tennant shows in "Sweet Home Alabama", as he did in "Ever After", that love just happens and we can't control love any more than we can control who we really are. In "Sweet Home Alabama", all of Melanie's problems seem to stem from the fact that she cannot face who she really is. Her father sum's up the theme of the movie in one statement, "You can't ride two horses with one ass, sugar bean."

Sweet Home Alabama fmovies. Reese Witherspoon terrific heartfelt performance makes this movie work. I originally had my doubts about seeing this one but I bought the DVD and I highly enjoyed the movie. Reese Witherspoon has good chemistry with both Patrick Dempsey and Josh Lucas. The film although predictable is full of funny moments and a lot of heart.

Where do i start with this movie? Fantastic, had me hooked from the start, they were on to a winner as soon as they cast Dakota Fanning as 'young' Melanie. Now i'm a sucker for good 'chick Flicks' and this one tops my list, Reese shines as Melanie, the girl who realises that what she's been looking for was right there at home waiting for her. Josh Lucas makes a fabulous performance as Jake, her estranged high school Hubby who's never got her out of his mind. If you are in the mood for a good old fashioned romance with some great country thrown in then this is the one for you, i've lost count how many times i have seen this now and i'll never tire of it. Even if this isn't your kind of film i challenge you to watch it and not feel good, practically impossible.

I was surprised to find the rating when I first checked it out, but I suppose it's a matter of personal experience and the taste that goes with it. I like to be reminded of my own personal experience (which is similar) and compare it to what the main character goes through in the movie. I suppose you'll like it if it means something to you, so if you've got issues with your past (relationships, particularly) and you like happy endings, give this film a shot. There's a bit of stereotyping in the film though, but they're presented humorously, so I didn't really mind. Besides, they aren't very damaging stereotypes (at least in my view), nor very annoying ones.