Sweet Home Alabama Starring Reese Witherspoon, Josh Lucas Directed by Andy Tennant Rated PG-13 for some language and sexual references **3/4 out of 4 Stars, Movie Grade: B-

Theatrical Release: September 27, 2002

Running time: 105 minutes

by Kevin Lang

"Sweet Home Alabama," directed by Andy Tennant ("Ever After," 1998 and "Fools Rush In," 1997) was a lighthearted romantic comedy with almost enough charm for us to overlook what the story lacked.

Reese Witherspoon played Melanie (Mel) Carmichael, a New York fashion designer who left her birthplace of Alabama seven years earlier when she was nineteen after she had a miscarriage with her husband. Now, after the mayor of New York's son Andrew (Patrick Dempsey) asked Mel to marry him, she returned to Alabama to again attempt to get her childhood sweetheart, Jake (Josh Lucas), to give her a divorce.

The story wasn't bad. The thing that I like most about it was that both the mayor's son Andrew (the Mayor being played by a high-horsed Candice Bergen) and Mel's legally attached husband Jake were both pretty good guys. It wasn't the case as it often is in romantic comedies where one guy turns out to be clearly the wrong one, which then makes the character's and the audience's choice for herself an easy one. This nonconformity to the stereotypical romantic comedy was extremely positive for the film in and of itself. Most importantly it made Mel's character more admirable in that she was smart enough not to fall for a complete creep in the first place.

The problem with the story was that we didn't feel the roots that Mel was rediscovering in both Jake and her hometown. We only heard about past experiences in her life second hand by way of Jake and other members of the town. The movie failed to show us her past. I wanted to experience what her life was like seven years earlier, as well as being offered more back-story with her current fiancée. By visually seeing at least a couple of these experiences, her memories would have in fact became our memories as well, instead of just hearsay. All that we were offered was an opening scene in which Mel and Jake were struck by lighting during their childhood first kiss. I wanted to see more peas and carrots (Forrest Gump, 14:39) instead of having to try and fill in the blanks about her past with rumors. Most importantly, it would have brought more emotion to the present.

Reese Witherspoon delivered a pleasing performance, sporting a southern accent that was hardly artificial (she was born in Nashville, Tennessee with a birth name of Laura Jeanne). This was surprising to learn since she had done so well covering up her southern dialect in other roles, which once again demonstrates the versatility of her acting talent.

In the end, "Sweet Home Alabama" was not a disappointing film. It had enough charm, light humor, and enjoyable scenes to keep me entertained, but I would recommend also renting Andy Tennant's "Ever After," which was a little more satisfying overall.

"Sweet Home Alabama" Review written September 26, 2002, CTF.