Rating: 
Summary: Entirely predictable, but c'mon - it's cute!
Review: If you're looking for something completely original and groundbreaking, this ain't it. It's one of those films where you know the ending before the movie even starts, and after seeing the trailer I honestly didn't have high expectations. But I was pleasantly surprised when I actually saw it. It's sassy and fun I really enjoyed it.Southern-girl-turned-New-York-fashion-designer Melanie Carmichael (Reese Witherspoon) receives a marriage proposal from her well-to-do boyfriend Andrew Hennings (Patrick Dempsey) and life couldn't be better. The catch? She's still married to high school sweetheart Jake Perry (Josh Lucas) whom she left behind in Alabama seven years ago, when a disastrous young pregnancy and subsequent miscarriage left her feeling that she needed a fresh start. So before the wedding, Melanie needs to go back home and convince her hubby to sign the divorce papers. Now, we know right off the bat that the old flame is going to be rekindled and she'll end up re-evaluating her life and what she left behind. The unavoidable conclusion just stares you in the face from the get go. But the fun part is watching how she arrives at her destination. Yes, it's choc full of stereotypes about New Yorkers and Southerners alike, but it isn't malicious. Just about any movie is going to have its stereotypes, whether people pick up on them or not, and this movie is pretty harmless by comparison. Do the accents sound fake? I guess it depends on where in the South you're from or have been. I've seen both positive and negative critiques from true Southerners. I was born and raised in Alaska, so my ear is hardly fine-tuned (the closest I've come to Alabama is a summer spent in Kentucky), but it sounds natural enough to me. Witherspoon and Lucas are themselves from Louisiana and Arkansas respectively, so I think they'd know what they're doing. The whole cast is wonderful. Witherspoon absolutely shines, and despite Jake's description of Melanie as a "hoity-toity Yankee b*tch," I can't help but like her. She's got character. Josh Lucas just nails his role as Jake. He's charming, he's funny, he's a big greasy teddy bear. Patrick Dempsey is also outstanding as Andrew, whom I really did feel sorry for. Unlike so many love triangle films, where one of the guys is a scoundrel in disguise (i.e. Bridget Jones's Diary, etc.), Andrew is a kind, loving, devoted man. The only thing Jake's got that he doesn't is spunk - Andrew's a little straight-laced and droll. Great performances are also given by Ethan Embry (you can't help but love Bobby Ray!), Candice Bergen, Mary Kay Place, and Fred Ward. So don't expect anything too deep and thought-provoking. It's a "chick flick" after all (though I know guys who've enjoyed it, too). But if you're in the mood for a sweet romantic comedy, this movie is worth seeing. Not everyone's going to like it (as is the case with most movies), so rent before you buy, but do give it a shot.
Rating:
Summary: Great movie, but not so good dvd release
Review: well ,
after enjoying watching this great romantic comedy,
i decided to give a dvd a go ,but i was not that much impressed.
ok the audio commentary is very helpful to find out all those little things from the production of the movie. and the cut scenes are ok too,especially the scene called "Stella's roadhouse" which in my opinion should have been in the movie. the music video mine all mine is unforgettable. however the dvd is made in a strict 16:9 format which in my case caused half the screen to be blank and what's even worse there is no theatrical trailer,
which almost all dvd releases do have. also some interviews with the cast should be present. i still recommend to give it ago,
but the dvd producers should have thought about this movie's fans a little more. i give it 4 out of five stars. regards Denny
Rating: 
Summary: Not authentically Southern, but really fake/predictable
Review: Looking around for something to rent while visiting my family in New Jersey, I saw this...and since I now live in Alabama, and had enjoyed Legally Blonde, thought I would give it a try. BUT. There are some big problems with this movie, which supposedly takes place in New York and someplace in Southern Alabama (has to be Southern Alabama, since "mobile airport" gets a mention). Yet it presents an idealized New York, where unknown girls with no education become famous designers in seven years, and a mythical Alabama, where, apparently, the evils of Generica are left behind. Where are the strip malls? The movie complexes? The Ruby Tuesday's, or at least the Cracker Barrels? Small town South with one-bar-honky-tonk and water-tower pranks is, alas, hard to find. What is EASY to find are small towns whose local trade is depleted but which are riddled with chainstores and fast growth. Since the movie tries to put New York in the present, it ought to at least TRY to put Alabama in the present. Heck, I don't think I even saw anyone drink sweet tea or eat banana pudding... let alone crunch a palmetto bug. I guess it's too much trouble to take a hard look at what it's really like to live in the South... I live in a city (Montgomery) but I've driven all over the state to visit schools, and there is no place like this town. However. I saw My Cousin Vinny again recently and forgave that movie the same sin. Why? Because My Cousin Vinny is FUNNY.
(also, despite its mythical, isolated town, at least My Cousin Vinny did get some quirks about Southerners right-- understatement, tendency to give directions by historical/personal landmarks, importance of "visiting" when doing business, etc.) The biggest problem with Sweet Home Alabama isn't it's false fish-out-of-mythical-water quality. The real trouble is that for the first twenty minutes of the movie, the main character is a self-absorbed, nasty little witch who hasn't seen her parents in years. She never opens her mouth except to put down the town she's come from, or the people in it... the movie counts on us hanging in there until she feels repentant. I did, but only because it was a rental. This character had none of the charm of Elle in Legally Blonde. She was pretty, but-- no doubt in an attempt to do Southern "feisty"-- she was also aggressive and rude. She behaves like all the stereotypes of New Yorkers, actually (at least the movie doesn't blame New York for her self-absorbtion) There's no suspense, since a flashback at the beginning of the movie tells us, in case we were unsure, which guy we should want the girl to end up with. We're way ahead of the movie, and the ride is slow.
Rating: 
Summary: Not great, not terrible
Review: I liked this movie, but if you're looking for something to redeem all the sorry romantic comedies currently out there (like I was), you'll be disappointed.
Reese Witherspoon's character, Melanie, is by turns selfish and likable and I wish they had been more consistent with her. I ended up liking her in the end, but her snobbiness in the beginning made that more difficult than it should have been.
As for the men. . .Josh Lucas' character is both easy on the eyes :-) and a nice guy, as is Melanie's fiance. And that's part of the problem too: it feels like the writers didn't want to make anyone the bad guy, so they wrote themselves into a corner. No wonder Melanie can't make a decision.
It's really not a bad movie, though. It's light, enjoyable, and though you wish that Melanie (and the writers) had made some different decisions, it will make for a nice afternoon.
By the way, the special features are nothing spectacular. It's mostly just scenes and, in one case, an entire subplot, that hit the cutting room floor. But take my advice on this one--DO NOT watch the alternate ending. It was terrible and it has haunted my later viewings of the movie.
Rating: 
Summary: At Lease She's Not Legally Blonde...
Review: My girlfriend made me watch this piece of trash, and I must vent my frustration. But first, I noticed there was a review of this movie that said it "kept me interested" because "you want to see how the situation will turn out." Hmmmm. If you've watched ANY chick movie EVER, you know how it's going to turn out: In a way that makes you happy yet feeling wholly inadequate about how your own life is turning out. That's the whole appeal. Movies like "Sweet Home Alabama" force-feed a world of romance that doesn't exist onto insecure women with too many cats. It's dangerous fantasy that makes it impossible for men to please you because we're not actors reading out some "cute" script. Life ain't cute. If you like cute, you deserve this movie. But don't forget how unhappy you truly are, and how absolutely happy Reese must be with her millions of dollars at the expense of your own self esteem.
Rating: 
Summary: simply the best!
Review: Sweet Home Alabama is a touching movie about true love and fate that brought tears to my eyes. It truely was a sweet movie, probably a "chick flick" but that's not the point. It's predictable from the beginning but keeps the suspense to a point where you are wondering how that situation is going to work out and then how the next one is. Overall it just keeps the hope of true love conquers all up for people starting to doubt and will warm your heart. I loved it and can watch it again and again.
Rating:
Summary: How can you not love Reese?
Review: This is a really cute movie - I like it a lot. Reese Whitherspoon plays the part of Melanie Carmicheal, an up-and-coming NY city fashion designer who gets engaged with the most eligible bachelor in town (The son of a high-profile judge, the JFK Jr. type)... But Melanie has a few skeletons in her closet that she must hige much better before she walks down the isle with Mr. Right.... She travels back home to a small town in Alabama to get -gasp!- a divorce from her childhood-sweetheart/husband. When she gets there she is mortified of her past: all the two-steppin', twangin', hillbillies that she grew up with are totally beneath her. and she declares war on the husband who refuses to give her a divorce. But, after a few days of being back home, she starts to realize that what she thought she wanted may not be what she wants at all. Reese Whitherspoon is so cute in this movie. And Candice Burgeon plays a great b!tch (the future mother-in-law from hell!) It's a really good romantic comedy that most guys won't even mind watching (Mine didn't!) The dvd comes with an alternate ending too.
Rating:
Summary: As Sweet as Apple Pie
Review: Fine and down right homespun comedy with Reese Witherspoon as a Fashion designer who goes back home to divorce her ex-husband and finds out that things are not as simple as she would like, and finds her real self in the process. This is a fine little comedy that is a saucy and as heart warming as they come, and it will put a smile on your face after its over.
Rating:
Summary: Sweet Home Alabama
Review: I think this is an excellent movie! Reese Witherspoon is a very good actress! You'll laugh through almost the whole movie. This movie is very Romantic. I reccomend this movie to everyone who likes romance and to laugh alot!
Rating:
Summary: divorce in 3 years
Review: I thought this movie was very entertaining until the end when it totally copped out and became the dangerous propaganda that sooooo many movies pound into you. That a professional, hard-working, ambitious woman will give up everything she's worked for to have a baby and be with her man and be happy. Yuh, right. I wish these movies would show the results about 3 years down the road. This dumb idea just keeps being pushed and pushed and it just doesn't work. Babies solve nothing. And when you got a great career in New York - puh lease - baby doesn't come close.
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