reviewed by Charity Bishop
      

I have to admit when I first saw the previews for Sweet Home Alabama in front of Signs, I was secretly delighted. Reese Witherspoon in another romantic comedy; a dream come true! Since the success of Legally Blonde, and The Importance of Earnest, Reese has taken her place among the up and coming stars of the silver screen... where she belongs. This kind of film is just the thing that appeals to me; part oddball, part comedy, part searching-for-answers romance with a bit of irony on the side. Sadly enough, however, any Hollywood comedy just can't be complete with foul language and innuendo.

Melanie Carmichael is a successful businesswoman in the Big Apple. Beautiful, blonde, and personable, she's attracted the eye of the New York City mayor's son Andrew, a Yankee Democrat. He's quite a catch in his own right... and happily oblivious to his girlfriend's secret past life. When he pops 'the question' out of the blue, Melanie knows she's in a whole lot of trouble... and the only way out is to take a trip to Alabama. Her future mother in law has a fit and the tabloids run rampant with the news. As Kate, the mayor, says, 'If this girl has got any skeletons in her closet, we need to know about them' -- so they can burry them! And that's just what Melanie is up to. Returning home to Alabama, we discover the big secret... Melanie is actually already married to Jake, a down-home kind of boy with whom she has a reputable past. Down here, 'Felony Melanie' as the locals call her has quite the reputation. It appears seven years before she dumped Jake and went to the big city to make a name for herself. Ever since she's been begging him to sign the divorce papers. But the 'stubborn low-life hick' refuses. In fact, when she shows up at his door with the unsigned papers and a whole lot of attitude, he just plain has her arrested.

This forces Melanie to take some serious time out of her busy Big Apple schedule to try and persuade Jake that divorce is the right option, and convince herself that moving to New York was the right choice. Or was it? Suddenly with Jake back in her life, as well as a gaggle of, yes, countrified pureblooded Rebs, Melanie is rethinking her decisions and questioning her feelings for Jake. Meanwhile, back in the city the mayor is equally concerned about her future daughter in law's background. Apparently everything she told them about where she lived, which school she attended, and what family name she goes by is a lie. With the tabloids eager for scandal, Kate sends her right hand man down to do a little damage control. Suddenly Melanie is going to need some serious help... the only problem is, has she made everyone at home too mad to lend her a hand? Fish out of water stories are always popular, particularly when the fish has to return to her own pond after swimming in the sea.

Sweet Home Alabama manages to be both bittersweet and funny while Melanie sorts out her life. Of course the trailers give a lot of it away but it's still a kick. The country people may be slightly stereotyped, but take it from a country girl... they're not as far off as you might think, particularly in a small town. Reese is obviously having a ball (as are those watching her) but it's Candice Bergen as her would-be mother in law the mayor who really gets some jabs in. The humor is laugh-aloud funny. Some of the running gags, like Melanie's father's layback chair, get repeat business. Best of all, it takes a serious look at the long-lasting effects of marriage and doesn't gloss over attraction-based romance. Jack is a genuinely great guy and Melanie would be a fool not to realize this. Her parents are also supportive and forgiving. I laughed and cried... and cringed. No movie is perfect. And Sweet Home Alabama does unfortunately suffer from some sexual innuendo and language. The innuendo, or what would better be called 'coarse dialogue,' is offensive. Derogatory remarks are made about male privet parts and at one point, Melanie gets drunk at a party and insults everyone in the room. She makes comments about how one guy present never 'got any' with ANY of the girls in town, mentions the night Jake got her pregnant, and gives away an old friend's big 'secret' -- that he's gay. We learn over time that Melanie's reason for marrying Jake was because they got pregnant. She then had a miscarriage and her life fell apart. (She actually feels remorse for having at the time considered it a relief. In a refreshing turn, there's no mention of abortion. The pair never even thought about it.)

Language isn't overly gritty but made up of uncomfortable anatomical references and abuses of deity. What makes me uncomfortable is that most of the 'Oh, my God!' exclamations throughout the film are played for laughs. That phrase becomes a hinge for 90% of the dialogue. There are also three abuses of Christ's name, and two of Jesus. Two gay characters appear in the background. One is Melanie's overly stereotyped black fashion designing best bud. On seeing Jake for the first time, he purrs coyly, 'I saw him first!' The second is Billy Ray, one of the home town boys. His friends don't welcome the news but don't get down on it either. There's also a joke revolving around a lesbian, and a story about how Melanie strapped a cat to dynamite and actually blew up part of the bank when it got away from her. (To be fair, she wanted to give the cat a less painful death than the vet's intended means of killing it... and it didn't work anyway. Old scruffy is still around.)

If you liked Legally Blonde, this film will be right up your ally... which is what filmmakers are counting on. I was grieved by the closing credits, because it was a great idea. It is funny. There are great lessons about learning to patch up relationships and work through marriage problems. It could have been written beautifully without all the foul language and insulting sexual references; as it stands, I don't know if it's worth a trip to Sweet Home Alabama.