Sweet Home Alabama Movie Review
I watched a Southern classic romcom, Sweet Home Alabama, for the first time. Because I watch random MsMojo list videos, I knew the wedding scene beforehand. But I had some initial impressions after viewing the film in its entirety.
1) I'm not sure the brief moment where Melanie realizes that Jake's made something of himself is a good enough reason for him to take her back. Sure, they have a lot of chemistry, but it didn't seem like she develops enough for him to accept her after 7 years apart. (However, I was excited to see Reese Witherspoon embrace her Southern roots.) The plot didn't reveal the reason they broke up—anger and grief after an abortion— until two-thirds of the way through the movie. Even then they discuss the matter for a few minutes. This reason almost seems far-fetched considering only a few of their mutual friends have children.
2) Patrick Dempsey's character Andrew is left alone. He seems alright with this, possibly because Melanie helps him realize that he cannot allow his politician mother to control his life. Melanie helps him value freedom, and he has this lesson to take with him back to New York.
3) Melanie outs a mutual friend during an evening at a bar. The man's sexuality is implied early in the film, but is a small subplot. With the ending showing love and acceptance for everyone at the party, perhaps this subplot was included to diversify the story? Sweet Home Alabama was released in 2002. To see gay characters onscreen in that era would have been a rarity.
1) I'm not sure the brief moment where Melanie realizes that Jake's made something of himself is a good enough reason for him to take her back. Sure, they have a lot of chemistry, but it didn't seem like she develops enough for him to accept her after 7 years apart. (However, I was excited to see Reese Witherspoon embrace her Southern roots.) The plot didn't reveal the reason they broke up—anger and grief after an abortion— until two-thirds of the way through the movie. Even then they discuss the matter for a few minutes. This reason almost seems far-fetched considering only a few of their mutual friends have children.
2) Patrick Dempsey's character Andrew is left alone. He seems alright with this, possibly because Melanie helps him realize that he cannot allow his politician mother to control his life. Melanie helps him value freedom, and he has this lesson to take with him back to New York.
3) Melanie outs a mutual friend during an evening at a bar. The man's sexuality is implied early in the film, but is a small subplot. With the ending showing love and acceptance for everyone at the party, perhaps this subplot was included to diversify the story? Sweet Home Alabama was released in 2002. To see gay characters onscreen in that era would have been a rarity.
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