‘Chick
Flick’ much more than expected
By Oscar Montealegre
On-line Forty-Niner
“Sweet
Home Alabama” is a movie quite worth the
hefty price of theater admission that viewers
have to endure to watch a feature film.
The film, starring Reese Witherspoon and
Patrick Dempsey, is disguised as a “chick
flick,” but the movie has much more to offer
with its interesting and intriguing story.
“Sweet Home Alabama” was directed by Andy
Tennat, who also directed “Anna and the
King” and “Fools Rush In.” Initially, I
expected this movie to be about an attractive
woman who returns to the South for reasons
I was not even going to care about. I was
wrong.
In this romantic comedy, N.Y. fashion designer
Melanie Carmichael (Witherspoon) decides
to return to her Alabama hometown after
her boyfriend (Dempsey) proposes to her.
All of a sudden, Melanie is engaged to the
city’s most eligible bachelor.
Here is where the problem exists-Melanie
is still legally married to a rustic husband
she married in high school who refuses to
divorce her. Melanie’s visit to Alabama
lasts longer than she had anticipated.
Melanie eventually has to confront her past,
one she has kept secret from her N.Y. friends.
Eventually she discovers that she will never
be able to escape her hometown or the lifestyle
of the South.
She also has to decide whether she is really
in love with her N.Y. boyfriend or if she
has resisted acknowledging that she truly
loves her southern husband.
Witherspoon and Dempsey are a well-chosen
duo that provides laughs for viewers. In
addition, “Sweet Home Alabama” confronts
the issues people face when returning to
their hometown after they have established
a career for themselves in another city.
The movie had the potential to be A quality,
but my final grade for the movie would be
a strong B.
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