Reading this review requires context. I live in Alabama. This movie includes our favorite Alabama song (see the title). Reese Witherspoon is special.
After the movie, my wife asks me what I thought. Sometimes I struggle to answer that question, last night the answer was easy. Sweet Home Alabama is a nice movie. It is no a great movie; it has no great meaning; it is a nice movie.
As you enter the theater, you have a great idea of what this movie will tell you. The plot is transparent. What makes this movie are the scenes. When you recall movies with friends, you invariably discuss certain scenes. This movie has some great scenes.
Now I am biased, but I like Alabama. I like a movie that makes fun of New York snootiness and snobbery. While we are not hicks (and all movies about Alabama portray us as hicks), I believe that we are less pretentious than our Northern counterparts. That is probably a bias, but we are entitled to some biases.
You cannot help liking Reese Witherspoon as an actress. Her foil (and original husband), Josh Lucas, plays his part with the right mixture of down home and intelligence. To paraphrase my favorite line, he states that just because he talks slow does not mean that he thinks slow. Those of you who have not spent time in the South, think critically. When you hear a southern accent, what do you think? Do you assume ignorance? Do you assume prejudice?
This movie has no basis in realism. These events could never occur. Nonetheless, you will leave the movie theater smiling. And I think that makes it good entertainment.
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