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Sweet Home Alabama

Truth be told, I am a glutton for romantic movies. I indulge in these morsels, and when one especially has a whopper of great acting, a fun and touching plot, and some laugh-out-loud scenes to put it all in place, it's even more delectable!

When a small town girl from Alabama feels like her life is stuck in the mud, she leaves her roots behind and heads to New York City to capture success and better herself. But sometimes those roots are tougher than you think, and cutting them at the core can leave more pain than expected.

Melanie Carmichael (Reese Witherspoon) left her humble town years earlier to experience a different style of living--a type of living that would have her becoming one of the up-and-coming fashion designers of her time.

Along with her success, Melanie has also found herself engaged to the very sophisticated, dapper, and successful Andrew Hennings (Patrick Dempsey), the son of New York Mayor Kate Hennings (Candice Bergen), an extremely pretentious woman who feels Melanie is not who she portrays herself to be and frankly is not worthy of her son's proposal.

Even though her mother-in-law to be is not high on Melanie's list, Andrew is and that makes Melanie's world looking brighter and more fulfilled than she ever thought it could be.

But there's a snag in this high-class society of crystal glass tinkering, flash bulb frenzy, and political rubbing of the elbows that Melanie has become a part of--her current husband, Jake (Josh Lucas) from back home! Jake has not signed the divorce papers, and Melanie now has to go back to her hometown, which she is not too happy about, and get Jake to sign those papers and finally be able to say good riddance to him, her past, and start a brand new life...right?

Even with all that New York City charisma and charm she's picked up, "Felony Melanie" sure returned to her dreadful roots around her old friends when she got drunk as a skunk at the local bar in an attempt to drive Jake crazy enough so he'd sign the papers. But the only one she really hurt was Bobby Ray, one of her dearest friends.

The next day, Melanie found herself cornered by a "journalist" covering a story on her family's background. Bobby Ray bailed her sorry self out of what could have been a public disaster for her despite still reeling from her revelation about him.

Between her opinionated, but endearing parents Pearl Smooter (Mary Kay Place) and Earl Smooter (Fred Ward), her very hip and soon-to-be ex-mother-in-law Stella Kay (Jean Smart), and the suspicious reasons behind Jake not wanting to give Melanie a divorce, there leaves a lot of unresolved feelings and questions about Melanie's future relationship and the place she calls home.

Melanie now has to face what's most important in her life. The million dollar question is: "Who does Melanie love and what does she truly want?"

Reese Witherspoon is undeniably one of the freshest new Hollywood talents, capable of drawing you into a performance. She's beyond the box office appeal she creates and just a captivating and delightful lady to watch. A true star who has been blessed with natural talent, I hope she continues to thrive and entertain us for a long time to come.

Patrick Dempsey has hubba hubba hunk appeal! He's always had that boyish charm and sparkling impishness from his earlier days of acting (Remember "Can't Buy Me Love"?). But he's a head-turner even more now and has much to offer the world of acting. So keep those movies coming!

As Melanie's soon-to-be, but not quite ex husband Jake, Josh Lucas was charismatic, exciting, and a heap of laughs. Very cute, humble, and fun to watch on screen, he could convince this Yankee to move to the south any day!

Musical performances by such highly regarded talents as Jewel, The Calling, Sheryl Crow, Dolly Parton, and so many others make this a lovely and catchy soundtrack with heart.

Directed by Andrew Tennant, whose vision this time took him to the beauty and hospitality of the South, Sweet Home Alabama is like a home-cooked meal. Always good, always warm, and leaves you with a smile.

Seconds anyone!

Written by: Lynda Dale MacLean

Reviewers Rating: 8
Reader's Rating: 8.67
Reader's Votes: 9

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