Sweet Home Alabama | |
---|---|
Directed by | Andy Tennant |
Screenplay by | C. Jay Cox |
Story by | Douglas J. Eboch |
Produced by |
|
Starring | |
Cinematography | Andrew Dunn |
Edited by |
|
Music by | George Fenton |
Production companies | |
Distributed by | Buena Vista Pictures Distribution |
Release date |
|
Running time | 109 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $30 million [1] |
Box office | $180.6 million [1] |
Sweet Home Alabama is a 2002 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Andy Tennant. Written by C. Jay Cox, it stars Reese Witherspoon, Josh Lucas and Patrick Dempsey. The supporting cast includes Fred Ward, Mary Kay Place, Jean Smart, Candice Bergen, Ethan Embry, and Melanie Lynskey. It was released in the United States on September 27, 2002, by Buena Vista Pictures through their Touchstone Pictures banner. The film takes its title from the 1974 Lynyrd Skynyrd song of the same name. It received mixed critical reception, [2] but was a success at the box office. [1]
On a beach in Pigeon Creek, Alabama, 10-year-olds Jake Perry (Thomas Curtis) and Melanie Smooter (Dakota Fanning) inspect the result of lightning striking sand. Jake asserts that they will be married one day.
In the present, Melanie (Reese Witherspoon) is a New York fashion designer who has adopted the surname "Carmichael" to hide her poor Southern roots. After wealthy Andrew Hennings (Patrick Dempsey) proposes, Melanie returns to her hometown to Pigeon Creek, Alabama, to announce her engagement to her parents Earl and Pearl Smooter (Fred Ward and Mary Kay Place) and to finalize her divorce from her estranged husband Jake (Josh Lucas), whom she married as a pregnant teenager and left after she miscarried their baby. Meanwhile, Kate Hennings (Candice Bergen), Andrew's mother and current Mayor of New York City, doubts Melanie's suitability to wed her son, whom she is grooming to run for President of the United States.
Melanie visits Jake, who has refused to sign divorce papers over the years since she left for New York. After he orders her out of the house, Melanie empties Jake's checking account, hoping to spur him into ending the marriage. Angry, Jake leaves to meet some friends at the local bar. Melanie follows and gets drunk, insults her old school friends, and outs her longtime friend, Bobby Ray (Ethan Embry). Jake scolds her and takes her home, preventing her from driving drunk, and Melanie wakes to find the signed divorce papers on her bed.
Melanie goes to the Carmichael plantation and apologizes to Bobby Ray, whose family lives there. She is cornered there by Kate's assistant Barry Lowenstein (Kevin Sussman), who is sent to gather information on Melanie's background, posing as a reporter for the New York Post. Bobby Ray backs up her pretense that she is a relative and the family mansion is her childhood home. Melanie reconciles with her friends and learns that after she split with Jake, he followed her to New York to win her back. Intimidated by the city and her success, he returned home to make something of himself first. She and Jake have a heart-to-heart, and Melanie realizes why he never signed their divorce papers.
Andrew arrives to surprise Melanie, but upon discovering her true background and that she is married, he angrily leaves. He later returns, saying he still wants to marry her, and the wedding is set into motion. Melanie's New York friends arrive. While visiting a restaurant/resort with a glassblowing gallery, they admire its glass sculptures. Melanie realizes that Jake is the artist and owns the resort.
During Melanie and Andrew's wedding at the Carmichael estate, Wallace Buford, Melanie's attorney, halts the ceremony. He has the divorce papers, which Melanie hadn't signed. As Melanie is about to sign the papers, she realizes that her love for Jake is still there. She tells Andrew that she gave her heart to Jake and never got it back. She and Andrew wish each other well. Before running off to find Jake, she tells everyone who is friends and family of the bride to stick around.
Melanie finds Jake at the beach planting lightning rods in the sand to create more glass sculptures. She tells him they are still married, and they return to what would have been Melanie and Andrew's wedding reception, where they have their first dance as husband and wife.
A mid-credits sequence shows that they have a baby daughter, Melanie continues to thrive as a designer, and Jake opens a "Deep South Glass" franchise in New York. Andrew is engaged to a girl named Erin Vanderbilt.
In addition, Dakota Fanning and Thomas Curtis appear briefly as the childhood versions of Melanie and Jake, respectively.
Charlize Theron was considered for the lead role before Reese Witherspoon was cast.
Katharine Towne was cast as Witherspoon's character's assistant who ultimately ends up marrying the Patrick Dempsey character, but all other scenes were dropped in the final cut.
Although centered in a fictional version of the town of Pigeon Creek, near a fictional version of Greenville, Alabama, the film was mostly shot in Georgia. The Carmichael Plantation, which Melanie tells the reporter is her childhood home, is the Oak Hill Berry Museum, a historic landmark in Georgia which is near the campus of Berry College in Rome, Georgia.
Sweet Home Alabama was the first film allowed to be shot in New York City after the September 11, 2001 attacks. It was also the first film allowed to film at Tiffany & Co. since Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961).
The streets and storefronts of Crawfordville, Georgia, were used as the backdrop for the Catfish Festival and other downtown scenes. The coonhound cemetery was on Moore Street in Crawfordville and the bar was located at Heavy's Barbecue near the town. Glass that forms when lightning hits sand, as in the film, is called fulgurite.
Jake's glassblowing shop was filmed at an old mill named Starr's Mill, in Fayette County, Georgia. Wynn's Pond in Sharpsburg, Georgia, is where Jake lands his plane. The historic homes shown at Melanie's return to Pigeon Creek were shot in Eufaula, Alabama.
This film received mostly mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a critical score of 38% based on 160 reviews, with an average rating of 5.19/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "Reese Witherspoon is charming enough, but the road to Alabama is well-traveled." [2] At Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 45 out of 100 based on 35 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [3] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale. [4]
Roger Ebert, critic for the Chicago Sun Times, awarded it three out of four stars, commenting, "It is a fantasy, a sweet, light-hearted fairy tale with Reese Witherspoon at its center. She is as lovable as Doris Day would have been in this role... So I enjoyed Witherspoon and the local color, but I am so very tired of the underlying premise." [5] Andrew Sarris, critic for the New York Observer, said that the movie "Would be an unendurable viewing experience for this ultra-provincial New Yorker if 26-year-old Reese Witherspoon were not on hand to inject her pure fantasy character, Melanie Carmichael, with a massive infusion of old-fashioned Hollywood magic." [6]
The film grossed over US$35 million in its first weekend, ranking number one at the box office, beating The Tuxedo and Barbershop . [7] At the time, it had the highest September opening weekend, surpassing Rush Hour . [8] For a decade, the film would hold this record until 2012 when Hotel Transylvania took it. [9] Despite getting dethroned by Red Dragon , it still made $21.3 million during its second weekend. [10] By the end of its run in the United States, Sweet Home Alabama grossed over US$130 million, and another US$53,399,006 internationally. With a reported budget of US$30 million, it was a box office hit, despite the mixed reviews. [1]
Sweet Home Alabama was released on VHS and DVD on February 4, 2003, it was released on Blu-ray on November 6, 2012, as part of its 10th anniversary. [11] It sold 2 million DVD copies on its first day of release, [12] and sold 7.40 million copies earning a profit of over 128.7 million dollars. [13]
Association | Category | Recipient | Result | Ref(s). |
---|---|---|---|---|
BMI Film & Television Award | BMI Film Music Award | George Fenton | Won | |
GLAAD Media Award | Outstanding Film — Wide Release | Sweet Home Alabama | Nominated | |
Hollywood Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist Guild Award | Best Contemporary Hair Styling — Feature | Anne Morgan | Nominated | |
MTV Movie + TV Award | Best Female Performance | Reese Witherspoon | Nominated | |
Teen Choice Award | Choice Movie – Comedy | Sweet Home Alabama | Won | [14] |
Choice Movie Actress – Comedy | Reese Witherspoon | Nominated | [15] | |
Choice Movie Villain | Candice Bergen | Nominated | [15] | |
Choice Movie Liplock | Reese Witherspoon & Josh Lucas | Won | [14] |
Sweet Home Alabama (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), the film soundtrack, includes thirteen songs by different artists. [16]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Performer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Sweet Home Alabama" | Gary Rossington, Ronnie Van Zant, Edward King | Jewel | 3:43 |
2. | "Mine All Mine" | Kristyn Osborn, Hollie Poole | SHeDAISY | 3:55 |
3. | "Falling Down" | Avril Lavigne, David Alspach, Lauren Christy, Graham Edwards | Avril Lavigne | 3:54 |
4. | "Gonna Make You Love Me" | Ryan Adams | Ryan Adams | 2:36 |
5. | "To Think I Used to Love You (DJ Homicide Remix)" | Uncle Kracker | Uncle Kracker | 3:26 |
6. | "Keep Your Hands to Yourself" | Daniel J. Baird | The Calling | 3:06 |
7. | "Bring On the Day" | Amy Powers, Jeffrey C.J. Vanston | Charlotte Martin | 4:33 |
8. | "Long Gone Lonesome Blues" | Hank Williams | Sheryl Crow | 2:55 |
9. | "You Got Me" | Jason Chain | Jason Chain | 3:44 |
10. | "Now That I Know" | Eric Bazilian, Shannon McNally | Shannon McNally | 4:44 |
11. | "Marry Me" | Dolly Parton | Dolly Parton | 3:15 |
12. | "Weekend Song" | Matt Cantor, Pete Chill, Aston Harvey, Tenor Fly | Freestylers | 3:58 |
13. | "Felony Melanie - Sweet Home Alabama Suite (Score)" | George Fenton | George Fenton | 5:02 |
Total length: | 48:51 |
Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon is an American actress and producer. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Golden Globe Awards. Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2006 and 2015, and Forbes listed her among the world's 100 most powerful women in 2019 and 2021. In 2021, Forbes named her the world's highest earning actress, and in 2023, she was named one of the richest women in America with an estimated net worth of $440 million.
Candice Patricia Bergen is an American actress. She won five Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards for her portrayal of the title character on the CBS sitcom Murphy Brown. She is also known for her role as Shirley Schmidt on the ABC drama Boston Legal (2005–2008). In films, Bergen was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Starting Over (1979) and for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Gandhi (1982).
Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde is a 2003 American comedy film directed by Charles Herman-Wurmfeld and written by Kate Kondell. It is a sequel to the 2001 film Legally Blonde and the second film in the Legally Blonde series. It stars Reese Witherspoon alongside an ensemble cast featuring Sally Field, Regina King, Jennifer Coolidge, Bruce McGill, Dana Ivey, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Bob Newhart, Luke Wilson, and Bruce Thomas, with Coolidge, Wilson, and Thomas reprising their roles from the first film.
Melanie Richards Griffith is an American actress. Born in Manhattan to actress Tippi Hedren, she was raised mainly in Los Angeles, where she graduated from the Hollywood Professional School at age 16. In 1975, 17-year-old Griffith appeared opposite Gene Hackman in Arthur Penn's neo-noir film Night Moves. She later rose to prominence as an actor in films such as Brian De Palma's Body Double (1984), which earned her a National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress. Griffith's subsequent performance in the comedy Something Wild (1986) attracted critical acclaim before she was cast in 1988's Working Girl, which earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress and won her a Golden Globe.
Nancy Jane Meyers is an American filmmaker. She has written, produced, and directed many critically and commercially successful films. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Private Benjamin (1980). Her film Baby Boom (1987) was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy. She co-wrote Father of the Bride (1991), Father of the Bride Part II (1995), and both wrote and directed The Parent Trap (1998), What Women Want (2000), Something's Gotta Give (2003), The Holiday (2006), It's Complicated (2009), and The Intern (2015).
Fear is a 1996 American psychological thriller film directed by James Foley and written by Christopher Crowe. It stars Mark Wahlberg, Reese Witherspoon, William Petersen, Alyssa Milano and Amy Brenneman.
Election is a 1999 American black comedy film directed by Alexander Payne from a screenplay by Payne and Jim Taylor, based on Tom Perrotta's 1998 novel.
Ethan Embry is an American film and television actor. He is known for his roles as Mark in Empire Records, Preston in Can't Hardly Wait, The Bass Player in That Thing You Do!, and as Bobby Ray in Sweet Home Alabama and for his role in Brotherhood (2006-2008).
The Man in the Moon is a 1991 American coming of age drama film. It was the final film directed by Robert Mulligan before his death in 2008, from a screenplay written by Jenny Wingfield. It stars Reese Witherspoon in her film debut, Sam Waterston, Tess Harper, Emily Warfield, and Jason London.
Walk the Line is a 2005 American biographical drama film directed by James Mangold. The screenplay, written by Mangold and Gill Dennis, is based on two autobiographies by the American singer-songwriter Johnny Cash: Man in Black: His Own Story in His Own Words (1975) and Cash: The Autobiography (1997). The film follows Cash's early life, his romance with the singer June Carter, his ascent in the country music scene, and his drug addiction. It stars Joaquin Phoenix as Cash, Reese Witherspoon as Carter, Ginnifer Goodwin as Cash's first wife Vivian Liberto, and Robert Patrick as Cash's father.
Penelope is a 2006 fantasy romantic comedy film directed by Mark Palansky and starring Christina Ricci, James McAvoy, Catherine O'Hara, Peter Dinklage, Richard E. Grant, and Reese Witherspoon. The film tells the story of a young heiress named Penelope Wilhern, who had been born with the snout of a pig due to a curse that was placed on her family by a vengeful witch, believing the only way to break the curse was to find someone who truly loved her.
Douglas J. Eboch is an American screenwriter, author and educator, best known for the 2002 comedy Sweet Home Alabama, starring Reese Witherspoon, Josh Lucas, Patrick Dempsey and Candice Bergen.
How Do You Know is a 2010 American romantic comedy film directed, written and produced by James L. Brooks, and starring Reese Witherspoon, Owen Wilson, Paul Rudd and Jack Nicholson in his final film role. It was the third film to feature Witherspoon and Rudd following Overnight Delivery and Monsters vs. Aliens. The plot follows softball player Lisa (Witherspoon), who is caught in a love triangle between two men—the charming baseball player Matty (Wilson) and George (Rudd), a businessman who is charged for stock fraud.
Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail is the 2012 memoir by the American writer, author, and podcaster Cheryl Strayed. The memoir describes Strayed's 1,100-mile hike on the Pacific Crest Trail in 1995 as a journey of self-discovery. The book reached No. 1 on the New York Times Best Seller list, and was the first selection for Oprah's Book Club 2.0.
Wild is a 2014 American biographical adventure drama film directed by Jean-Marc Vallée and written by Nick Hornby, based on the 2012 memoir Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed. Starring Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern, Thomas Sadoski, Michiel Huisman, Gaby Hoffmann, Kevin Rankin, and W. Earl Brown, the film follows Strayed as she embarks on a solo hiking trip on the Pacific Crest Trail in 1995 after numerous personal problems had left her life in shambles.
Hot Pursuit is a 2015 American action comedy film directed by Anne Fletcher and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. Written by David Feeney and John Quaintance, the story follows a police officer assigned to protect the widow of a drug boss from corrupt cops and criminals who want her dead as they race through Texas to avoid detection. The film stars Reese Witherspoon and Sofía Vergara.
Downsizing is a 2017 American science fiction comedy-drama film directed by Alexander Payne, written by Payne and Jim Taylor, and starring Matt Damon, Christoph Waltz, Hong Chau, and Kristen Wiig. It tells the story of Paul Safranek, who decides to undergo a recently invented procedure to shrink his body so he can start a new life in an experimental community, which he ends up doing alone when his wife backs out at the last minute; his journey takes an unexpected turn after he befriends an impoverished activist. Principal photography for the film began in Ontario, Canada, on April 1, 2016.
Home Again is a 2017 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Hallie Meyers-Shyer, in her directorial debut. It stars Reese Witherspoon, Nat Wolff, Jon Rudnitsky, Pico Alexander, Michael Sheen and Candice Bergen, and follows a 40-year-old single mother who allows three young aspiring filmmakers to live with her in her Los Angeles home. The film was released on September 8, 2017, by Open Road Films and grossed $37 million worldwide.
Hallie Meyers-Shyer is an American actress and filmmaker. The daughter of filmmakers Charles Shyer and Nancy Meyers, she had small roles in several of her parents' films. She made her filmmaking debut in 2017 as the writer and director of the romantic comedy film Home Again.
Reese Witherspoon is an American actress. She made her acting debut in The Man in the Moon (1991). After featuring in the Disney production A Far Off Place (1993), she starred as a violent youth in Freeway (1996). She then rose to prominence in 1999 with Cruel Intentions and for her portrayal of Tracy Flick in the black comedy Election, which earned her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical nomination. She achieved fame for her work on romantic comedies with her role as Elle Woods in the comedy Legally Blonde (2001) and its 2003 sequel, as well as her starring role in Sweet Home Alabama (2002). She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of June Carter Cash in the 2005 biographical musical film Walk the Line. She also received an Academy Award nomination for her performance in the 2014 drama Wild.