Reese Witherspoon stars as Melanie Carmichael, an up and coming fashion designer living a fairy tale life in the Big Apple. The most eligible bachelor of the city, mayor's son Andrew (Patrick Dempsey), proposes to her in a fantastically romantic scene that will make all real life efforts seem pale and trite in comparison.
Unfortunately Melanie is already married to her childhood sweetheart, Jake (Josh Lucas) who has been refusing to sign the divorce papers for seven years. Melanie has to take a trip down memory lane to her hometown and a past that she tried to forget about. Pigeon Creek Alabama is her destination, an insular, red neck town where everybody knows your name. Although this is not quite a stereotypical southern town, it's not far off; these folks now look down on wife beating and welcome the one gay citizen into their hearts.
The plot is painfully predictable, with the outcome being blatantly obvious from the cutesy opening scene. It is a one-joke film that seems to be anti metropolis, and yet at the same time ridicules the stereotypical inhabitants of Pigeon Creek.
There are a few smile worthy moments; perhaps even a couple of chuckles, but the few major laughs are shown in the trailer. What ever happened to teaser trailers where you would have no clue what was going to happen?
Witherspoon shines as always, lighting up every scene with the charm and beauty, although it's incredibly irritating how quickly her strong southern accent comes back. She gives the character far more depth than many other actresses would be able to do, and almost has us believing that the films final outcome is for the best. There is also a superb supporting cast, with Fred Ward as Melanie's father, and, Etan Embry as Bobby Ray, who delivers a wonderfully comedic performance that almost carries the film.
This is a light-hearted feel good movie that is just about watch-able because of the excellent cast. It will have you reaching for the sick back on numerous occasions, especially the awful ending. A warm hearted romantic comedy that irritates instead of entertains.
Unfortunately Melanie is already married to her childhood sweetheart, Jake (Josh Lucas) who has been refusing to sign the divorce papers for seven years. Melanie has to take a trip down memory lane to her hometown and a past that she tried to forget about. Pigeon Creek Alabama is her destination, an insular, red neck town where everybody knows your name. Although this is not quite a stereotypical southern town, it's not far off; these folks now look down on wife beating and welcome the one gay citizen into their hearts.
The plot is painfully predictable, with the outcome being blatantly obvious from the cutesy opening scene. It is a one-joke film that seems to be anti metropolis, and yet at the same time ridicules the stereotypical inhabitants of Pigeon Creek.
There are a few smile worthy moments; perhaps even a couple of chuckles, but the few major laughs are shown in the trailer. What ever happened to teaser trailers where you would have no clue what was going to happen?
Witherspoon shines as always, lighting up every scene with the charm and beauty, although it's incredibly irritating how quickly her strong southern accent comes back. She gives the character far more depth than many other actresses would be able to do, and almost has us believing that the films final outcome is for the best. There is also a superb supporting cast, with Fred Ward as Melanie's father, and, Etan Embry as Bobby Ray, who delivers a wonderfully comedic performance that almost carries the film.
This is a light-hearted feel good movie that is just about watch-able because of the excellent cast. It will have you reaching for the sick back on numerous occasions, especially the awful ending. A warm hearted romantic comedy that irritates instead of entertains.