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This film, which can be rentedfrom your local video store, israted on a scale of 1 to 4 caducei:
SWEET HOME ALABAMA
New York
Times
Sweet Home Alabama
Anna and the King
Ever After
(2002): Beforethis movie hit thetheaters, I rememberreadingan article about itin the . The criticwas only given apartial preview ofthe movie, andshe said that her final review of itwould depend on the ending thatshe had yet to see—I couldn'tagree more. is about a New York fashiondesigner, Melanie (Reese Witherspoon),who accepts the marriageproposal of her JFK Jr-esqueboyfriend (Patrick Dempsey).Before proceeding, Melanie mustreturn to her small-town roots tosecretly secure a divorce from herhigh school sweetheart, Jake (JoshLucas). This is easier said thandone; Jake is reluctant to granther a divorce and Melanie's feelingfor him are rekindled. Normallyin a movie like this, theending is obvious; in this case,however, I felt as though even thedirector (Andy Tennant) wasn'tsure which way he wanted thefilm to go until he shot the finalframe (this is possibly why theabove-mentioned critic was notshown the ending). Tennant hasdone some good work in the past,including and, but I don't think thismovie measures up.
Rating: 1.5
Lisa A. Tomaszewski, managing editor of
Physician's Money Digest, is currently
working on her PhD in literature at Drew
University in New Jersey. She is an avid
fan of film and has taught a summer film
course at Fairleigh Dickinson University.
She welcomes questions, comments, or
suggestions for future film reviews at
732-656-1140 ext. 195 or ltomaszewski@pmdnet.com.