Sweet Home Alabama (film)
Encyclopedia
Sweet Home Alabama is a 2002 American romantic comedy film directed by Andy Tennant
and stars Reese Witherspoon
, Josh Lucas
, and Patrick Dempsey
. The film was released on September 27, 2002.
The scene then moves to the present day. Melanie has changed her last name to Carmichael and is now a successful fashion designer in New York City. After becoming engaged to Andrew, the mayor's son, Melanie announces that she has to go back home alone to Alabama to tell her parents. She has not told Andrew that she is married to Jake.
Upon arrival in Alabama, Melanie demands a divorce and an explanation why Jake has for the last seven years returned the divorce papers unsigned. Jake refuses to sign the papers. Melanie retaliates by emptying out their joint checking account. After following Jake to a local bar, Melanie gets drunk and embarrasses herself in front of her friends confessing that she had previously been pregnant with Jake's baby and revealing that a mutual friend, Bobby Ray, is gay. Jake becomes angry with her and takes her home. When she wakes up the next morning, the divorce papers are lying on her bed signed by Jake.
Soon after, Melanie visits the Carmichael Plantation and tries to apologize to Bobby Ray. Though Bobby Ray accepts the apology, he explicitly tells Melanie that Jake is not the only person she left behind, expressing the sadness that all her friends have felt after she fled to New York City years ago. Just as Melanie is leaving the plantation, she finds herself cornered by a pushy reporter who claims to be from the New York Post (though in reality he is the assistant of Andrew's mother) and asks for a tour of the beautiful plantation where Melanie supposedly grew up. Desperately, Melanie tries to sneak back into the mansion, but once Bobby Ray realizes what is happening, he pretends to be Melanie's cousin and saves her from embarrassment. That afternoon, Melanie realizes that her friends are kind, caring individuals who never stopped loving her.
Melanie learns from a friend that Jake had once gone to New York City to try to find her because he still loved her. That night, Melanie goes to the cemetery to tell her old dog good bye. Jake shows up and they talk about why the marriage did not work. Jake wishes Melanie a good life with Andrew, but Melanie says she cannot do it and kisses him. Jake pushes her away, however, and tells her to go home.
Andrew arrives in town, looking for Melanie at the Carmichael plantation where Melanie had told him she grew up. Jake meets him and takes him to the field of a Civil War reenactment
, where Melanie is saying goodbye to her father. Jake tells Andrew that they are in love with two very different people. Andrew rebuffs Melanie and leaves.
Melanie returns to her parents' house, where her father walks in with Andrew. Andrew tells her that he does not care about the past and still wants to marry her. They decide to have the wedding in Alabama, and Andrew's mother comes down from New York. Once Melanie's friends from New York arrive, they discover that Jake has become a very successful glassblower and has his own company. Melanie is surprised to see what Jake has made out of himself and it is suddenly clear that he did it all to win her back.
On her wedding day, as she is walking down the aisle, her lawyer interrupts the ceremony and explains that the divorce is still not final because Melanie did not sign the divorce papers. Melanie explains to Andrew that she cannot marry him because she still loves Jake. Andrew is gracious, but his mother verbally attacks Melanie and the town. When she insults Melanie's mother, Melanie punches her.
Melanie finds Jake on the same beach as in the film's opening. Melanie tells him that the two are still married and she wants to be with him. As Jake and Melanie kiss, Wade, the town sheriff, interrupts them, explaining that Melanie is wanted because "she ran out on a perfectly good cake." Wade takes the pair back to Jake's mother's bar, where all of their friends and family are waiting. During the end credits, we see that the couple is living happily and they have a daughter.
, 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
. Oak Hill is a historic landmark in Georgia, and is on the Berry College
campus in Mount Berry, Georgia
.
The streets and storefronts of Crawfordville, Georgia
, were used as the backdrop for the Catfish Festival and other downtown scenes. The coon dog cemetery was on Moore Street in Crawfordville and the bar was located at Heavy's Bar-B-Que near the town.
Glass that forms when lightning hits sand, as in the movie, is called fulgurite
.
The glassblowing shop that belongs to Jake in the film was actually an old mill named Starr's Mill in Fayette County, Georgia
. When Jake lands his plane on the lake it was actually Wynn's Pond in Sharpsburg, Georgia
.
The historic homes Melanie passes by as she enters Pigeon Creek were shot in Eufaula, Alabama
.
listing, 37% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 154 reviews. Among Rotten Tomatoes' "Top Critics", the film has a rating of 39%. Roger Ebert
at the Chicago Sun Times awarded it 3 out of 4 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."
Andy Tennant
Andy Tennant is an American screenwriter, film and television director, and dancer.-Life and career:Born in Chicago, Illinois, Tennant was raised in Flossmoor, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. His father was Don Tennant, a legendary creative advertising talent with Leo Burnett Agency in Chicago...
and stars Reese Witherspoon
Reese Witherspoon
Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon , better known as Reese Witherspoon, is an American actress and film producer. Witherspoon landed her first feature role as the female lead in the film The Man in the Moon in 1991; later that year she made her television acting debut, in the cable movie Wildflower...
, Josh Lucas
Josh Lucas
Josh Lucas is an American actor. He has appeared in many films, including Glory Road, A Beautiful Mind, and Poseidon.-Early life:...
, and Patrick Dempsey
Patrick Dempsey
Patrick Galen Dempsey is an American actor, known for his role as neurosurgeon Dr. Derek Shepherd on the medical drama Grey's Anatomy. Prior to Grey's Anatomy he made several television appearances and was nominated for an Emmy Award...
. The film was released on September 27, 2002.
Plot
The film opens on an Alabama beach with two children chasing each other: Melanie Smooter and Jake Perry. The two discuss their future together. They kiss, and Jake says they will be married one day.The scene then moves to the present day. Melanie has changed her last name to Carmichael and is now a successful fashion designer in New York City. After becoming engaged to Andrew, the mayor's son, Melanie announces that she has to go back home alone to Alabama to tell her parents. She has not told Andrew that she is married to Jake.
Upon arrival in Alabama, Melanie demands a divorce and an explanation why Jake has for the last seven years returned the divorce papers unsigned. Jake refuses to sign the papers. Melanie retaliates by emptying out their joint checking account. After following Jake to a local bar, Melanie gets drunk and embarrasses herself in front of her friends confessing that she had previously been pregnant with Jake's baby and revealing that a mutual friend, Bobby Ray, is gay. Jake becomes angry with her and takes her home. When she wakes up the next morning, the divorce papers are lying on her bed signed by Jake.
Soon after, Melanie visits the Carmichael Plantation and tries to apologize to Bobby Ray. Though Bobby Ray accepts the apology, he explicitly tells Melanie that Jake is not the only person she left behind, expressing the sadness that all her friends have felt after she fled to New York City years ago. Just as Melanie is leaving the plantation, she finds herself cornered by a pushy reporter who claims to be from the New York Post (though in reality he is the assistant of Andrew's mother) and asks for a tour of the beautiful plantation where Melanie supposedly grew up. Desperately, Melanie tries to sneak back into the mansion, but once Bobby Ray realizes what is happening, he pretends to be Melanie's cousin and saves her from embarrassment. That afternoon, Melanie realizes that her friends are kind, caring individuals who never stopped loving her.
Melanie learns from a friend that Jake had once gone to New York City to try to find her because he still loved her. That night, Melanie goes to the cemetery to tell her old dog good bye. Jake shows up and they talk about why the marriage did not work. Jake wishes Melanie a good life with Andrew, but Melanie says she cannot do it and kisses him. Jake pushes her away, however, and tells her to go home.
Andrew arrives in town, looking for Melanie at the Carmichael plantation where Melanie had told him she grew up. Jake meets him and takes him to the field of a Civil War reenactment
American Civil War reenactment
American Civil War reenactment is an effort to recreate the appearance of a particular battle or other event associated with the American Civil War by hobbyists known as Civil War reenactors or Civil War recreationists...
, where Melanie is saying goodbye to her father. Jake tells Andrew that they are in love with two very different people. Andrew rebuffs Melanie and leaves.
Melanie returns to her parents' house, where her father walks in with Andrew. Andrew tells her that he does not care about the past and still wants to marry her. They decide to have the wedding in Alabama, and Andrew's mother comes down from New York. Once Melanie's friends from New York arrive, they discover that Jake has become a very successful glassblower and has his own company. Melanie is surprised to see what Jake has made out of himself and it is suddenly clear that he did it all to win her back.
On her wedding day, as she is walking down the aisle, her lawyer interrupts the ceremony and explains that the divorce is still not final because Melanie did not sign the divorce papers. Melanie explains to Andrew that she cannot marry him because she still loves Jake. Andrew is gracious, but his mother verbally attacks Melanie and the town. When she insults Melanie's mother, Melanie punches her.
Melanie finds Jake on the same beach as in the film's opening. Melanie tells him that the two are still married and she wants to be with him. As Jake and Melanie kiss, Wade, the town sheriff, interrupts them, explaining that Melanie is wanted because "she ran out on a perfectly good cake." Wade takes the pair back to Jake's mother's bar, where all of their friends and family are waiting. During the end credits, we see that the couple is living happily and they have a daughter.
Cast
- Reese WitherspoonReese WitherspoonLaura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon , better known as Reese Witherspoon, is an American actress and film producer. Witherspoon landed her first feature role as the female lead in the film The Man in the Moon in 1991; later that year she made her television acting debut, in the cable movie Wildflower...
as Melanie ("Carmichael") Smooter-Perry - Josh LucasJosh LucasJosh Lucas is an American actor. He has appeared in many films, including Glory Road, A Beautiful Mind, and Poseidon.-Early life:...
as Jake Perry - Patrick DempseyPatrick DempseyPatrick Galen Dempsey is an American actor, known for his role as neurosurgeon Dr. Derek Shepherd on the medical drama Grey's Anatomy. Prior to Grey's Anatomy he made several television appearances and was nominated for an Emmy Award...
as Andrew Hennings - Candice BergenCandice BergenCandice Patricia Bergen is an American actress and former fashion model.She is known for starring in two TV series, as the title character on the situation comedy Murphy Brown , for which she won five Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards; and as Shirley Schmidt on the comedy-drama Boston Legal...
as Mayor Kate Hennings - Mary Kay PlaceMary Kay PlaceMary Kay Place is an American actress, singer, director and screen writer. She is best known as portraying Loretta Haggers on the television series Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, a role which won her a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress - Comedy Series in 1977...
as Pearl Smooter - Fred WardFred WardFreddie Joe "Fred" Ward is an American actor. He began his career in 1979 alongside Clint Eastwood in Escape from Alcatraz. He is best known for his starring roles in the motion pictures Remo Williams, Tremors, Henry & June, Short Cuts, The Right Stuff and Exit Speed...
as Earl Smooter - Jean SmartJean SmartJean E. Smart is an American film, television, and stage actress. She is known for her comedic roles, one of the best known being her role as Charlene Frazier Stillfield on the CBS sitcom Designing Women. She later gained critical acclaim for dramatic work, with her portrayal of Martha Logan on 24...
as Stella Kay Perry - Ethan EmbryEthan EmbryEthan Philan Randall , although he is known and usually credited as Ethan Embry, is an American film and television actor. He is known for his role as Declan Giggs on the Showtime television series Brotherhood.-Personal life:...
as Bobby Ray - Melanie LynskeyMelanie LynskeyMelanie Jayne Lynskey is a New Zealand actress best known for playing Charlie Harper's neighbor/stalker Rose on Two and a Half Men, and a range of characters in films such as Win Win, Up in the Air, The Informant!, Away We Go, Flags of Our Fathers, Shattered Glass, Sweet Home Alabama, Ever After...
as Lurlynn - Courtney GainsCourtney Gains-Life and career:Gains achieved success during the 1980s with a variety of roles in films such as Children of the Corn, Hardbodies, Lust in the Dust, Back to the Future, Can't Buy Me Love, Colors,Wing Commander III, The 'Burbs and Memphis Belle...
as Sheriff Wade - Mary Lynn RajskubMary Lynn RajskubMary Lynn Rajskub is an American actress and comedian, best known for her leading role as Chloe O'Brian on the Fox action-thriller 24.-Early life:...
as Dorothea - Rhona MitraRhona MitraRhona Natasha Mitra , sometimes credited as Rona Mitra, is an English actress, model and singer.-Early life:Mitra was born in Paddington, London, England, the daughter of Anthony Mitra, a cosmetic surgeon, and Nora Downey...
as Tabatha Wadmore-Smith - Nathan Lee GrahamNathan Lee GrahamNathan Lee Graham is an American cabaret artist, stage, television and film actor, singer, writer and director. His roles in feature film include Todd in Zoolander, Frederick Montana in Sweet Home Alabama and Geoff in Hitch. He has appeared in independent films like Confessions of an Action Star,...
as Frederick Montana - Sean Bridgers as Eldon
- Fleet Cooper as Clinton
- Kevin SussmanKevin SussmanKevin Sussman is an American actor of television and film perhaps best known for his recurring roles Stuart the comic book store owner on "The Big Bang Theory" and Walter on the ABC comedy-drama Ugly Betty....
as Barry Lowenstein - Thomas CurtisThomas Curtis (actor)Thomas Wayne Curtis is an American actor. Curtis has starred in The Cactus Kid, Sweet Home Alabama, Red Dragon and The Chumscrubber. He also act in Hansel & Gretel and North Country - along with Oscar winner: Charlize Theron...
as Young Jake - Dakota FanningDakota FanningHannah Dakota Fanning , better known as Dakota Fanning, is an American actress. Fanning's breakthrough performance was in I Am Sam in 2001. As a child actress, she appeared in high-profile films such as Man on Fire, War of the Worlds, and Charlotte's Web...
as Young Melanie - Mark Skinner as Bruno
- Michelle KrusiecMichelle KrusiecMichelle J. Krusiec born October 2, 1974 in Fallon, Nevada, is an American actress of Taiwanese ancestry.Krusiec was recruited to be one of six globe-trotting travel reporters for the Discovery Channel new series called Travelers...
as Pan - Phil Cater as Pablo
- Michael Snow as Devin
- Bob Penny as Wallace Buford
- Mark MatkevichMark MatkevichMark Matkevich is an American actor best known for appearing as Drue Valentine in 17 episodes of the television program Dawson's Creek. Matkevich has also had recurring roles on Ed and Joan of Arcadia...
as Tom Darovsic - Lee Roy Giles as Eugene the Guard
- Afemo Omilami as Jimmy Lee
- Kevin Hagan as Jimmy the Driver
- Dennis Ryan as Reporter
- Jim O'ConnorJim O'ConnorJim O'Connor is an American actor and former host of the show The Secret Life Of.... O'Connor first appeared on the Food Network as the host of All-American Festivals, replacing Tyler Florence as host. Later O'Connor went on to host the new Food Network show, The Secret Life Of... for three years,...
as Reporter - Leslie HendrixLeslie HendrixLeslie Hendrix is an American actress. She is best known for playing the role of Elizabeth Rodgers on four Law & Order series...
as Reporter - Mark Oliver as Guard #2
- Colin FordColin FordColin Ford is an American child actor and voice actor. He is best known for his role as young Sam Winchester in the 2005 TV Series, Supernatural.-Biography:...
as Clinton Jr. (uncredited) - Jason Guy as Photographer at the Red Carpet (uncredited)
- Andrew PrineAndrew PrineAndrew Lewis Prine is an American film, stage, and television actor.-Early life and career:Prine was born in Jennings, Florida. After graduation from Andrew Jackson High School in Miami, Prine made his acting debut three years later in an episode of CBS U.S. Steel Hour...
as Sheriff Holt (uncredited)
Production
Although centered in the fictionalized town of Pigeon Creek, near a fictional version of Greenville, AlabamaGreenville, Alabama
Greenville is a city in Butler County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census, the population was 7,228. The city is the county seat of Butler County and is known as the Camellia City. The movement to change the Official Alabama State Flower from the goldenrod to the camellia originated in...
, 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
Oak Hill Berry Museum
Oak Hill & The Martha Berry Museum is the home and museum about Berry College founder Martha Berry located in Rome, Georgia. It is also an All-America Selections Display Garden, a part of Berry Schools on the National Register of Historic Places, and a AAA Star Attraction.-Oak Hill:Oak Hill is a ...
. Oak Hill is a historic landmark in Georgia, and is on the Berry College
Berry College
Berry College is an American accredited, private, four-year liberal arts college located in Mount Berry, unincorporated Floyd County, Georgia, north of Rome. It was founded in 1902 by Martha Berry.-Location:Berry College is located on U.S...
campus in Mount Berry, Georgia
Mount Berry, Georgia
Mount Berry is an unincorporated community contiguous with the main campus of Berry College in Floyd County, Georgia, United States, bordering the city of Rome. Mount Berry was named after Berry College founder Martha Berry...
.
The streets and storefronts of Crawfordville, Georgia
Crawfordville, Georgia
Crawfordville is a city in Taliaferro County, Georgia, United States. The population was 572 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Taliaferro County.-Geography:Crawfordville is located at ....
, were used as the backdrop for the Catfish Festival and other downtown scenes. The coon dog cemetery was on Moore Street in Crawfordville and the bar was located at Heavy's Bar-B-Que near the town.
Glass that forms when lightning hits sand, as in the movie, is called fulgurite
Fulgurite
Fulgurites are natural hollow glass tubes formed in quartzose sand, or silica, or soil by lightning strikes. They are formed when lightning with a temperature of at least instantaneously melts silica on a conductive surface and fuses grains together; the fulgurite tube is the cooled product...
.
The glassblowing shop that belongs to Jake in the film was actually an old mill named Starr's Mill in Fayette County, Georgia
Fayette County, Georgia
Fayette County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of 2000, the population was 91,263. The 2007 Census Estimate shows a population of 106,144. The county seat is Fayetteville....
. When Jake lands his plane on the lake it was actually Wynn's Pond in Sharpsburg, Georgia
Sharpsburg, Georgia
Sharpsburg is a town in Coweta County, Georgia, United States. The population was 316 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Sharpsburg is located at ....
.
The historic homes Melanie passes by as she enters Pigeon Creek were shot in Eufaula, Alabama
Eufaula, Alabama
Eufaula is a city in Barbour County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 13,908.-Geography:Eufaula is located at 31°53'21.732" North, 85°9'13.586" West ....
.
Critical reception
The film received mostly negative reviews from critics. On the film's Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
listing, 37% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 154 reviews. Among Rotten Tomatoes' "Top Critics", the film has a rating of 39%. Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
at the Chicago Sun Times awarded it 3 out of 4 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
Doris Day
Doris Day is an American actress, singer and, since her retirement from show business, an animal rights activist. With an entertainment career that spanned through almost 50 years, Day started her career as a big band singer in 1939, but only began to be noticed after her first hit recording,...
would have been in this role... So I enjoyed Witherspoon and the local color, but I am so very tired of the underlying premise."
Box office
Generating the biggest opening of September, the film grossed over $35 million in its first weekend. By the end of its run in the U.S., Sweet Home Alabama grossed over $130 million and another $53,399,006 internationally.Awards
The film also won the following awards:- 2003 BMI Film Music Award - George FentonGeorge FentonGeorge Fenton is a British composer best known for his work writing film scores and music for television, although he also writes music for the theatre. His real name is George Howe but he is better known by his pseudonym of George Fenton.-Selected film and television credits:Fenton has composed...
- 2003 Teen Choice Award - Movie - Comedy
- 2003 Teen Choice Award - Movie - Liplock - Reese WitherspoonReese WitherspoonLaura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon , better known as Reese Witherspoon, is an American actress and film producer. Witherspoon landed her first feature role as the female lead in the film The Man in the Moon in 1991; later that year she made her television acting debut, in the cable movie Wildflower...
; Josh LucasJosh LucasJosh Lucas is an American actor. He has appeared in many films, including Glory Road, A Beautiful Mind, and Poseidon.-Early life:... - 2003 Teen Choice Award nomination - Movie - Actress - Reese Witherspoon
- 2003 Teen Choice Award nomination - Movie - Villain - Candice BergenCandice BergenCandice Patricia Bergen is an American actress and former fashion model.She is known for starring in two TV series, as the title character on the situation comedy Murphy Brown , for which she won five Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards; and as Shirley Schmidt on the comedy-drama Boston Legal...
- 2003 GLAAD Media Award nomination - Outstanding Film - Wide Release
- 2003 Golden Trailer Award nomination - Best Romance
- 2003 Hollywood Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist Guild Award nomination - Best Contemporary Hair Styling - Feature - Anne Morgan
- 2003 MTV Movie Award nomination - Best Female Performance - Reese Witherspoon