Sweet Home Alabama

Making only a minimal effort to be any different or better than the hundreds of other forgettable, predictable, almost-married-the-wrong-guy romantic comedies that have come before it, Sweet Home Alabama has a talented, appealing cast, but is entirely dependent on clichés to drive its story. Reese Witherspoon stars as a New York fashion designer engaged to the political mover-and-shaker son (Patrick Dempsey) of the city's image-conscious mayor (Candice Bergen). Before she can marry him, however, she'll have to divorce her small-town, hayseed childhood sweetheart--a handsome, blue-eyed, Paul Newman-smirk-wearing charmer (Josh Lucas) with whom she did nothing but fight before following her ambition to the Big Apple. While you know exactly where this is going, Witherspoon and Lucas do have terrific, combustible chemistry. But the longer the film goes on, the more formulaic it becomes, and virtually no mention is made of Witherspoon's budding career after she leaves Manhattan early in the movie. Optional. [Note: DVD extras include audio commentary by director Andy Tennant, an “Off the Cutting Room Floor” section with eight deleted scenes featuring onscreen introductions by Tennant, a four-minute alternate ending with onscreen intro and closing by Tennant, and the music video “Mine All Mine” by SHeDAISY. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a winning, if flawed, film.] (R. Blackwelder)