America's Sweethearts (2001)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Joe Roth

Writers (WGA):

Billy Crystal (written by) &
Peter Tolan (written by)

Release Date:

20 July 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

America's hottest couple has just broken up...it will take more than special effects to get them back together.

Plot:

A movie publicist deals with the messy public split of his movie's co-stars while keeping reporters at bay while a reclusive director holds the film's print hostage.

Plot Keywords:

Press | Love | Publicist | Movie Star | Actor

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Julia Roberts	...	Kathleen "Kiki" Harrison
Billy Crystal	...	Lee Phillips
Catherine Zeta-Jones	...	Gwen Harrison
John Cusack	...	Eddie Thomas
Hank Azaria	...	Hector Gorgonzolas
Stanley Tucci	...	Dave Kingman
Christopher Walken	...	Hal Weidmann
Alan Arkin	...	Wellness Guide
Seth Green	...	Danny Wax
Scot Zeller	...	Davis
Larry King	...	Himself
Steve Pink	...	Limo Driver
Rainn Wilson	...	Dave O'Hanlon
Eric Balfour	...	Security Guard
Marty Belafsky	...	Security Guard

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for language, some crude and sexual humor.

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Malaysia:U | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:12 | Canada:PG | Finland:K-7 | France:U | Germany:6 | Hong Kong:IIA | Hungary:14 | Iceland:L | Netherlands:AL | Norway:A | Peru:14 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:15 | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #38091)

Filming Locations:

Descanso Gardens - 1418 Descanso Drive, La Cañada-Flintridge, California, USA

Company:

Revolution Studios

Trivia:

The character of Hal Weidmann is based on Hal Ashby.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Hector confronts Eddie at dinner, Hector stands and points his finger at the sitting Eddie. From Eddie's view, Hector is shouting and pointing with his right hand, but from Hector's view, you see his left hand pointing at Eddie.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: America first fell in love with Eddie Thomas and Gwen Harrison in the box office smash "Autumn With Greg And Peg". They had the most celebrated marriage in Hollywood. Who could forget how they hit one out of the park in "Requiem for an Outfielder"?

Movie Connections:

Spoofs 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Soundtrack:

Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps

Billy Crystal was good, Julia Roberts usually was ...

... but there were parts of this movie I didn't like. I liked it when it was funny, but a lot of the relationship stuff didn't appeal to me. The opening of the new film by Eddie Thomas and Gwen Harrison was great. Well, the reaction to it, anyway. I liked the attempts by Crystal's character to get these two bickering movie stars together, and the various problems that made that more difficult. I'm glad this was sanitized for network TV.

Julia Roberts did a good job as a plus-size woman, though her transformation was nothing short of a miracle, considering the time frame. For a change, she wasn't a beauty--at least not at first and certainly not in flashbacks to her chubby days. I liked most of her performance, but there were times when it's a good thing it was her, or the movie would have been in trouble.

I wish I had known it was Hank Azaria playing Gwen's conceited and bumbling boyfriend. He was pretty good.

Regardless of its faults, the surprise ending redeemed this movie. The two movie stars gave such laughably terrible performances in clips of their past work, and their next film promised more of the same ... but I won't say what the result was. Just know that it was not what one might expect.