Sweet Home Alabama (2002)

A young woman who's reinvented herself as a New York City socialite must return home to Alabama to obtain a divorce from her husband, after seven years of separation.

Director:

Andy Tennant

Writers:

Douglas J. Eboch (story), C. Jay Cox (screenplay)

Stars:

Reese Witherspoon, Patrick Dempsey, Josh Lucas

3 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Reese Witherspoon	...	Melanie Smooter
Josh Lucas	...	Jake Perry
Patrick Dempsey	...	Andrew Hennings
Candice Bergen	...	Mayor Kate Hennings
Mary Kay Place	...	Pearl Smooter
Fred Ward	...	Earl Smooter
Jean Smart	...	Stella Kay Perry
Ethan Embry	...	Bobby Ray
Melanie Lynskey	...	Lurlynn
Courtney Gains	...	Sheriff Wade
Mary Lynn Rajskub	...	Dorothea
Rhona Mitra	...	Tabatha Wadmore-Smith
Nathan Lee Graham	...	Frederick Montana
Sean Bridgers	...	Eldon
Fleet Cooper	...	Clinton

Storyline

Melanie Carmichael, an up and rising fashion designer in New York, has gotten almost everything she wished for since she was little. She has a great career and the JFK-like fiancée of New York City. But when he proposes to her, she doesn't forget about her family back down South. More importantly, her husband back there, who refuses to divorce her ever since she sent divorce papers seven years ago. To set matters straight, she decides to go to the south quick and make him sign the papers. When things don't turn out the way she planned them, she realizes that what she had before in the south was far more perfect than the life she had in New York City.

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Plot Keywords:

divorce | husband wife relationship | gay friend | new york city | alabama | 

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Taglines:

To friere er en for mange... spesielt når du allerede er gift med den ene...

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some language/sexual references

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 September 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Melanie's Getting Married

Filming Locations:

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$38,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$35,648,740, 29 September 2002, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$127,223,418

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$53,399,006

Company Credits

Production Co:

Touchstone Pictures,Original Film,D&D Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jake's glassblowing shop was filmed in Fayette County Georgia at an old mill called Starr's Mill. The exterior was repainted and the porch was rebuilt for the movie. The bridges were later washed away in a flood.

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Goofs

When Melanie is walking to the fair, we see a fire truck with "Pigeon Creek Fire Department" on its door with the initials "K.F.D." clearly present on the front right corner of the truck.

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Quotes

Pearl Smooter: Your daddy... Lord, but I was a fool for that man. I couldn't even put one foot in front of the other. I just kept thinking, "Oh, preacher, hurry up before he changes his mind!" Now that man makes me so crazy sometimes I could wring his neck!
Melanie Carmichael: You still love him, though.
Pearl Smooter: God knows I do. And only He knows why.

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Crazy Credits

During the end credits some photos are shown with the cast. In a sequence of them Melanie's parents are "scared" by a punk with a pierced tongue, Mel's co-worker from the beginning of the movie, who comments on her accent when she dreams.

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Connections

Referenced in The Benchwarmers (2006)

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Soundtracks

Weekend Song
Written by Matt Cantor, Pete Chill, Aston Harvey, Tenor Fly (as Jonathan Sutter), and Paul Davis
Performed by Freestylers (as The Freestylers)
Courtesy of The Freskanova
Under exclusive license to Mammoth Records, Inc.

User Reviews

favorite movie!!!

Everyone is taking this movie too seriously. It's my favorite chick flick movie. There is no violence, except when she hits the mayor, no drugs, sex and only a little bit of questionable language. And some of the accents are accurate, at least the ones from the people I know from Alabama. Plus, it's a MOVIE. It's so funny! I'm from NJ and I don't think it portrays the South in a bad light. It's not meant to be a serious movie, just something to make you laugh go awwwww. If anything it portrays New York as a crowded dirty place...and it is..but not everyone in New York is rude...um OK, maybe I take that one back. Anyway don't criticize it, it's just a romantic comedy and how many of them are actually worth watching??? Go Ethan Embry and Josh Lucas!!!