America's Sweethearts (2001)

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.

Director:

Joe Roth

Writers:

Billy Crystal, Peter Tolan

Stars:

Julia Roberts, John Cusack, Billy Crystal

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Julia Roberts	...	Kiki Harrison
Billy Crystal	...	Lee Phillips
Catherine Zeta-Jones	...	Gwen Harrison
John Cusack	...	Eddie Thomas
Hank Azaria	...	Hector
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

Storyline

In the midst of a nasty public breakup of married movie stars, a studio publicist scrambles to put a cap on the escalating situation as the couple's latest film has found its only print kidnapped by the director.

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Plot Keywords:

love | breakup | film within a film | rain | media | 

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Taglines:

The Crew's Here. The Cameras Are Rolling. And the Director's Got a Problem!

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Official Sites:

Columbia TriStar Films (Flash only) [UK]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 July 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

La pareja del año

Filming Locations:

Greystone Park & Mansion - 905 Loma Vista Drive, Beverly Hills, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$46,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$30,181,877, 22 July 2001, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$93,607,673, 28 October 2001

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$138,191,428

Company Credits

Production Co:

Revolution Studios, Face Productions, Roth-Arnold Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Steve Pink who played John Cusack's limo driver also played Cusack's classmate in Grosse Pointe Blank (1997). Pink was also a screenwriter for High Fidelity (2000) and directed Hot Tub Time Machine (2010), both starring Cusack.

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Goofs

The placement of the candles on the ledge of Gwen's bathtub changes between shots.

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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"?

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Alternate Versions

Several deleted scenes are included on the R1 DVD release, including an additional appearance by Alan Arkin's guru character and more footage of Hal. Also included is a scene that would have revealed that Eddie was cheating on Gwen, contradicting what is indicated in the final edit, and a scene showing Hector also cheating on Gwen.

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Connections

Spoofs Blade Runner (1982)

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Soundtracks

Falling in Love Again
Written by Anika Moa and James Reid
Performed by Anika Moa

User Reviews

Romance in Sweethearts Wins Out...

Joe Roth's "America's Sweethearts" starts off as an edgy dark comedy about the movie promotion business, then veers off into a conventional romantic comedy which better serves the talents of John Cusack, Julia Roberts and Catherine Zeta-Jones. This tangential storyline was written by Billy Crystal (also one the stars) and Lee Philips. The premise is very promising. America's Movie Sweethearts, Eddie Thomas (Cusack) and Gwen Harrison (Catherine Zeta-Jones), are no longer-- they are getting a divorce.

In fact Gwen has a restraining order on Eddie following their dramatic break-up. Gwen is shacked up with a Spaniard dancer, Hector (an embarrassing loser role played by Hank Azaria). Eddie now resides in a spiritual retreat following his meltdown. However, Eddie and Gwen made one last movie with eccentric genius, reclusive director Hal Weidmann (perfectly played by Christopher Walken). No one has seen the film which looks to be a rip-off of Jean-Claude Van Damme's "Time Cop". Weidmann professes this unseen movie is his greatest work. Studio Exec., Dave Kingman (Stanley Tucci), convinces promotions expert, Lee Philips (Crystal) whom he fired, to stay on and orchestrate the press junket for the movie. To bring the estranged Eddie and Gwen together, Lee enlists the aid of Kiki Harrison (Roberts) who is not only Gwen's "doormat" sister, but also her personal assistant. We soon learn that big hearted Kiki has always loved Eddie.

The movie industry inside jokes and details surrounding press junkets are great in the beginning of the movie. Though this wastes time in what is predictably a romance. Tucci's ruthless and humorless exec. is way too dark a character for this movie. Hector (Azaria) is a total waste of time here. For the amount of talent involved in this project it is amazing how much useless overhead is in the movie. Don't get me wrong here entirely-- I did enjoy the movie. What saves the movie are the wonderful talents of John Cusack and his natural chemistry with Julia Roberts. Zeta-Jones is believable as the self-absorbed ice bitch, Gwen-- let's hope that she does not make a habit of these kinds of roles. Julia Roberts is not stretching here as the good hearted, smart, and plain sister of movie star, Gwen. Though Roberts unquestionably has the movie star quality-- she enchants on screen. Cusack is the quirky romantic leading man of the Milennium, and plays Eddie with a bewilderment and smarts. You always get a sense of what's swirling in Cusack's Eddie's head. He is aware of his emotional instability, while promoting a movie he has never seen, with a woman he is no longer with. And the woman of his life is right in front of his face-- Kiki. Duh! Cusack is totally charming in his journey from cluelessness. Ultimately, he and Roberts make Sweethearts worth watching-- which is saying quite a lot.