A young woman who has 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.A young woman who has 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.A young woman who has 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.
- Awards
- 3 wins & 6 nominations
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis was first film to shoot in New York City after the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center.
- GoofsAt the reception at the end of the movie, Mel's dress is clean and dry. On the beach just before, it was dirty and wet from the storm and sand.
- Quotes
Melanie Carmichael: The truth is I gave my heart away a long time ago, my whole heart, and I never really got it back.
- Crazy creditsDuring 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.
- ConnectionsEdited into Sweet Home Alabama: Deleted Scenes (2003)
- SoundtracksBring on the Day
Written by Amy Powers and CJ Vanston
Produced by CJ Vanston
Performed by Charlotte Martin
Courtesy of The RCA Records Label
Featured review
"Sweet Home Alabama" conceived as a simple "star vehicle" for Reese Witherspoon is advertised as a "romantic comedy". It's is quite formulaic, and surely no one entering the theater (or renting the video or DVD)has any doubt as to with whom Reese's Melanie Charmichael (Smooter) will end up with when the closing credits start to roll.
Herein lies the basic fault, however, with this interpretation of a tried and true plotline: by the end of the film it seems apparent that both of the two men in Melanie's life would be far better off without her. After accepting a proposal of marriage by the handsome and ambitious son of the May of New York City, Melanie proceeds back home to Alabama to finalize her divorce from her high school (and childhood) sweetheart, whom she abandoned seven years before, but has refused to sign the divorce papers. Upon returning to her modest roots (at variance with the more gentile upbringing she has led her New York friends and followers to believe) she insults her parents and old friends, becomes drunk (and mean) and vomits into her former husband's truck; let the hilarity ensue! In the meantime, in the part of the movie where the new fiancee is supposed to be revealed as boorish, vain and superficial, quite the opposite occurs, and the viewer is left with a very sympathetic view of the upperclass New York society man, who truly loves Melanie, and forgives her untruthfulness. Melanie's former husband, having set out to win Melanie back by making a success of himself in the intervening years discovers her to be the shallow superficial snob of the movie. Why then, would he want her back? Why did Melanie make up the story of a plantation upbringing anyway? She's just a conniving, lying, scheming, mean drunk.Where is the romance? Where is the comedy? Certainly not in Alabama.
Herein lies the basic fault, however, with this interpretation of a tried and true plotline: by the end of the film it seems apparent that both of the two men in Melanie's life would be far better off without her. After accepting a proposal of marriage by the handsome and ambitious son of the May of New York City, Melanie proceeds back home to Alabama to finalize her divorce from her high school (and childhood) sweetheart, whom she abandoned seven years before, but has refused to sign the divorce papers. Upon returning to her modest roots (at variance with the more gentile upbringing she has led her New York friends and followers to believe) she insults her parents and old friends, becomes drunk (and mean) and vomits into her former husband's truck; let the hilarity ensue! In the meantime, in the part of the movie where the new fiancee is supposed to be revealed as boorish, vain and superficial, quite the opposite occurs, and the viewer is left with a very sympathetic view of the upperclass New York society man, who truly loves Melanie, and forgives her untruthfulness. Melanie's former husband, having set out to win Melanie back by making a success of himself in the intervening years discovers her to be the shallow superficial snob of the movie. Why then, would he want her back? Why did Melanie make up the story of a plantation upbringing anyway? She's just a conniving, lying, scheming, mean drunk.Where is the romance? Where is the comedy? Certainly not in Alabama.
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Details
Box office
- Budget
- $30,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $127,223,418
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $35,648,740
- Sep 29, 2002
- Gross worldwide
- $180,622,424
- Runtime1 hour 48 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
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