Sweet Home Alabama (film)

For the song, see Sweet Home Alabama.

Sweet Home Alabama
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Andy Tennant
Screenplay by	C. Jay Cox
Story by	Douglas J. Eboch
Produced by	Neal H. Moritz Stokely Chaffin
Starring	Reese Witherspoon Josh Lucas Patrick Dempsey Fred Ward Mary Kay Place Jean Smart Candice Bergen
Cinematography	Andrew Dunn
Edited by	Troy Takaki Tracey Wadmore-Smith
Music by	George Fenton
Production companies	Touchstone Pictures Original Film
Distributed by	Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
Release date	September 27, 2002 (2002-09-27) (United States)
Running time	109 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$30 million
Box office	$180.6 million

Sweet Home Alabama is a 2002 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Andy Tennant and written by C. Jay Cox. It stars Reese Witherspoon as Melanie Carmichael, a New York fashion designer who returns to her Southern hometown to finalize a divorce from her estranged husband, played by Josh Lucas, before marrying her fiancé, portrayed by Patrick Dempsey. The supporting cast includes Fred Ward, Mary Kay Place, Jean Smart, Candice Bergen, Ethan Embry, and Melanie Lynskey. The film takes its title from the 1974 Lynyrd Skynyrd song of the same name.

The film was released theatrically in the United States on September 27, 2002, by Buena Vista Pictures under the Touchstone Pictures label. Although it received generally negative reviews from critics, Sweet Home Alabama emerged as a commercial success, grossing over $180 million worldwide against a production budget of $30 million.

Plot

As children in Pigeon Creek, Alabama, Jake Perry and Melanie Smooter witness lightning striking a beach, fusing the sand into glass. Jake tells Melanie they are destined to marry one day.

Years later, Melanie is a successful fashion designer in New York City who has adopted the surname "Carmichael" to distance herself from her rural Southern upbringing. After her wealthy boyfriend, Andrew Hennings, proposes to her, she travels home to Alabama to announce the engagement to her parents, Earl and Pearl Smooter, and to finalize a long-pending divorce from Jake, her estranged husband. Melanie and Jake had married young, but the relationship ended after she suffered a miscarriage and left for New York. Meanwhile, Andrew's mother, Kate, the Mayor of New York City, disapproves of Melanie and views her as an unsuitable match for her son, whom she is grooming for a political career.

Jake refuses to sign the divorce papers and orders Melanie out of his home. In retaliation, she empties his joint checking account, hoping to provoke him. Later that evening, she follows Jake to a local bar, becomes intoxicated, alienates her former friends, and publicly outs her childhood friend Bobby Ray. Jake intervenes and prevents her from driving drunk. The next morning, Melanie finds the signed divorce papers on her bed.

Melanie visits the Carmichael plantation to apologize to Bobby Ray, who lives there with his family. While there, she is confronted by Barry Lowenstein, Kate’s assistant, who is investigating Melanie’s background. Bobby Ray supports Melanie’s false claim that the estate belongs to her family. After reconciling with her old friends, Melanie learns that Jake once followed her to New York in an attempt to win her back but returned to Alabama after being overwhelmed by the city and her success.

Andrew arrives unexpectedly and learns of Melanie’s real background and ongoing marriage to Jake. He initially calls off the wedding but later forgives her and proceeds with the plans. During the preparations, Melanie visits a local glassblowing gallery and realizes Jake is the artist behind its work and the owner of the business.

On the day of the wedding at the Carmichael estate, Melanie’s lawyer interrupts the ceremony to reveal that she never signed the final divorce papers. About to sign them at the altar, Melanie instead announces that she still loves Jake and cannot marry Andrew. She returns the engagement ring and punches Kate when provoked. Melanie then races to find Jake, who is on the beach crafting glass sculptures using lightning rods. They reunite and return to the reception, where they share a first dance as husband and wife.

In a mid-credits scene, it is revealed that Melanie and Jake have a daughter, she continues her design career, and Jake opens a New York branch of his glassblowing business. Andrew is shown to be engaged to another woman.

Cast

• Reese Witherspoon as Melanie Carmichael (née Smooter)
  • Dakota Fanning as Young Melanie
• Josh Lucas as Jake Perry
  • Thomas Curtis as Young Jake
• Patrick Dempsey as Andrew Hennings
• Fred Ward as Earl Smooter
• Mary Kay Place as Pearl Smooter
• Jean Smart as Stella Kay Perry
• Ethan Embry as Bobby Ray Bailey
• Melanie Lynskey as Lurlynn
• Courtney Gains as Sheriff Wade
• Mary Lynn Rajskub as Dorothea
• Rhona Mitra as Tabatha Wadmore-Smith
• Nathan Lee Graham as Frederick Montana
• Candice Bergen as Kate Hennings
• Kevin Sussman as Barry Lowenstein
• Katharine Towne as Erin Vanderbilt

Production

Development

Sweet Home Alabama was developed as a romantic comedy exploring themes of identity, home, and personal growth, set against the backdrop of the American South. The title and loose thematic inspiration come from Lynyrd Skynyrd’s 1974 hit of the same name. The script was written by C. Jay Cox and directed by Andy Tennant, whose previous romantic comedy Ever After (1998) had met with both commercial and critical success.

Casting

Charlize Theron was initially considered for the role of Melanie Smooter. However, the role ultimately went to Reese Witherspoon, whose rising popularity following Legally Blonde (2001) made her a commercially viable lead. Katharine Towne was cast as Melanie’s assistant in New York, with a subplot involving her character marrying Andrew (Patrick Dempsey) in the final act, but those scenes were ultimately cut during editing.

Filming

Though set in a fictional town near Greenville, Alabama, Sweet Home Alabama was filmed primarily in Georgia. The Carmichael Plantation, portrayed as Melanie’s childhood home, was filmed at Oak Hill, part of the Oak Hill & The Martha Berry Museum located on the campus of Berry College in Rome, Georgia.

Crawfordville, Georgia, served as the main stand-in for Pigeon Creek, providing the backdrop for several key scenes including the Catfish Festival, town square sequences, and downtown storefronts. Heavy’s Barbecue, an actual restaurant near the town, was used as the bar location. The coonhound cemetery featured in the film was created along Moore Street in Crawfordville.

Jake’s glassblowing studio was filmed at Starr’s Mill in Fayette County, Georgia, while Wynn’s Pond in Sharpsburg, Georgia, was used for the scene in which Jake lands his seaplane. Additional exterior shots, including Melanie’s arrival in town, were filmed in Eufaula, Alabama, known for its historic antebellum homes.

The film also included scenes shot in New York City. Notably, it was the first production granted permission to film inside Tiffany & Co. since Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961). It was also one of the first major films to shoot in the city following the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Release

Box office

Sweet Home Alabama was released in the United States on September 27, 2002, and debuted at number one at the box office. It earned $35.6 million in its opening weekend, setting a then-record for the highest September opening, surpassing Rush Hour (1998). The film retained a strong hold in its second weekend, grossing $21.3 million despite being displaced from the top spot by Red Dragon.

Domestically, the film went on to earn $130.2 million, with an additional $53.4 million from international markets, bringing its worldwide total to approximately $183.6 million. Produced on a budget of $30 million, the film was considered a significant commercial success and one of the year’s top-performing romantic comedies.

Critical response

Sweet Home Alabama received mixed reviews from critics, though Reese Witherspoon's performance was widely praised. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 38% based on 160 reviews, with an average rating of 5.19/10. The site's consensus reads: "Witherspoon is charming enough, but the road to Alabama is well-traveled." On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 45 out of 100, based on 35 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews." Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale.

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times awarded the film three out of four stars, describing it as "a sweet, light-hearted fairy tale" and commending Witherspoon's performance, likening her to Doris Day. Andrew Sarris of The New York Observer noted that the film "would be an unendurable viewing experience... if 26-year-old Witherspoon were not on hand to inject her pure fantasy character... with a massive infusion of old-fashioned Hollywood magic."

Other critics were less favorable. Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian criticized the film for lacking the style and brio of classic screwball comedies, stating it was "a disappointment after the fizz of Legally Blonde (2001) and the astringency of Election (1999)." Alan Morrison of Empire acknowledged Witherspoon's talent but pointed out the film's shortcomings, noting that "the darker, more interesting material isn't really able to breathe." Kimberly Jones of The Austin Chronicle observed that while the film "plays pleasantly enough," it "rarely cuts loose with the rowdy abandon of the song that inspired it," suggesting a need for "less New York, and more Alabama."

Accolades

Award	Date of the ceremony	Category	Recipients	Result	Ref.
GLAAD Media Awards	7 April 2003	Outstanding Film – Wide Release	Sweet Home Alabama	Nominated
BMI Film & TV Awards	14 May 2003	Film Music Award	George Fenton	Won
MTV Movie & TV Awards	31 May 2003	Best Female Performance	Reese Witherspoon	Nominated
Teen Choice Awards	2 August 2003	Choice Movie – Comedy	Sweet Home Alabama	Won
		Choice Movie Actress – Comedy	Reese Witherspoon	Nominated
		Choice Movie Villain	Candice Bergen	Nominated
		Choice Movie Liplock	Reese Witherspoon & Josh Lucas	Won

Soundtrack

Sweet Home Alabama (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), the film soundtrack, includes thirteen songs by different artists.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Performer(s)	Length
1.	"Sweet Home Alabama"	Gary Rossington, Ronnie Van Zant, Edward King	Jewel	3:43
2.	"Mine All Mine"	Kristyn Osborn, Hollie Poole	SHeDAISY	3:55
3.	"Falling Down"	Avril Lavigne, David Alspach, Lauren Christy, Graham Edwards	Avril Lavigne	3:54
4.	"Gonna Make You Love Me"	Ryan Adams	Ryan Adams	2:36
5.	"To Think I Used to Love You (DJ Homicide Remix)"	Uncle Kracker	Uncle Kracker	3:26
6.	"Keep Your Hands to Yourself"	Daniel J. Baird	The Calling	3:06
7.	"Bring On the Day"	Amy Powers, Jeffrey C.J. Vanston	Charlotte Martin	4:33
8.	"Long Gone Lonesome Blues"	Hank Williams	Sheryl Crow	2:55
9.	"You Got Me"	Jason Chain	Jason Chain	3:44
10.	"Now That I Know"	Eric Bazilian, Shannon McNally	Shannon McNally	4:44
11.	"Marry Me"	Dolly Parton	Dolly Parton	3:15
12.	"Weekend Song"	Matt Cantor, Pete Chill, Aston Harvey, Tenor Fly	Freestylers	3:58
13.	"Felony Melanie - Sweet Home Alabama Suite (Score)"	George Fenton	George Fenton	5:02
Total length:				48:51

Home media

Sweet Home Alabama was released on VHS and DVD by Buena Vista Home Entertainment on February 4, 2003. The film was later issued on Blu-ray on November 6, 2012, to commemorate its 10th anniversary. On its first day of release, the DVD sold approximately 2 million copies. By the end of its home media run, it had sold over 7.4 million DVD units, generating more than $128.7 million in revenue.

See also

• The Judge—a 2014 film with a similar plot of a protagonist with a successful big city career drawn back to an old hometown.
• Middle America

External links

• Sweet Home Alabama at IMDb