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bhalsey
Reviews
Sweet Home Alabama (2002)
Actually, it's pretty accurate.
Other reviewers have extolled their views that this film does nothing but show Southerners in an insulting, stereotypical light. I beg to differ.
As a native Southerner who lived there for 23 years, I consider myself somewhat of a de facto expert on Southern life. In my experience, the South is much like that portrayed in this film. This is not a campy "Beverly Hillbillies" "make-fun-of-the-hicks" film; instead, it is a (mostly) accurate portrayal of modern Southern life. I identified with many of the customs, idioms and expressions, and overall gentle and simple culture that "Sweet Home Alabama" suggests.
However, I found the film a bit difficult to watch simply because it was painfully obvious that the dialect was completely artificial. The only convincing actor from this point of view was Jake (Josh Lucas), a native Arkansan. Reese Witherspoon, although born in Tennessee, has perhaps had too much voice coaching to lose her Southern twang and it shows. Other elements of the dialect were inaccurate, but can be overlooked in order to make the dialogue more accessible to all audiences.
As for the movie in general, it was a predictable plot line with mostly two-dimensional characters (save Witherspoon's), mediocre comedy, and a moderate Cheese Factor, but it was a good way to spend two hours on a Friday afternoon.
The Brotherhood (2001)
Should've been called The Velvetta-hood
Oh my! What a funny movie! I've been really depressed lately, and this was just the movie to cheer me up! Wow! I don't know what it is -- perhaps I have a higher tolerance for cheesy movies. It wasn't a waste of a film as far as I'm concerned -- I've been laughing since the very first 30 seconds of the film. Yes, the script totally sucks, and the direction totally sucks, and the acting totally sucks, but it's fun in a hokey kind of way. I especially liked the lines (paraphrased):
Chris: "You're vampires?" Devon: "No, vampires wear capes and turn into bats. I drive a Mazerati and spend an hour each day in the tanning bed."
The film was mildly homoerotic -- merely suggestive. Loved the underwear scenes.
Most of all, I think I've enjoyed reading everyone else's comments -- they're hilarious! :)