America's Sweethearts
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJoe Roth
Written by
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyPhedon Papamichael Jr.
Edited byStephen A. Rotter
Music byJames Newton Howard
Production
companies
Distributed bySony Pictures Releasing
Release date
  • July 20, 2001 (2001-07-20)
Running time
103 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$46 million[2]
Box office$138.3 million[3]

America's Sweethearts is a 2001 American romantic comedy film directed by Joe Roth and written by Billy Crystal and Peter Tolan. It stars Julia Roberts, Billy Crystal, John Cusack and Catherine Zeta-Jones, with Hank Azaria, Stanley Tucci, Seth Green, Alan Arkin, and Christopher Walken in smaller roles.

Plot

Veteran publicist Lee Phillips has recently been fired from his position at a major film studio. Studio head Dave Kingman invites him back for a private screening of Time Over Time, a new time travel thriller starring Gwen Harrison and Eddie Thomas. Eddie and Gwen were a beloved husband-and-wife team dubbed “America’s Sweethearts” whose marriage fell apart when Gwen had an affair with her foppish co-star Hector, causing Eddie to suffer a mental breakdown and check into a remote New Age wellness retreat.

When Lee arrives, Kingman reveals he has nothing to screen: the movie’s eccentric director, Hal Weidmann, is refusing to release the completed film, insisting on premiering it at the upcoming press junket. Kingman is desperate to get hold of it, as the studio has recently suffered a string of flops and Time Over Time is likely the couple's last film together. Unsure when, or even if, the film will arrive, Kingman begs Lee to promote it at the junket by convincing the press that Eddie and Gwen are back together, reluctantly promising to restore Lee’s job if he succeeds. Lee recruits naive rookie publicist Danny to assist him.

Lee visits Gwen, who now resides with Hector, to persuade her to attend the junket. She is spoiled and self-absorbed, nothing like the lovable “girl next door” characters she portrays on-screen. Kiki, Gwen’s sister and long-suffering personal assistant, convinces her that a junket appearance will help her floundering career and public image. Later, at the wellness retreat, Lee bribes its spiritual guru with a luxury car to convince a reluctant Eddie to face Gwen.

At the junket, Gwen cozies up to Eddie for the press, while behind the scenes their interactions remain tense. Eddie pines for her initially but soon tires of her duplicitous nature. Gwen uses Kiki as her go-between with Eddie, unaware she has feelings for him. To distract the press until the film arrives, Lee and Danny plant clues that Eddie and Gwen have reconciled. After Lee leaks a misleading photo of them to the media, Hector (who was not invited) shows up and confronts Eddie, leading to a fist fight that ends when Hector knocks him out with a serving tray. Kingman is thrilled with the publicity, but a guilt-ridden Lee starts to question his tactics.

Kiki helps Eddie to his room, where they give into their growing attraction and spend the night together. However, at Gwen’s cottage the next morning, Eddie sheepishly tells Gwen he is "not technically” seeing anyone, causing Kiki to storm off in disgust. Eddie goes after her, but Kiki lambastes him for his inability to move on from Gwen. Kiki later laments to Lee about a lifetime of coming second to Gwen, while Eddie has an epiphany on the hotel roof and realizes Kiki is who he truly wants. Lee, deducing that Eddie and Kiki are in love, encourages him not to give up, but just then, Weidmann arrives in a helicopter to deliver the film.

At the screening, Weidmann shocks everyone by revealing that he abandoned the original script and used hidden camera footage, without the actors' knowledge, to create a “reality movie” instead. The new film follows Gwen's unrepentant affair with Hector and Eddie's resulting mental decline; highlights include Gwen’s demanding behavior on set, Kingman being insulted by his assistant, and Gwen mocking Hector’s small penis size. Gwen and Kingman angrily confront Weidmann, who defends his artistic vision, while Hector frantically assures the crowd that he is very well-endowed (which Weidmann’s daughter is happy to confirm). Desperate, Gwen announces that she and Eddie are getting back together, but he rebuffs her and publicly declares his love for Kiki. Kiki decides to stop putting her sister's desires ahead of her own, and a humiliated Gwen fires her and flounces off. Kiki and Eddie then share a kiss as the audience applauds.

In the aftermath, Weidmann’s movie becomes a surprise hit, and Lee resumes his studio job to promote it. Gwen admits to the press that the reconciliation was a lie, blaming her erratic behavior on pain medication before departing with Hector. Finally, Eddie and Kiki decide to pursue a relationship, and with Lee's blessing, they leave together to travel and enjoy each other’s company.

Cast

Julia Roberts' niece, Emma Roberts, makes an uncredited appearance as the young girl in the purple T-shirt.

Release

Box office

America's Sweethearts opened on July 20, 2001, and earned $30,181,877 in its opening weekend, ranking second behind Jurassic Park III ($50,771,645).[4] By the end of its run, the film had grossed $93,607,673 in the domestic box office and $44,583,755 overseas for a worldwide total of $138,191,428. Based on a $46 million budget, the film was a box office success.[3] Filming took place at Lake Las Vegas.[5]

Critical response

Despite being a box office success, the film holds a 32% approval rating at Rotten Tomatoes from 146 critics. The site's consensus states: "Despite its famous cast, the movie lacks sympathetic characters and is only funny in spurts."[6] On Metacritic, the film holds a 44 out of 100 rating based on 32 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[7] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.[8] Gustavo Arellano in his writing ¡Ask a Mexican! identified Azaria's character Hector as an example of the Latin lover stereotype.[9]

References

  1. ↑ "AMERICA'S SWEETHEARTS (12)". British Board of Film Classification. August 6, 2001. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
  2. ↑ "'Gigli's' Real Price Tag — Or, How Studios Lie About Budgets". The Wrap. September 2, 2011.
  3. 1 2 "America's Sweethearts (2001)". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. October 22, 2001. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  4. ↑ "Weekend Box Office Results for July 20-22, 2001". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. July 23, 2001. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
  5. ↑ Maddox, Kate (February 9, 2001). "Lake enjoys 'Sweetheart' deal". Las Vegas Sun. Archived from the original on July 3, 2023. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
  6. ↑ "America's Sweethearts". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
  7. ↑ "America's Sweethearts". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
  8. ↑ "CinemaScore". cinemascore.com.
  9. ↑ Arellano, Gustavo (2008). Ask a Mexican. Simon and Schuster. p. 77. ISBN 9781416540038.
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