The genre is romantic comedy.  Here is a film with no conflict, no violence, no sex and very little plot.  I'm exaggerating a little, but not much.  It is more an elaborate skit than it is a story.  Nevertheless, there are some interesting aspects to the film.  It s easy to watch, balances the stress in the news and there are some laughs.  One of the funniest scenes in the film takes place on a simulated Confederate battlefield.  Two of the outtakes (cell phone cacophony & conversation with mother-in-law) presented in the DVD bonus materials are better than most scenes in the film.  They were probably taken out to keep things superficial.  The conversation scene gives you a chance to get a good look at the mother-in-law, Stella, played by Jean Smart who has some acting depth.  She looks great for a 40-something.  Much of her experience has been in TV series.

         Reese Witherspoon plays Melanie, a cute, Barbie like character who returns home to Pigeon Creek, Alabama to divorce her husband after becoming a New York success.  She was Cecily in The Importance of Being Earnest and has improved since Legally Blonde.  Josh Lucas plays her husband, Jake.  He did well in this film and he has done recent good work in Beautiful Mind and Deep End.  My wife thinks he has Paul Newman eyes.

Candice Bergen plays Kate, the New York mayor whose son is engaged to Melanie.  Candice, the daughter of Edgar Bergen was the first female host of Saturday Night Live and she has a career in television and films that spans almost 40 years.

The film was directed by Andy Tennant who has done more TV work than films, and it shows.  The characters in the film are caricatures of real people and the town is a caricature of a Southern town.  There are also some character inconsistencies, the most outlandish being Bobby Ray portrayed by Ethan Embry.  I don t think this character would survive in a redneck town.

I liked the Coon Dog Cemetery and the down-home homilies, like You can't have roots and wings , ruined plums make the sweetest jam and You can't ride two horses with one ass.   They're silly enough to be valid.

    Reviewed February 18, 2003