The 'Sweethearts' of the title are Eddie Thomas and Gwen Harrison, movie stars who are married to one another. They have starred together in a series of sentimental but highly popular romantic comedies which have made them firm favourites with the public. Unfortunately, their marriage has broken down and they have become estranged from one another, although they have not yet filed for divorce. Their last film together before their break-up was directed by a brilliant but eccentric and reclusive auteur based upon the late Stanley Kubrick (which might be a clue as to which famous Hollywood couple served as the model for Gwen and Eddie).
News of their marital discord has adversely affected Nicole and Tom's sorry, Gwen and Eddie's- box-office ratings. A press preview of the new film is arranged at a hotel in the Nevada desert, which both stars will be attending, and Lee Phillips, a studio publicist, is given the task of either effecting a reconciliation between the warring spouses, or, failing that, of making the media and the public believe that they are back together again. Lee's boss Dave Kingman believes that a happily married couple is better for business than an estranged one. Unfortunately, Gwen has found a new boyfriend, a Spanish actor named Hector, and a further complication arises in the shape of a romantic attachment between Eddie and Gwen's sister Kiki.
Hollywood satire is not always particularly biting, especially when the subject of that satire is Hollywood itself, and the tone of 'America's Sweethearts' is generally good-natured rather than caustic. Despite this, I found it very enjoyable and certainly would not agree with all the negative comments on this board. I liked John Cusack's Eddie, insecure and neurotic but surprisingly likable for a man with a conviction for attempted homicide on his record, and loved Catherine Zeta-Jones as the beautiful but bitchy, self-obsessed and selfish Gwen. Julia Roberts must be a great sport to allow herself to be cast as Gwen's less attractive sister. (My apologies to those who think that the words 'Julia Roberts' and 'less attractive' do not belong together in the same sentence). The best of the satire, however, was directed at the movie industry itself, with amusing performances from Billy Crystal as Phillips, Stanley Tucci as Kingman (the sort of amoral studio executive who would sell his soul to Beelzebub and his grandmother into slavery in exchange for a successful film) and Christopher Walken as Weidmann, who can make pretentiousness into an art-form in itself. (Very unfair to 'auteur' directors, but very funny nevertheless). I also liked Alan Arkin's 'Wellness Guide', forever spouting banal New Age platitudes. The one performance I did not like was from Hank Azaria as Hector, a remorselessly exaggerated caricature with a bizarre and almost incomprehensible accent. (Memo to the Editors of the Official Hollywood Scriptwriter's Guide to Ethnic Stereotypes: Spaniards do not normally speak English with a lisp, but are quite capable of distinguishing between 's' and 'th' sounds). There were also occasional scenes which struck me as being less than funny (especially the one where Eddie was caught on videotape supposedly masturbating in public), but my overall impression was of a witty piece of satirical film-making. 7/10
News of their marital discord has adversely affected Nicole and Tom's sorry, Gwen and Eddie's- box-office ratings. A press preview of the new film is arranged at a hotel in the Nevada desert, which both stars will be attending, and Lee Phillips, a studio publicist, is given the task of either effecting a reconciliation between the warring spouses, or, failing that, of making the media and the public believe that they are back together again. Lee's boss Dave Kingman believes that a happily married couple is better for business than an estranged one. Unfortunately, Gwen has found a new boyfriend, a Spanish actor named Hector, and a further complication arises in the shape of a romantic attachment between Eddie and Gwen's sister Kiki.
Hollywood satire is not always particularly biting, especially when the subject of that satire is Hollywood itself, and the tone of 'America's Sweethearts' is generally good-natured rather than caustic. Despite this, I found it very enjoyable and certainly would not agree with all the negative comments on this board. I liked John Cusack's Eddie, insecure and neurotic but surprisingly likable for a man with a conviction for attempted homicide on his record, and loved Catherine Zeta-Jones as the beautiful but bitchy, self-obsessed and selfish Gwen. Julia Roberts must be a great sport to allow herself to be cast as Gwen's less attractive sister. (My apologies to those who think that the words 'Julia Roberts' and 'less attractive' do not belong together in the same sentence). The best of the satire, however, was directed at the movie industry itself, with amusing performances from Billy Crystal as Phillips, Stanley Tucci as Kingman (the sort of amoral studio executive who would sell his soul to Beelzebub and his grandmother into slavery in exchange for a successful film) and Christopher Walken as Weidmann, who can make pretentiousness into an art-form in itself. (Very unfair to 'auteur' directors, but very funny nevertheless). I also liked Alan Arkin's 'Wellness Guide', forever spouting banal New Age platitudes. The one performance I did not like was from Hank Azaria as Hector, a remorselessly exaggerated caricature with a bizarre and almost incomprehensible accent. (Memo to the Editors of the Official Hollywood Scriptwriter's Guide to Ethnic Stereotypes: Spaniards do not normally speak English with a lisp, but are quite capable of distinguishing between 's' and 'th' sounds). There were also occasional scenes which struck me as being less than funny (especially the one where Eddie was caught on videotape supposedly masturbating in public), but my overall impression was of a witty piece of satirical film-making. 7/10