America’s Sweethearts Synopsis: Amid a nasty public breakup of married movie stars, a studio publicist scrambles to put a cap on the escalating situation as the couple’s latest film has found its only print kidnapped by the director.
Eddie (John Cusack) and Gwen (Catherine Zeta-Jones) were once Hollywood’s power couple, both on-screen and off, until Gwen fell in love with another man. Now Kiki (Julia Roberts), Gwen’s personal assistant and sister, and Lee, a movie publicist, must convince the media that the stars are working towards reconciliation to sell the last movie the two stars filmed together. Things get a bit complicated when Eddie and Kiki’s friendship turns romantic.
The film has its issues, but I don’t think it ever attempts to take itself seriously, which makes it easy to enjoy. There are some fun cameos (Alan Arkin spouting New Age-y nonsense), and Christopher Walken’s brief turn as Time Over Time’s quirky director is worth suffering through Hank Azaria’s horrible accent/speech impediment. However ‘eet’s beeger than coins’ is still something I quote to this day.
Gwen’s overly narcissistic movie star is the worst (I say that with affection). Eddie is a heartbroken mess addicted to holistic drugs (he claims he’s paranoid schizophrenic), and Kiki is the long-suffering sister in love with her ex-brother-in-law.
Everything and everyone feels like a rom-com caricature, but to me, America’s Sweethearts is funny enough that it works, and honestly, it’s pretty self-aware. When Eddie declares his love for her and Kiki asks what’s next, he responds, ‘ Traditionally, we kiss.’
I’m not sure I would have liked America’s Sweethearts as much had it been anyone but John Cusack, and I did love his chemistry with Julia and Catherine. The cast made the movie entertaining more than anything else. I was bummed that Seth Green’s clueless publicist seemed to disappear halfway through the film. Also, Stanley Tucci is a bonus here, as always.
Watched: 11/24/2018
Notable Song: Some Hearts by Kelly LeVeque
