AMERICA'S SWEETHEARTS (2001)

Directed By: Joe Roth 
Written By: Billy Crystal & Peter Tolan 
Cinematography By: Phedon Papamichael 
Editor: Stephen A. Rotter 


Cast: John Cusack, Julia Roberts, Catherine Zeta Jones, Billy Crystal, Hank Azaria, Stanley Tucci, Christopher Walken, Alan Arkin, Seth Green, Rainn Wilson, Eric Balfour, Keri Lynn Pratt 

A movie publicist deals with the messy public split of his movie's co-stars while keeping reporters at bay while a reclusive director holds the film's print hostage.

One of the few disappointing roles of Christopher Walken’s Career

This film is so cookie cutter smug it’s nauseating. For a film that is supposed to be partially meta. You end up not liking or feeling sorry for any of the characters. As most in this film come off as vain and selfish only John Cusack’s seem to be a little less so. While trying to paint Julia Roberts character as a saint. Strangely enough they stars all seem miscast.

Everyone associated with this film is capable of better.

Though the film does also seem like an effort to try and make John Cusack more of a bankable A-List Star as well as a more well known leading man.

The film and it’s makers seem to try and make the film broader as it goes along so that it turns ridiculous though aspires to be somewhat smart and witty but plays to, too many cliches. Many of the jokes seem tired and most of the films characters come off as annoying.

This film was seen as a comeback of sorts at the time for Billy Crystal who came up with the premise.

Which makes the movie come across as a movie that was packaged note then thought through.

It feels like this film is a case of making Hollywood inside baseball. Note for fans of Hollywood and an understanding of the ways the business works. Or satirize the mind numbing and sometimes ridiculous nature bit this film is more interested in romance and bad slapstick with Billy crystal mugging with one liners and forcing himself into most of the action. Even in a lesser starring role.

It seems like he wrote the film to have a vehicle and follow up to analyze this by having him be of the biggest movie stars in a romantic comedy where he was not the romantic lead. As it seemed like roles for him were drying up. This film seems to be something that Michael Douglas, Kathleen turner and Danny DeVito would have starred in. In the 1980’s and either would have still been better made then or at least made more sense because of the time it was made. As it is a high concept idea

One of the jokes seems to be having Julia Roberts America’s sweetheart at the time play against type Being the former homely sister of the films current sweetheart played by Catherine Zeta Jones who does seem to fit more the role of movie star and femme fatale but not necessarily america’s sweetheart.

The film seems to offer another cad role for Hank Azaria to be the other guy who stole away the girl of the male Lead characters dream. Who also tends to also be cheating himself on the woman he stole away and with a foreign accent. So that the film couldn’t even surprise us there. Though offers Azaria who is solid, another familiar aggressive foreign character to play. (Though he was a last minute replacement for Robert Downey Jr.)

Even without expecting much at the time this was one of the most disappointing movies I have ever seen next to Julia Roberts other film RUNAWAY BRIDE.


GRADE: F