America's Sweethearts (2001)

Touches You

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Films that depict what Hollywood is really like are incredibly popular with audiences because everyone longs to know how movie stars behave when the camera isn't on them. America's Sweethearts is one of the most hilarious, realistic, and all-around best movies in that genre.Catherine Zeta-Jones plays a character everyone secretly believes she is, but hopes she isn't: a beautiful, self-centered actress who isn't nearly as sweet as her public image. She plays the role so well, it'll be hard to see her as anyone else after you've seen the movie-she's continued to play the "bad girl" in every movie since. But, she's beautiful and has a tremendous presence, so even when you're hating her, you still love her.Catherine's unstable actor ex-husband is played by John Cusack, and he's so hilarious, you'll find yourself imitating his outbursts the next time you feel like losing it. Catherine's sister and assistant is Julia Roberts, and while Richard Dean's makeup transforms her very believably during a touching flashback, her role is the least likable in the movie. Her character is a little frustrated since she's taken a backseat to her prettier sister her whole life, and she isn't always good at her job. I've been an assistant, and you can't usually get away with having attitude or a chip on your shoulder. Still, she'll probably only start to get on your nerves after you've seen it fifty times-which I have-so if you stick to forty-nine viewings, you should be fine.Billy Crystal is a film publicist who's given the very difficult task of promoting the last movie "America's Sweethearts" made before their breakup. Obviously, in Hollywood, everything's about making money, so he has to make the press and public think that Catherine and John are getting along in order to generate positive buzz-his job, aka the main plot of the film, is fraught with hilarious obstacles. With a supporting cast of Stanley Tucci, Hank Azaria, Christopher Walken, Alan Arkin, Seth Green, Rainn Wilson, and Larry King, the film will give you much more than a laugh a minute. Since the script was co-written by Peter Tolan and Billy Crystal, you can't help but wonder how much of the character quirks were inspired by real people. It's clever, funny, surprising, and captivating, with something to love-and phrases to quote-for everyone.

The movie's title refers to a popular married Hollywood couple who are a big box office draw. Unfortunately, just when they have a new movie coming out, their private acrimonious split has become public, and film publicist Lee tries to reunite them, at least for show, for a press junket. Also involved in matters are the wife's sister and publicist, as well as Hector, the wife's lover. Of course their involvement complicates matters further.This might have been great as a screwball farce, but instead it is cute and sentimental, trying to make an unpleasant scenario "nice". It didn't work.

Movie publicist Lee Phillips (Billy Crystal) tries to juggle a crazy director who is holding the movie hostage, and the breakup of the movie's two stars. Eddie Thomas (John Cusack) is terribly jealous of Gwen Harrison (Catherine Zeta-Jones)'s relationship with the weird voiced Hector Gorgonzolas (Hank Azaria). Her last two movies without Eddie has bombed. Lee has to organize a movie junket without anybody seeing the movie. Meanwhile Gwen's dutiful sister Kiki (Julia Roberts) is slowly falling for Eddie.The script written by Billy Crystal, and Peter Tolan takes a few pokes at the movie business. It has a little fun. Billy Crystal is pushing hard for the material. Hank Azaria is doing another stupid voice and is all the more annoying for it. Cusack and Zeta-Jones have little chemistry or great rom-com chops. But there is one thing above all else that annoyed me the most. I cannot buy that Julia Roberts is the ugly duckling. They try to explain it away with her 60 lbs weight loss. Quite frankly, Julia and Catherine operate in the same area of acting. Julia may be slightly better, but this movie needs two women at the opposite ends. Julia can't really pull this off no matter how charming she is. Now if there is a fatter Julia Roberts with 60 lbs on her, she may be great for this role.

I actually highly enjoyed this movie. The relationship between Catherine Zeta-Jones and Julia Roberts was rather cute and I really loved Billy Crystal and Seth Green in this movie.It's a fairly simple premise, woman cheats on man, man goes crazy, they have to pretend to be getting back together to encourage people to see their final movie together and fool the critics at a junket. At the beginning we find out that the director (Christopher Walken) is refusing to let anyone see it until the end of the junket, so Billy Crystal and Seth Green have to run around and put everyone though some distractions to keep the press from asking too much about the movie that they don't know is currently missing.I can't say it's the greatest movie ever but it's certainly one of the cutest. I love the interaction between everyone and on days I just want a 'feel good' movie, this is the one I always seem to gravitate towards.