AMERICA'S SWEETHEARTS

2001

Simply filling the screen with some of my favorite stars (Julia Roberts, John Cusack, Stanley Tucci, Christopher Walken, Hank Azaria, Billy Crystal and Alan Arkin) doesn't guarantee that a film will be a good one; "America's Sweethearts" is the latest case in point. Summertime...story's weak, the acting is dry...fish are jumpin' and the cotton is high." I'm guessing here, that the "creative minds' behind this film, were aiming to recreate the goofy magic of director Preston Sturges' classic comedies of the 1940's. Unfortunately, due to a lack of brains and imagination, they didn't have a clue as to how to utilize the potential of the talent at their disposal. When the funniest scene in the movie is one in which a doberman-pinscher simulates the act of oral sex on the Billy Crystal character, then you know you're in deep trouble! Instead of going out and wasting your time and money on this film, stay home and rent a video of one of Sturges' comedies. I recommend either "The Lady Eve," or "Sullivan's Travels." There isn't a doberman in either one of them!

2 Stars

NJB