America's Sweethearts Review
by Tim Wick

I find nothing more frustrating than critics who expect more of a film that it really promises. Roger Ebert has often stated that his rules when reviewing a film are to determine what the filmmaker was trying to do and then grade the film on how well it achieved that. By such a standard, a formulaic picture can never hope to score a four star rating, but it can aspire to a three or even a three and a half if it executes on it's formula well.

So when I read critics who are spending all their time bashing romantic comedies because they are trite fluff, I wonder if they really understood what the point of the movie was.

A romantic comedy, for the record, has two goals. First, the two characters that you think should be together end up together at the end of the film (the "romantic" part). Second, you should laugh a lot (the "comedy" part).

That is it. If a Romantic comedy succeeds on both points, you have a winner because that is all you were trying to do. Sure, you can come up with something that has a fresh take on the genre (When Harry Met Sally) or something that has star power to spare (The Philadelphia Story), but you have a decent film if you follow the rules.

America's Sweethearts is shooting to be better than the average romantic comedy by using the star power angle. You have, in descending order of actors whose work I really respect: John Cusack, Seth Green, Stanley Tucci, Hank Azaria, Billy Crystal, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Christopher Walken and Julia Roberts lined up like cans at a shooting range just waiting for their turn to be funny. All succeed to varying degrees and the film, for the most part, achieves it's goal of being a comedy.

Then there is the romantic part.

Hmm...

I would love to rub pies in a bunch of critic's faces right now and tell them they are being too harsh on this film, but what most of them are saying is spot on. In order for this film to work, you have to buy the fact that John Cusack and Julia Roberts are falling for each other. Sadly, you never really do.

I'm not faulting the actors for this, they do a very good job of trying to look like they are interested in each other, but the two share screen time for such a tiny portion of the movie, their efforts are in vain. The majority of the romance in the film is delivered through winsome glances and flashbacks. In fact, the film is spending so much time on the aforementioned funny cast that it runs out of time to focus on the relationship that should be central.

Another minor problem facing this movie is the casting of John Cusack. He is supposed to be playing a heartbroken, spoiled movie star and I just couldn't get there with him. I know, I know, the guy IS a movie star. Why am I saying that he wasn't convincing? Because Cusack doesn't LOOK like a movie star. He looks like the guy in High Fidelity and Say Anything. Because there is something so "everymannish" about Cusack, I couldn't connect with him as a movie star. Had I been able to connect with him as a romantic lead, that probably would have been fine. Since I couldn't connect on either level, I wasn't really able to go where he needed me to go.

The film has some fine comedic moments. Cusack may not be right for the part, but he hasn't lost his sense of comic timing. In one particularly funny series of scenes, he grows considerably more frustrated with a series of press interviews until he can take it no longer. When he finally decides to actually say something, he gets one of the best laughs in the film.

I really do enjoy romantic comedies and it takes a lot to make me really hate them. I don't hate America's Sweethearts but I am a little disappointed I spent full price on the film. When you only have to deliver on two things to make the film worth while, it's a pretty significant shortcoming when you miss on one.

Now, just because the critics are right on this one does not mean they are any less wrong for bashing the delightful Return to Me last year or being all high and mighty about this year's Heartbreakers. To be a critic should be to recognize when a film has achieved all that it was aiming for. I didn't hate Tomb Raider because it was a popcorn film, I hated it because it was a godawful popcorn film. I'm not disappointed with this film because it's a romantic comedy, I'm disappointed because it's not all that romantic.

America's Sweethearts

Three Beakers
(out of five)

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