The movie is a polished muddle, fitfully amusing but with no spine.
America's Sweethearts (2001)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:142
Fresh:45
Rotten:97
Average Rating:4.7/10
Consensus: Despite its famous cast, the movie lacks sympathetic characters and is only funny in spurts.
Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for language, some crude and sexual humor
Runtime: 1 hr 43 mins
Genre: Comedies
Theatrical Release:Jul 20, 2001 Wide
Box Office: $93,008,426
Synopsis: Gwen (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and Eddie (John Cusack) are AMERICA'S SWEETHEARTS, two wildly popular celebrities who share their love on and off the screen in this farcical romantic comedy. But a... Gwen (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and Eddie (John Cusack) are AMERICA'S SWEETHEARTS, two wildly popular celebrities who share their love on and off the screen in this farcical romantic comedy. But a messy breakup sends Eddie to a New Age Hollywood healing center and Gwen into the arms of her current affair, a Spanish bohunk short on charm (Hank Azaria). When their relationship troubles begin to threaten their superstar celebrity status and the release of their final film together the studio heads call in legendary press agent Lee Phillips (Billy Crystal) to helm the troubled film's press junket. Julia Roberts costars as Kiki, Gwen's personal assistant and sister who has always lived to please her demanding diva sister. Once overweight and severely self-conscious, Kiki's life revolves around her sister's ridiculous demands in this send up of ego-driven movie star vanity, penned cleverly with cynical insider wit by Crystal and Peter Tolan. Phillips manages to gather the warring superstars and gaggles of press together at a remote desert location for the all important press junket where his best laid plans begin to unravel in this hysterical parody of the movie industry replete with neurotic actors, eccentric crazed directors (Christopher Walken in a gem of a cameo), maniacal studio heads, and gossip-starved press who will do anything or anyone for the next big story. [More]
Starring: Julia Roberts, John Cusack, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Billy Crystal
Starring: Julia Roberts, John Cusack, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Billy Crystal, Hank Azaria, Stanley Tucci, Christopher Walken, Seth Green
Director: Joe Roth
Director: Joe Roth
Screenwriter: Billy Crystal, Peter Tolan, Donna Roth
Producer: Susan Arnold, Billy Crystal
Studio: Columbia Pictures
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Reviews for America's Sweethearts
It's a perfectly fine setup for romantic-comedy capering, with enough good one-liners to satisfy. But Roth seems a bit at sea with his powerhouse cast.
Doesn't contain a single genuine emotion. It's just as bogus and hollow as the movie business it portrays.
Director Roth's only real nerve is in mocking excessive close-ups in the Walken 'art' travesty. His own movie is a brazen, artless parade of them.
A film that manages the frustrating feat of being pleasant and misguided at the same time.
Without the pleasure of watching this star quartet at work, America's Sweethearts would barely be a footnote on the summer of 2001. With them, it's just barely worth staying till the end.
If you like a little surprise in your movies, don't bother lining up for America's Sweethearts.
Think of it as the spoonful of sugar that will help the medicine go down, a drizzle of soft ice cream guaranteed to bring a quick smile to a kid's face on a bad day.
As undemanding summer movies go, America’s Sweethearts is surprisingly funny and sweet, despite some missed comic opportunities and curious casting choices.
A hypocritical purveyor of the same schlock nonsense it pretends to lampoon.
For the farce it so desperately wants to be, the film often feels slack and too reliant on so-so punch lines for laughs.
Can't decide if it wants to be a romantic comedy or a sarcastic send-up of all things Hollywood.
Once the junket begins the film starts falling apart. Parody and satire are replaced by tired, silly slapstick that is beneath the talents of the actors.
The movie is often chaotic and sometimes so silly and broad it borders on slapstick, but mostly it's just dumb fun.
You go to America's Sweethearts anticipating a prime flossy, glossy entertainment. You come away better by a few laughs but with expectations sadly deflated.
Latest News for America's Sweethearts
October 20, 2005:
Trailer Bulletin: Freedomland
From director Joe Roth and screenwriter Richard Price comes "Freedomland," an apparently racially-charged kidnapping thriller that stars Samuel L. Jackson, Julianne... More...
June 23, 2005:
Production Wraps on Roth's "Freedomland"
Revolution Studios issued a press release that ComingSoon.net was kind enough to publicize, and here's the scoop: The Joe Roth mystery thriller "Freedlomland," which... More...
June 05, 2001:
'I'm the reason Billy didn't host the Oscars this year,' jokes Roth. 'I didn't want to wait around till after the ceremony to make this movie.' ![]()
More...
June 05, 2001:
'There’s a certain amount of cynicism to the film,' Cusack says wryly. 'No one's gotten out with their ego intact.' ![]()
More...
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| 68% 68% | Funny People |
| 95% 95% | Star Trek |
| 14% 14% | The Ugly Truth |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 32% 32% | Terminator Salvation |
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