(rated PG-13 98 mins.)
America’s cutest sweetheart takes on another romantic comedy with punch. Reese Witherspoon stars as New York fashion designer Melanie Carmichael. When she finds herself engaged to the city’s most eligible bachelor (Patrick Dempsey), it’s time to bring the closet ghosts out, including Jake (Josh Lucas) the redneck hubby she married in high school. The catch is he refused to ever divorce her. Going home to Mayberry RFD is a welcome relief from the big apple where all kind of surprises happen and life becomes a question of lifestyle. Afterall, you can take the girl out of the South but can you ever take the South out of the girl? With its “Doc Hollywood” appeal, Witherspoon’s electric smile, bright-eyed legally blonde attitude carries weight to save this otherwise tiresome plot. Besides, it doesn’t hurt that the story line mirrors Witherspoon’s own real life past hailing from Tennessee. Candice Bergen plays the Mayor and would-be-mother in law providing some of the funnier moments. The movie works because it’s simple. What you see is what you get. An adorable woman trying to decide between two really swell guys from different geographies. Think of it as a Civil War of the heart.
