America's Sweethearts

America's Sweethearts
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Joe Roth
Written by	Billy Crystal Peter Tolan
Produced by	Susan Arnold Billy Crystal Donna Arkoff Roth
Starring	Julia Roberts Billy Crystal Catherine Zeta-Jones John Cusack Hank Azaria Stanley Tucci Christopher Walken Seth Green
Cinematography	Phedon Papamichael Jr.
Edited by	Stephen A. Rotter
Music by	James Newton Howard
Production companies	Columbia Pictures Revolution Studios Face Productions Roth-Arnold Productions Shoelace Productions
Distributed by	Sony Pictures Releasing
Release date	July 20, 2001 (2001-07-20)
Running time	103 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$46 million
Box office	$138.3 million

America's Sweethearts is a 2001 American romantic comedy film directed by Joe Roth and written by Billy Crystal and Peter Tolan. It stars Julia Roberts, Crystal, John Cusack and Catherine Zeta-Jones, with Hank Azaria, Stanley Tucci, Seth Green, Alan Arkin and Christopher Walken in smaller roles.

Plot

Lee Phillips is a veteran publicist who has recently been fired from his position at a major film studio. He receives an invitation from studio head Dave Kingman, with whom he has a contentious relationship, to attend a private screening of Time Over Time, a new time travel thriller starring Gwen Harrison and Eddie Thomas. Eddie and Gwen were a beloved husband-and-wife team dubbed “America’s Sweethearts” whose marriage fell apart when Gwen had an affair with her foppish Spanish co-star Hector, after which Eddie suffered a mental breakdown and isolated himself at a remote New Age wellness retreat.

When Lee arrives, Kingman reveals he has nothing to screen: the movie’s eccentric director, Hal Weidmann, is refusing to release the completed film, insisting on premiering it himself at the upcoming press junket. Kingman is desperate to get his hands on the film, as the studio has recently suffered a string of flops, and Time Over Time is potentially the last Eddie and Gwen vehicle to ever be made. Unsure when, or even if, the film will be delivered, Kingman begs Lee to promote the movie at the junket by convincing the press that Eddie and Gwen are getting back together, reluctantly promising to restore Lee’s job if he succeeds.

Lee goes to Gwen’s home, which she now shares with Hector, to persuade her to attend the junket. Gwen is shown to be spoiled and self-absorbed, nothing like the charming and affable “girl next door” characters she portrays on-screen. Kiki, Gwen’s sister and long-suffering personal assistant, convinces Gwen that appearing at the junket will benefit her sagging acting career and public image, and Gwen agrees to attend after reasoning that it will give her the opportunity to serve Eddie with divorce papers. Lee then meets with Eddie at the wellness retreat, where he plays up Gwen’s personal and professional struggles to appeal to Eddie’s conflicted feelings for his estranged wife. Eddie, who has not seen Gwen since his breakdown, is reluctant to leave the retreat, but Lee secretly bribes the retreat’s spiritual guru with a luxury car to convince Eddie that he is ready to face Gwen again.

At the junket, Gwen cozies up to Eddie in front of reporters, while behind the scenes the couple's relationship remains tense. Eddie pines for Gwen at first, but finds himself becoming less tolerant of her duplicitous nature. Gwen enlists Kiki to act as her go-between with Eddie, unaware that Kiki secretly harbors feelings for him. To distract the press from remembering that no one has seen the film they came to promote, Lee plants clues that Eddie and Gwen have reconciled, setting up opportunities for them to be seen together and having them secretly photographed. After one such photo is leaked to the media, Hector (who was not invited to the junket) shows up at the hotel and confronts Eddie, leading to a fist fight that ends when Hector knocks Eddie out with a serving tray. Kingman is thrilled with the publicity the incident creates, but Lee starts to have second thoughts about his promotional strategy.

Kiki helps Eddie back to his room, where they give into their growing attraction and spend the night together. However, when Gwen calls the next morning, Eddie quickly agrees to meet with her, much to Kiki’s dismay. At Gwen’s cottage, Eddie awkwardly tells Gwen he is "not technically” seeing anyone, and an outraged Kiki tells them both off before storming out. Eddie goes after her and tries to explain, but Kiki tells him they cannot be together because he'll never get over his feelings for his ex-wife. Kiki later laments to Lee about a lifetime of coming second to Gwen, while Eddie has an epiphany on the hotel roof (although the press mistakenly believes he is attempting suicide) and realizes Kiki is the sister he truly loves. Lee, who has deduced that Eddie and Kiki have feelings for each other, encourages Eddie not to give up, but at that moment, Weidmann arrives in a helicopter to deliver the film.

As the screening begins, Weidmann shocks everyone by revealing that he abandoned the original script and used hidden camera footage, shot without the actor's knowledge, to create a “reality movie” instead. The new film follows Gwen's unrepentant affair with Hector and the resulting decline in Eddie’s mental health. It also highlights Gwen’s demanding behavior on set, Kingman being insulted by his own assistant, and Gwen mocking Hector’s small penis size. Gwen and Kingman angrily confront Weidmann, who defends his artistic vision, while Hector frantically tries to convince the crowd that he is very well-endowed — a fact Weidmann’s daughter smugly confirms, revealing she also slept with Hector. In a last ditch attempt to save face, Gwen announces that she and Eddie are getting back together, but Eddie rebuffs her, telling her the Gwen he fell in love with does not exist off-camera, and he no longer wishes to be with her because he loves Kiki. Moved, Kiki declares she will no longer care for her sister's needs at the expense of her own, and a humiliated Gwen fires Kiki and flounces away (after taking one last opportunity to mug for the cameras). Kiki and Eddie then share a kiss as the audience applauds.

In the aftermath, Weidmann’s movie becomes a surprise hit, and Lee resumes his job with the studio to promote it. Gwen admits to the press that she and Eddie never had plans to reconcile and blames her erratic behavior on pain medication before departing with Hector. Finally, Eddie and Kiki decide to pursue a relationship, and with Lee's blessing, they leave the hotel to travel and enjoy each other’s company.

Cast

• Julia Roberts as Kathleen "Kiki" Harrison
• Billy Crystal as Lee Phillips
• Catherine Zeta-Jones as Gwen Harrison
• John Cusack as Eddie Thomas
• Hank Azaria as Hector Gorgonzolas
• Stanley Tucci as Dave Kingman
• Christopher Walken as Hal Weidmann
• Alan Arkin as Wellness guide
• Seth Green as Danny Wax
• Scot Zeller as Davis
• Larry King as himself
• Steve Pink as Limo driver
• Rainn Wilson as Dave O'Hanlon
• Eric Balfour as Security guard
• Marty Belafsky as Security guard
• Keri Lynn Pratt as Leaf Weidmann
• Maria Canals as Adina
• Byron Allen as himself

Julia Roberts' niece, Emma Roberts, makes an uncredited appearance as the young girl in the purple T-shirt.

Release

Box office

America's Sweethearts opened on July 20, 2001, and earned $30,181,877 in its opening weekend, ranking second behind Jurassic Park III ($50,771,645). By the end of its run, the film had grossed $93,607,673 in the domestic box office and $44,583,755 overseas for a worldwide total of $138,191,428. Based on a $46 million budget, the film was a box office success. Filming took place at Lake Las Vegas.

Critical response

Despite being a box office success, the film holds a 32% approval rating at Rotten Tomatoes from 146 critics. The site's consensus states: "Despite its famous cast, the movie lacks sympathetic characters and is only funny in spurts." On Metacritic, the film holds a 44 out of 100 rating based on 32 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale. Gustavo Arellano in his writing ¡Ask a Mexican! identified Azaria's character Hector as an example of the Latin lover stereotype.

External links

• America's Sweethearts at IMDb
• America's Sweethearts at Box Office Mojo
• America's Sweethearts at Rotten Tomatoes
• America's Sweethearts at Metacritic