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mledinh
Reviews
The Sweetest Thing (2002)
BWA!
I didn't expect to enjoy this movie but loved it almost from the start. I don't understand the scathing vitriol heaped at this movie from US critics -- how is it more "offensive" or "insulting" than 'American Pie' or 'Animal House'? Is it because in this movie the women are the ones being bawdy and crass and not in their usual roles as naive school girls, there to be played by the male leads? It's not a coincidence that the majority of critics who panned this movie are crotchety old men.
I laughed out loud constantly, the dialogue was pretty good -- there were lots of quote-worthy scenes and the best part was that the girls seemed to have such a good time. I had fun watching them goofing around. The interaction between the female characters and the depth of their friendship was entirely realistic. Women DO sit around being crass, they DO (sometimes) use men for sex and leave them to eat dirt and have fun all the while.
What endeared me forever was the scene where Christinia Applegate is dressed up as Vivian the hooker from 'Pretty Woman' -- her send up of Julia Robert's horsey overlaugh (TM fametracker.com) was SPOT. ON. (America's Sweetheart? Gag me with a fork). The scene where Cameron Diaz kisses the male lead was great because the producers allowed her to get her lipstick all messed up. That is such a refreshing change from movies where the makers seem to think it's perfectly normal that a woman who has been skydiving/engaged in mortal combat/enjoyed a night lovin' has not even smudged her makeup.
Notting Hill (1999)
Tripe
Julia Roberts delivers the same sort of schtick again -- a movie star! But oh SO down to earth. She failed to sell it because she is utterly without charm. And you can't tell me that she was actually acting in this movie -- it's not much of a stretch when she is, in essence, just playing HERSELF.
The script and plot were overly sentimental and unimaginative. Julia's immortal utterance of "I'm just a girl...standing before a boy...asking him to love her" will live on in my mind as the most nauseating and cringe-inducing line of all time. I shudder at the memory.
Only Hugh Grant managed to save this movie from being completely intolerable.