America's Sweethearts (2001)
The Cast
Julia Roberts .... Kathleen "Kiki" Harrison
Billy Crystal .... Lee Phillips
Catherine Zeta-Jones .... Gwen Harrison
John Cusack .... Eddie Thomas
Hank Azaria .... Hector Gorgonzolas
Stanley Tucci .... Dave Kingman
Christopher Walken .... Hal Weidmann
Alan Arkin .... Wellness Guide
Seth Green .... Danny Wax
Eric Balfour .... Security Guard
You probably won't recognise director Joe Roth's name from anything other than producing credits, unless of course Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise is one of your favourite movies of all time. He's not really about directing quality movies, which seems appropriate because of his producing background. He has no shame when it comes to appealing to the Lowest Common Denominator in an effort to make some serious bank. Which explains at least half of this movie.
Gwen Harrison (Zeta-Jones) & Eddie Thomas (Cusack) are this film's answer to .. well I guess to how Jennifer Aniston & Brad Pitt used to be, except for the co-starring in movies together part. Eddie & Gwen were both an onscreen & offscreen couple, starring in numerous blockbuster feature films of debateable quality. Perhaps that was intended as an inside "smart" Hollywood joke by co-writers Peter Tolan & Billy Crystal, I'm not sure. There are a number of jokes like that, ones that feel like they're an insider's dig at the Hollywood lifestyle, but they just usually come across as a confirmation of long-held jaded beliefs.
Anyways, Gwen breaks it off with Eddie to be with Hector Gorgonzolas (Azaria), a Latino actor of terrible quality. Eddie takes it hard, & after "accidentally" nearly killing Gwen & Hector, retires to a spiritual retreat to pull himself together. After the break up, Gwen's movies do horrible business at the box office, because no one can stand to see her without Eddie. The last movie they made together is still being finished by eccentric director Hal Weidmann (Walken), infuriating studio head Dave Kingman (Tucci). With Weidmann finally finishing the movie & holding it hostage 'til the press junket celebrating the release of the film, Kingman re-hires PR whiz Lee Phillips (Crystal) to try to convince the press that Eddie & Gwen are back together so the unseen movie will actually succeed.
I hope you got all that, 'cause there's one more character to add to the mix. Gwen's sister & handler Kiki (Roberts) has always had feelings for Eddie, & now that she's lost 60 pounds the audience can find her believable as a love interest. With all of the main cast & press being herded together to a hotel in the middle of the desert for a weekend, there's a whole slew of zany happenings abounding. This movie is basically trying to be The Player to the LCD crowd.
There are a few things to like about the movie, though the afforementioned LCD crowd probably will get it all backwards. Crystal thinks he's given himself the best lines in the movie, but Cusack does the most with his material, particularily his delivery of the line "You're the devil." Cusack also gets the best romantic subplot of the picture, with his love triangle involving the Harrison sisters. Walken & Tucci are note-perfect, hitting their respective characters' quirks perfectly. Zeta-Jones succeeds at being a convincing diva superstar, so kudos to her as well.
Sadly, the picture as a whole doesn't live up to some of the individual efforts. Crystal is fairly annoying, Seth Green is just.. there pretty much. Azaria is a bit too over-the-top, same with Alan Arkin as the Wellness Guide at the spiritual retreat. I think the movie has a far-too-lofty view of itself, & the material doesn't live up to dusting that pedestal, let alone sitting atop it.
2.5 outta 5