| America's Sweethearts | |
|---|---|
America's Sweethearts theatrical poster |
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| Directed by | Joe Roth |
| Produced by | Billy Crystal Donna Arkoff Roth Susan Arnold Charles Newirth Peter Tolan |
| Written by | Billy Crystal Peter Tolan |
| Starring | Julia Roberts Billy Crystal Catherine Zeta-Jones John Cusack Hank Azaria Stanley Tucci Christopher Walken Seth Green Keri Lynn Pratt |
| Music by | James Newton Howard |
| Cinematography | Phedon Papamichael Jr. |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures (Sony Pictures Entertainment) |
| Release date(s) | July 20, 2001 |
| Running time | 102 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $64.4 million[1] |
America's Sweethearts is a 2001 romantic comedy film, directed by Joe Roth, starring Julia Roberts, Billy Crystal, John Cusack, and Catherine Zeta-Jones. The film also stars Keri Lynn Pratt, Hank Azaria, Stanley Tucci, Seth Green, Alan Arkin, and Christopher Walken, and features a cameo appearance by Larry King as himself. It was written by Crystal and Peter Tolan.
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Lee Phillips (Crystal) is a movie publicist with a major problem with movie stars Gwen Harrison (Zeta-Jones) and Eddie Thomas (Cusack). The once golden Hollywood duo formerly known as "America's Sweethearts" is now split, due to Gwen's affair which has caused Eddie to have a nervous breakdown. While Gwen is shacked up with Hector (Azaria), Eddie has holed up in a New Age retreat. The eccentric director of their last movie, Hal Weidmann (Walken), has demanded that the first viewing of the film be at a press junket although no one has seen it. To sell the film (since he hasn't seen it to be able to do his job properly), Lee has decided to get the two back together and sell them as a couple.
Both Gwen and Eddie are manipulated into attending the junket: Gwen's ego is massaged into going so she looks better to the press and her fans (as well as being able to present Eddie with divorce papers). Lee gifts the owner of the retreat with a very expensive car in return for convincing Eddie that he should leave. Once there, Gwen immediately plays the martyr and Eddie's delicate psyche is put to the test in the outside world. Complicating matters are both Gwen's personal assistant and sister, Kiki (Roberts), and Hector, who is overly watchful of his love. Though Kiki has always been in Gwen's shadow, Eddie finds himself drawn to her. However, upon their arrival at the junket, Eddie discovers Kiki is no longer the wallflower, having lost a considerable amount of weight.
As the junket begins, Eddie and Gwen are thrown together although neither wants anything to do with the film or each other. As in high school (and most of her life) Kiki is forced to be the one who does Gwen's dirty work. However, this puts her in Eddie's company quite often and the spark that has always been between them continues to grow. Gwen is oblivious to their attraction but still refuses to be outshone by anyone, least of all her own sister.
When the movie is finally shown at the press junket, the press, actors, others involved with film discover to their horror that Weidmann essentially junked the script and instead delivered a movie composed of footage shot making the movie - much taken without the actors' knowledge. Essentially, Weidmann has delivered Hollywood's first "Reality Movie". The footage shows Gwen as self-centered, conniving and manipulative and Eddie as a man slowly becoming more and more paranoid as he (correctly) suspects his wife is having an affair.
Gwen attempts to resolve the situation by announcing the couple is reuniting, but Eddie finds the courage to admit his love for Kiki. Upon hearing this revelation, Gwen fires Kiki. After the junket, Kiki and Eddie are packing to leave the hotel together.
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| 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 |
| Keri Lynn Pratt | Leaf Weidmann |
| Alan Arkin | Wellness Guide |
| Seth Green | Danny Wax |
| Scot Zeller | Davis |
| Steve Pink | Limo Driver |
| Rainn Wilson | Dave O'Hanlon |
| Eric Balfour | Security Guard |
| Marty Belafsky | Security Guard |
| Emily Eby | Anna |
| María Canals Barrera | Adinah (as Maria Canals) |
| Ann Cusack | Lee Phillips' assistant (uncredited) |
| Emma Roberts | Girl in Purple Shirt (uncredited) |
| Marco Lopez | Photographer (uncredited) |
| Larry King | Himself |
| Byron Allen | Himself |
Reviews for America's Sweethearts were generally unfavorable, and the film holds a 31% at Rotten Tomatoes. Critics' consensus was "Despite its famous cast, the movie lacks sympathetic characters and is only funny in spurts."
The film opened at #2 in its first opening weekend at the U.S. Box office, behind Jurassic Park 3. America's Sweethearts was a box office success and grossed over $138 million worldwide.[2]
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