The Not So Sweet Life-Billy Crystal’s America’s Sweethearts (2001)-A Film Review  

DVD Review

By Sam Lowell

America’s Sweethearts, starring Billy Crystal, Catherine Zeta-Jones, John Cusack, Julia Roberts, 2001   

 

Quite unintentionally, I think, I have been on something of tear reviewing films about film-making (or in the case of one mostly of not making a film). This is the third straight such film review. Of course the others were two films which have been long considered classics of movies about film-making; Francois Truffaut’s Day for Night, his homage to his craft, and Frederico Fellini’s  8 ½ about what happens when a director runs out of ideas about making a film. The film under review, Billy Crystal’s America’s Sweethearts, will never be mistaken for a classic about the trials and tribulations of getting a film in the can. Despite a high profile cast of talented actors this one fails, falls flat.

Blame the weather in the Northeast this summer, hot and humid. Blame trying to take a break from heavy-duty high-toned film classics of the genre like those films mentioned above. What the heck, blame it on being hooked in by the all-star cast who in other film vehicles have won plenty of accolades for their performances. But I sat through this one grinding my teeth.   

Here’s where this one was both too predictable by the script as the story line played out and frankly was not that funny except in spots despite funnyman Billy Crystal’s efforts as actor in the film and the writer of the script. America’s sweethearts, Gwen (played by fetching Catherine Zeta-Jones) and Eddie (played by all-purpose actor John Cusack) who not only have successfully acted together but are married as well, who due to their run of hits had been crowned with a title that many previous real acting couples like Fairbanks and Pickford, Powell and Loy, have had bestowed on them, have had a falling out. A big time falling out once Gwen slipped over the line and has an affair with one of the bit actors in their last fateful film. A film that for a couple of reasons has not been released but mainly because the director has been holding the film hostage for his own reasons (mostly when all is said and done that the thing was a stinker, was nothing but a formula piece and that the sweethearts had run out of steam).         

Naturally the studio boss was going crazy since the studio had spent plenty of money banking on Gwen and Eddie being able to produce one more block-buster. So Lee (Crystal’s role), a publicist had been sent out by the frantic boss to make the thing go. But Eddie, who thought he still loved Gwen had a breakdown over the split, had no desire in his condition to go out and promote the film to the critics, to go on the press junket that is a staple of the release of every film, good, bad, or ugly. Lee eventually by fair means or foul got the pair on the junket trail. Got a little help on the Gwen side from her sister and personal assistant, Kiki (played by fetching Julia Roberts who during parts of the film was bizarrely cast as overweight-what are you kidding me didn’t Billy see Mystic Pizza and Pretty Woman). Yeah, but see Kiki had it bad for Eddie, had that secret crush but had held back because, well, because Sis was nothing but an airhead and thought everything in the world revolved around her.        

So the tensions and comedy such as they were got played out on the press junket being held a swanky hotel. Eddie finally “got religion” on the need to move on from perfidious Gwen, finally “got religion” on Kiki whom he took under the sheets and eventually wound up walking arm and arm with her in the sunset despite his ambivalence about not so sweet Gwen. But that outcome was telegraphed almost from the minute Kiki showed up on the screen early in the film. In the end the director showed up with said film, or a film, a film exposing the hypocrisy and duplicity of the main characters. Yawn, a waste of a talented cast on a thin idea and few funny lines.