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Sweet Home Alabama (Movie Preview)
by
Todd Heustess
Is Reese Witherspoon
the next Meg Ryan or is she the next Alicia Silverstone? That
is the question being batted around Hollywood as Witherspoon’s
new romantic comedy gets ready to open nationwide on September
27. |
When Witherspoon last
top-lined a picture (2001’s Legally Blonde), the result was a
$20 million opening weekend and a final tally of $96 million
in the U.S., along with an astounding $131 million outside the
U.S. Almost overnight, Witherspoon (who had earned industry
respect with her ferocious, funny performance in 1999’s
Election) went from well-liked actress to a major player in
the industry. How major? Well, she got $5 million for Alabama
(a substantial raise from the $1 million she received for
Legally Blonde) and just in the last week agreed to a $15
million payday for Legally Blonde 2, putting her very close to
the salary levels of Julia and Meg. Obviously, Disney (who’s
distributing the picture through its Buena Vista arm) could
use a live-action hit, but it’s Witherspoon who has a lot
riding on the performance on the film because it’s her first
top-billed performance since Legally Blonde.
When Alicia Silverstone hit it big with Clueless in 1995, she
followed it with
Excess Baggage and Batman & Robin. Now, the decision to do
Batman while
regrettable was understandable, but Excess Baggage was a
resounding flop and the combination of the two flops killed
her career momentum. Alicia dropped off the radar entirely,
sinking so low that her next project is Child’s Play 5, which
presumably will go straight-to-video.
At first glance, Witherspoon looks to avoid a similar pitfall
with Alabama. It’s a fish-out-of-water romantic comedy quite
similar in many ways to Blonde, and audiences may be ready for
something other than My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Witherspoon has
a core teen and young adult fan base and the strong marketing
push from Disney, along with the strong supporting cast
(Candice Bergen, Jean Smart, Patrick Dempsey) should broaden
interest in the picture and lead to a strong opening weekend.
There’s not much advance buzz on the film yet, but it would
appear that for at
least the purposes of the opening weekend that it's pretty
much critic proof. Beyond the debut, reviews and word-of-mouth
will be critical factors in determining the success of the
film. Another opening weekend of $20 million
or higher will solidify the 26 year-old’s position as a force
to be reckoned with in Hollywood. It would give further
justification that her huge payday for the Legally Blonde
sequel and set her on a Meg Ryan-like path of popularity. Of
course, the potential downside in all of this is that she
risks pigeonholing herself into the romantic comedy genre like
Ryan has, but that would seem a small price to pay for $15
million a picture. |
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