After they've broken up, Eddie (John Cusack) and Gwen (Catherine Zeta-Jones), a married movie star couple, still have to go out and promote the movie they made together while they were in love, even though they now detest each other.
To keep the junket from falling apart when the print of their film doesn't show up, Lee (Billy Crystal) the film's publicist tries to divert attention by concocting the story of the couple's reunion, that everything's still hunky-dory between them... when in fact, the actor is actually in love with his wife's formerly fat assistant, Kiki (Julia Roberts), and the actress has found a new Beau named Hector (Hank Azaria).
Secret Agent Acid Thunder
Neither the best nor the worst of times. Billy Crystal's co-authorship is obvious and valuable, but I wonder what the other guy was on and where I can get some.
At first glance I thought that America's sweethearts wouldn't have the legs to so many sub-plots going at the same time without losing the essence of the film. Slowly, however, it became apparent that as the filming process ran on, they were stretching themselves too thin and the dialogue fell to stock Hollywood (there's probably a service run by some entrepreneurial person in Hollywood that rents out lines of dialogue to filmmakers and scriptwriters who are in a jam.)
Basically, America's sweethearts is a piss-take of American actors who create and run their lives according the tabloid scandalmongers. Funny, but trashy.
[You should take note that Julia Roberts was recently revealed to be living a sham relationship with Benjamin Bratt for several months in order to avoid the negative publicity of a split; art imitates life or life imitates art? You decide. - Director of Intelligence.]
M (Low level coarse language, sexual references)
99 minutes (1:39 hours)
Film: 4 October 2001
DVD rental: 30 April 2002
VHS rental: 30 April 2002