The Sweetest Thing (2001)
by Wayne Case
Sour, silly, sloppy, smutty, and slight.
The Sweetest Thing (2001)
by Paul Fischer
Cameron Diaz shines in another comedic performance.
I give it a 2-1/2.
It doesn't contain one frame of originality or one shrewd of creativity. The cast didn't stand a chance given this material, but Cameron Diaz (There's Something About Mary -1998) really needs to avoid this kind of crap in the future. Here, she does a bad Sally Kellerman (M*A*S*H - 1970) impersonation.
I really like Selma Blair (Cruel Intentions - 1999, Legally Blond - 2001) but a few more of these could destroy her promising career. Thomas Jane (Deep Blue Sea - 1999) looks good 
which is all his role requires. Christina Applegate (from television's Married With Children) manages to bury her "bimbette" television image and deserves another chance in a decent film.
Although signs of post-production tinkering abound, based on what does appear on the screen, the writing by Nancy Pimental is extremely weak. This is the second theatrical directing credit for Roger Kumble.
This one is bad enough to make me re-evaluate Cruel Intentions (1999), which I thought showed flashes of style and talent. Not this time. Opening weekend grosses (4/12/2002) were less than $10 million. Considering that the budget was likely over $45 million, profit is very doubtful. Exit polls indicate that only those viewers under 21 are likely to enjoy this one.
Wayne Case works in the film industry in Hollywood, and still can't help himself - he loves the movies.
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Sexy and bold Christina Walters (Cameron Diaz), after years of avoiding meaningful relationships with men, unexpectedly meets her perfect match (Thomas Jane) one night while hanging out with best girlfriends Courtney (Christina Applegate) and Jane (Selma Blair). When she finds out the next morning that he's suddenly left town, she and Courtney set out to find him on a wild road trip, encountering a series of hilarious misadventures on their journey. Their search ultimately leads them to a surprising discovery and the realization that love is, after all, the sweetest thing.
At a mere 80 minutes long, The Sweetest Thing is the shortest live-action film to hit cinemas in years, which is sweet enough, but the fact that this film is genuinely hilarious, is the icing on the cake. 
Director Roger Kumble , who made dark and surprising Cruel Intentions, has crafted an inventive and sprightly comic gem, a film blistering with comic invention, outrageous vignettes and gross-out humour which is actually funny. Take a dash of the Farrelly Brothers and add Nora Ephron to the mix, and you have an idea what to expect in The Sweetest Thing.
Screenwriter Nancy Pimental set out to devise an irreverent comedy from a young woman's perspective, and thus ironically, women may be the ones most offended by some of its goings-on. Yet there is enough simple heart and emotional resonance to drive The Sweetest Thing to a level above the norm, and combine that with some skilfully played comedy brilliance on the part of its charming trio. Diaz is perfectly cast as the outwardly defensive Christina Walters who ultimately succumbs to her more emotional side, but it is Applegate and Blair that provide us with some brilliantly devised comedy. Neither actors are strangers to the genre and equip themselves with unashamed ease, Blair in particular, who does wonders with gags pertaining to sperm and pink elephants.
Full of visual imagination and impeccable timing, The Sweetest Thing is short, sweet and consistently hilarious, the perfect antidote for these trying times.
Paul Fischer is originally from Australia. Now he is an interviewer and film critic living in Hollywood.
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