Hubby and I watched Sweet Home Alabama the other night. Unfortunately, it isn’t as “clean” as it could be (some “mild” bad language, and some “gay” stuff we could do without), but it makes some really neat points.

The basic plot goes like this: Melanie Carmichael is a successful clothing designer in New York City, recently engaged to the mayor’s son. Before making the engagement public, she heads home to clear up a few things. It turns out that she’s from Pigeon Forge (or some such), Alabama, where she is still legally married to her childhood sweetheart (although they aren’t so “sweet” on each other anymore), and she needs to finalize her divorce before she can marry the New York fellow. “Mr. New York” (who actually is a great guy) is completely unaware of any of this.

There are some really great themes woven into the story. Mel learns that family/community is more important than a “successful career,” money, or fame. (Maybe we should all take a trip to her hometown and see if the small-town ways rub off on us. Can’t you see it now? “Pigeon Forge vacation rentals – come discover community”! 🙂 ) (SPOILER ALERT!) She learns that once you’ve given your heart away, you can’t just get it back to give to someone different. She decides to stick with her first husband, honoring the institution of marriage and demonstrating that loving feelings may wax and wane, but the waning doesn’t have to be the end of things. Both men demonstrate real love toward her, showing a willingness to do what’s best for her even when it hurts, and/or taking good care of her throughout.

This one would be great with a filter. 🙂

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