''The Sweetest Thing'' is a 2002 American

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Roger Kumble Roger Kumble (born May 28, 1966) is an American film director, screenwriter, and playwright. Life and career Kumble was raised in Harrison, New York, and attended Harrison High School. He graduated from Northwestern University in 1988, where he ...

and written by Nancy Pimental, who based the characters on herself and friend Kate Walsh. It stars

Cameron Diaz Cameron Michelle Diaz (born August 30, 1972) is an American actress. With a variety of works in film, she is widely recognised for her work in romantic comedies and animation. Diaz has received various accolades, including nominations for fo ...

Christina Applegate Christina Applegate (born November 25, 1971) is an American actress. As a child actress, she gained recognition for starring as Kelly Bundy in the Fox sitcom '' Married... with Children'' (1987–1997). Applegate established a successful film a ...

, and

Selma Blair Selma Blair Beitner (born June 23, 1972) is an American actress. She played a number of roles in films and on television before obtaining recognition for her leading role in the film '' Brown's Requiem'' (1998). Her breakthrough came when she s ...

Plot

A group of men are interviewed regarding Christina Walters; they consider her a player and a user of men in the swinging singles market. She is a 28-year-old successful

interior designer Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordi ...

living in San Francisco near Chinatown. Christina meets up with her friend Courtney Rockcliffe, a divorce lawyer. They console their friend and roommate Jane, who had recently broken up with her boyfriend, by taking her out to a dance club. Jane feels out of place, so Christina grabs a man named Peter to set Jane up with, but he berates Christina for her methods before disappearing for the night. While in the bathroom with Courtney, she calls him by name, leading her to suspect that he got under Christina's skin and she is actually in love with him, which she denies. After running into Peter again, Christina buys him a drink and they spend time together. He explains that he will be attending a wedding on Saturday, and that he is at the club with his obnoxious,

womanizing Promiscuity is the practice of engaging in sexual activity frequently with different partners or being indiscriminate in the choice of sexual partners. The term can carry a moral judgment. A common example of behavior viewed as promiscuous by man ...

brother Roger to celebrate. He invites Christina and Courtney to an after-party at their hotel, but Christina goes home and later regrets not going. The next day, Christina cannot stop talking about Peter, while Jane pays an embarrassing visit to the dry cleaner. Courtney arranges for Christina and herself to travel to

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lor ...

, where Peter's brother's wedding is to take place, and they meet Jane's boyfriend. After they leave in Courtney's

Saab 9-5 The Saab 9-5 is an executive car that was produced by the Swedish automobile maker Saab from 1997 to 2012. The first generation 9-5 was introduced in 1997 for the 1998 model year, as the replacement to the Saab 9000. At the time, the car repr ...

, Christina and Courtney go on a series of misadventures including an exploding toilet, a glory hole discovery, and a motorcyclist who is led to believe Courtney is receiving

cunnilingus Cunnilingus is an oral sex act performed by a person on the vulva or vagina of another person. The clitoris is the most sexually sensitive part of the human female genitalia, and its stimulation may result in a woman becoming sexually aroused ...

while driving. Meanwhile, Jane encounters her boyfriend at her retail job and is nearly caught having sex with him in a

changing room A changing-room, locker-room, (usually in a sports, theater, or staff context) or changeroom (regional use) is a room or area designated for changing one's clothes. Changing-rooms are provided in a semi-public situation to enable people to ch ...

. When Christina and Courtney finally arrive in Somerset, they visit a store to replace their wet and ruined clothes, only to come out in extremely gaudy, indiscreet outfits. Christina begins having second thoughts, but a series of coincidences causes a change of heart, and they attend Peter's brother's wedding. However, they discover that it is Peter, not Roger, who is getting married, and the pair nearly ruin the ceremony in their attempt to escape. Peter and his fiancée then decide that they do not want to marry each other and they call off the wedding. Christina and Courtney return home and help Jane get out of a sexual situation where the emergency crew was called in. Christina is back to a newly unfulfilled life of being single again. Later, Peter finds Christina's address in the log at the store they bought their clothes in and tracks her down. Christina, determined not to fear the commitment, kisses Peter and then walks away disappointed. Sometime later, Courtney is dating a doctor and is clearly very attracted to him, and Peter is interviewed like the men at the beginning of the film, retelling his version of the events calling her a bitch and a player, but ultimately reveals that he and Christina are together, having gotten married and are living very happily with Jane and Courtney and Roger as well.

Cast

as Christina Walters *

as Courtney Rockcliffe *

Thomas Jane Thomas Jane (born Thomas Elliott III; February 22, 1969) is an American actor. He is known for appearing in the films Padamati Sandhya Ragam (1987), ''Boogie Nights'' (1997), '' Deep Blue Sea'' (1999), '' The Punisher'' (2004), '' The Mist'' ( ...

as Peter Donahue *

as Jane Burns *

Jason Bateman Jason Kent Bateman (born January 14, 1969) is an American actor, director and producer known for his roles of Michael Bluth in the Fox/Netflix sitcom '' Arrested Development'' and of Marty Byrde in the Netflix crime drama series '' Ozark'' (20 ...

as Roger Donahue *

Parker Posey Parker Christian Posey (born November 8, 1968) is an American actress and musician. Posey is the recipient of a Golden Globe Award nomination, a Satellite Award nomination and two Independent Spirit Award nominations. Posey made her film debu ...

as Judy Webb

Home media

The film was released on DVD and VHS on August 20, 2002. An unrated version was also released on DVD with some extra scenes added, including a musical performance by Diaz, Applegate and Blair, known as "The Penis Song".

Reception

On its opening weekend, it earned US$9,430,667 on 2,670 screens, ranking #3 behind ''

Changing Lanes ''Changing Lanes'' is a 2002 American drama thriller film directed by Roger Michell and starring Ben Affleck and Samuel L. Jackson. The film follows a successful, young Wall Street lawyer (Affleck) who accidentally crashes his car into a vehicle ...

'' and ''

Panic Room ''Panic Room'' is a 2002 American thriller film directed by David Fincher. The film stars Jodie Foster and Kristen Stewart as a mother and daughter whose new home is invaded by burglars, played by Forest Whitaker, Jared Leto, and Dwight Yoaka ...

''. It eventually grossed US$68,696,770 worldwide.

Critical response

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

the film has an approval rating of 26% based on 110 reviews, with an average rating of 4.30/10. The consensus calls the film "a collection of hit-or-miss gags tied together by a thin plot". On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, the film has an average score of 32 out of 100, based on 30 critics. Audiences surveyed by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...

gave the film a grade C+ on scale of A to F. It was among Ebert & Roeper's "Worst of 2002", in the category "Big Stars in Big Bombs".

Notes

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sweetest Thing, The 2002 films 2002 romantic comedy films 2000s buddy comedy films 2000s comedy road movies 2000s female buddy films 2000s sex comedy films American buddy comedy films American comedy road movies American female buddy films American romantic comedy films American sex comedy films Columbia Pictures films Films directed by Roger Kumble Films produced by Cathy Konrad Films scored by Edward Shearmur Films set in San Francisco Films shot in San Francisco 2000s English-language films 2000s American films