Review by zebra83

With a cast like this, America's Sweethearts could've been great. And the actors were right for the roles: Catherine Zeta-Jones is good as the snobby movie star we love to hate, John Cusack is the quintessential loser in love, Billy Chrystal knows how to tell a joke, and Julia Roberts is pretty good anywhere. But it was far from great. It couldn't decide if it wanted to be a spoof on hollywood life or a romantic comedy, so it fell short in both areas. If you get to put John Cusack and Julia Roberts together on-screen, you should make use of them. THat means giving them jokes for one thing. Cusack typically does the love-sick schtick perfectly, but their romance is just the side show, and it happens so quickly he has no time to do it, and I found it difficult to believe they were in love. Meanwhile the fun this movie pokes at the junket system is hardly fun; a spoof should be cutting. this one is not, but luckily Cusack does get a few good lines during interviews with talk show hosts. I did, however, get a few good laughs, and this cast does what it can with what it's given. It's worth seeing if only because the pickings are so slim this summer.