The Sweetest Thing
Release Date:
April 12, 2002
In The Sweetest Thing, Cameron Diaz returns to the realm of romantic comedy for the first time since her 1998 blockbuster, Something About Mary. After taking numerous daring parts - in films such as Very Bad Things and Being John Malkovich - that played against the Mary persona, she is once again playing an irresistible single woman on the search for Mr. Right. The catch here is that she's a very sexually aggressive woman who realizes a flaw in herself. She is so used to club dates with disposable men that she has zero ability to interact with her dream guy, played by Thomas Jane (Mickey Mantle in 61*). When he suddenly disappears, she grabs her best friend (Christina Applegate) and they set off on a journey to find him. As often happens on cinematic road trips, Diaz's character, Christina Walters, learns a lot about herself and her life along the journey.
This film has a second connection to the Farrelly Brothers/Something About Mary as the director, Roger Kumble (Cruel Intentions), was a co-writer for their films Kingpin and Dumb and Dumber. He should have an understanding of what made her performance in Mary so special and utilize this knowledge to make her character less innocent without making her any less charming and easily acceptable to mainstream America. The cast is stellar, led by the always-entertaining Parker Posey (Scream 3, House of Yes) portraying the fiancée of the man for whom Diaz falls. Selma Blair (Legally Blond) and former teen heartthrob Jason Bateman (Teen Wolf Too, Silver Spoons) also have large parts in the film.
While it would be foolhardy to give Diaz solo or even majority credit for the openings of Shrek and Charlie's Angels, it does bear noting that she is certainly moving into Julia Roberts territory in both salary and popularity while building an impressive filmography. The Sweetest Thing brings her full circle into the sort of role that first launched her into superstardom, and it will be interesting to see just how big this film opens based on her growing power as a box-office stud. On paper, this looks to be a big hit. (David Mumpower/BOP)
Sony is wisely playing the spring shell game by mixing and matching their various releases to optimal dates on the upcoming schedule. Due to this, titles such as Lone Star State of Mind and The Sweetest Thing have been bounced around several times in the past few days. The two productions have now been changed to TBA status on the schedule and other listings, such as New Best Friend (formerly known as Mary Jane's Last Dance), are being slotted in their place. I wouldn't be that concerned with The Sweetest Thing's current status, as the trailer has just been released and fairly well received. (David Mumpower/BOP)
Comparison films for The Sweetest Thing |
Title |
Date |
Opening |
Adjusted Opening |
Screens |
PSA |
Adj PSA |
Total BO |
Adjusted Total |
Mult |
| Shrek |
5/18/01 | 42.35 |
45.20 |
3587 |
11805.00 |
12118.4 |
267.65 |
285.66 |
6.32 |
| Charlie's Angels |
11/3/00 | 40.13 |
44.89 |
3037 |
13214.00 |
14219.1 |
125.31 |
140.18 |
3.12 |
| Runaway Bride |
7/30/99 | 35.06 |
41.78 |
3158 |
11102.00 |
12675.5 |
152.15 |
181.31 |
4.34 |
| America's Sweethearts |
7/20/01 | 30.18 |
32.21 |
3011 |
10024.00 |
10290.1 |
93.61 |
99.90 |
3.10 |
| Vanilla Sky |
12/14/01 | 25.02 |
26.70 |
2742 |
9123.00 |
9365.2 |
100.61 |
107.38 |
3.96 |
| Notting Hill |
5/28/99 | 22.13 |
26.37 |
2745 |
8062.00 |
9204.6 |
116.09 |
138.34 |
4.19 |
| You've Got Mail |
12/18/98 | 18.43 |
23.69 |
2691 |
6849.00 |
8470.0 |
115.73 |
148.79 |
6.28 |
| City of Angels |
4/10/98 | 15.37 |
19.76 |
2212 |
6948.00 |
8592.4 |
78.75 |
101.24 |
5.12 |
| There's Something About Mary |
7/17/98 | 13.74 |
17.66 |
2186 |
6285.00 |
7772.5 |
176.48 |
226.90 |
12.55 |
| Bridget Jones's Diary |
4/13/01 | 10.73 |
11.45 |
1611 |
6662.00 |
6838.9 |
71.50 |
76.31 |
6.66 |
| Someone Like You |
3/30/01 | 10.01 |
10.68 |
2345 |
4269.00 |
4382.3 |
27.23 |
29.06 |
2.72 |
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