The Sweetest Thing (R, 2002)

THE SWEETEST THING stars Cameron Diaz as Christina, ad executive, full-time heartbreaker, and party girl. She lives with gal pals divorce lawyer Courtney (Christina Applegate) and salesgirl Jane (Selma Blair). They aren't waiting for Mr. Right. They are perfectly happy with Mr. Right Now. At least that's what they tell themselves. But they put up barriers to genuine intimacy in their romantic relationships, keeping genuine closeness for each other. Christina enjoys controlling men, dropping them quickly, and running back to share the dish. Then Christina meets Peter, he piques her interest by not being dazzled by her and by sizing her up right away. He mentions that he is going to a wedding the next day. So, when she can't put him out of her mind, she and Courtney decide crash the wedding. They're off on a road trip. All of this is just a thin excuse for a series of extremely raunchy and explicit jokes and situations, any of which would have earned an immediate NC-17 rating if this hadn't been a comedy and, more important, if not for the indestructible sweetness of Cameron Diaz, who acts as something between Teflon and a disinfectant.

None of the men at the screening I attended liked this movie. Some of them even came out of the theater looking a little shell-shocked. But many of the women walked out smiling. The Sweetest Thing's audience may break down along gender lines, but believe me, this isn't your mother's chick flick. That is, unless your mother is an Adam Sandler fan, because this is an Adam Sandler movie from the girl's point of view. Written by Nancy Pimental, it's a cheerfully obscene tribute to girlfriends and of course to true love.

The three leads are so bright and even endearing that the fact that they behave like complete skanks doesn't compute. Their loyalty and high spirits and the fact that no one is taking this movie very seriously (they announce that there will be a clothes-trying on montage and then appear as Julia Roberts, Madonna, and Olivia Newton-John) make this a guilty almost-pleasure.

Studio: Columbia Tristar
Director: Roger Kumble
Cast: Cameron Diaz, Christina Applegate, Selma Blair
Genre: Comedy
Run time: 88 minutes
Theatrical release: April 12, 2002
DVD release: August 20, 2002
MPAA Rating: R
MPAA explanation: strong sexual content and language