Sweethearts

Grade: B+

I’m glad I saw Our Little Secret and Sweethearts back-to-back, and especially in that order. One is a yin to the other’s yang. The former is a disappointing attempted romantic comedy that comes across as more of a contractual obligation for Lindsay Lohan. Sweethearts is a shining example of how delightful a formula can be if it’s done well and right. The word “appealing” kept coming to mind as I watched it. It describes the actors, the storyline, the developments…everything.

Kiernan Shipka starred in a sci-fi time travel horror comedy last year called Totally Killer. I really liked it, and loved her. Sweethearts is the fourth movie I’ve seen her in this year alone, after Longlegs, Twisters, and Red One. Here, she plays college freshman Jamie, attending the same school as her lifelong best friend Ben (Nico Hiraga). They are in long-distance relationships; Ben’s girlfriend Claire (Ava DeMary) is still in high school, and Jamie’s boyfriend Simon (Charlie Hall) goes to Harvard. They haven’t been feeling it for a while. Claire blows up Ben’s phone all the time with smothering, controlling neediness, while Jamie has been faking phone sex with Simon at unusual times of the day, due to his erratic schedule. Sometimes, the multitasking leads to misunderstandings on the other end of the line.

Thanksgiving weekend is coming up, and everybody’s about to go back home. Jamie and Ben hatch a plan to, in tandem, break up with their significant others then. They co-conspire with their friend Palmer (Caleb Hearon from I Used to Be Funny), but as this is a madcap romcom, things don’t progress according to plan.

Kiernan Shipka is a wonderful presence. Her line readings are always inspired, and she is a unique kind of pretty. She could have the romantic comedy market cornered for a long time if she wants. The attempted breakups are to happen on Thanksgiving Eve. It’s one of those movie tropes where everything imaginable happens to everyone in the course of one eventful night. Of course, there is a party involved. However, the situations, characters, actors, and journeys are all so appealing (there’s that word again), that I was happily and willingly along for whatever ride it was going to take me on. 

I assumed the joint breakups would be the one and only MacGuffin, and Sweethearts would march to the end with horse blinders on, only focusing on that one plot point. But this is a tree with branches. There’s a sweet subplot involving Palmer coming out as gay (not that it’s a surprise to anyone), and what he discovers about the queer community in this small town. I would not have predicted many things, much less the final scenes. Sweethearts could have taken the usual route, and I’d still like the movie, because by then, I was won over enough. The ending is one of the feel-goodiest of the year. Our Little Secret plays like it was churned out at a factory. Sweethearts is a minor miracle that lives and breathes.

Grade: B+