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Sweetest Thing, The
Columbia Pictures / Sony Pictures Entertainment

Sweetest Thing, The reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 32 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
6.6 out of 10
based on 30 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 34 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: R for strong sexual content and language

Starring Cameron Diaz, Christina Applegate, Thomas Jane, Selma Blair, Parker Posey, Jason Bateman, Damon Williams, and Johnathon Schaech

A romantic comedy without the sugar, The Sweetest Thing is a fresh twist on the search for love. (Columbia Pictures)


GENRE(S): Romance  
WRITTEN BY: Nancy Pimental  
DIRECTED BY: Roger Kumble  
RELEASE DATE: DVD: August 20, 2002 
Video: August 20, 2002 
Theatrical: April 12, 2002 
RUNNING TIME: 84 minutes, Color 
ORIGIN: USA 

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

80
Washington Post Desson Thomson
That cameraderie is bound to appeal to women looking for a howlingly trashy time.
Read Full Review
75
Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach
Its effects don't linger long enough to seriously detract from the raunchy good time had by all.
75
Miami Herald Connie Ogle
It's an extremely raunchy hybrid of "Bridget Jones's Diary."
Read Full Review
70
Los Angeles Times John Anderson
The trick is getting from a conclusion made five minutes into a movie to an ending 90 minutes away. It can be a scary prospect. In The Sweetest Thing it is mostly a hoot.
Read Full Review
63
Boston Globe Wesley Morris
This movie is to sweet as a dog is to a hydrant. But it's little things like that that keep someone like Diaz laughing all the way to the urinal.
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60
Washington Post Stephen Hunter
The movie is neither good nor bad, but in its clever packaging of boy fantasy and girl fantasy, extremely cunning. As for Princess Diaz, no force on Earth can stop her now.
Read Full Review
58
Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
A movie in which laughter and self-exploitation merge into jolly soft-porn ''empowerment.''
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50
Time Richard Corliss
Randy and giggly, this is a femme version of "The Man Show."
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50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey
Pimenthal's script consists of the scantiest storyline, framed around a succession of strained Farrelly Brothers-style gags that feel as though they were peeled off the floor of the editing room for "There's Something About Mary."
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50
USA Today Claudia Puig
Aspires to be a cinematic "Sex and the City," but it's more like South Park Goes West.
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50
Seattle Post-Intelligencer Paula Nechak
You walk away wishing they had more than this scant and often shoddy material with which to enjoy their rollicking and racy good time.
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40
Variety Robert Koehler
A comedy that starts the date in a frisky mood but sours before it's time to kiss goodnight.
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38
Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea
The ads for The Sweetest Thing promise that if you loved "There's Something About Mary" and "My Best Friend's Wedding," then you can't miss this latest Cameron Diaz vehicle. Well, miss it.
Read Full Review
38
New York Post Jonathan Foreman
An awkward hybrid of genres that just doesn't work.
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38
ReelViews James Berardinelli
Has some promise as a throw-away, lighthearted romance. Unfortunately, once those elements are gone, what's left only has a running time of about 13 minutes.
Read Full Review
38
Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
It knows the words but not the music; while the Farrelly brothers got away with murder, The Sweetest Thing commits suicide.
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38
Chicago Tribune Mark Caro
Lacks the meanness of so many recent gross-out comedies. With the sparkling Diaz leading the way, the lame humor is much more palatable.
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30
Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum
The film is far too appreciative of its own jokes to let the audience discover anything on its own.
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30
Newsweek David Ansen
Cameron Diaz, Christina Applegate and Selma Blair are asked to humiliate themselves many times over in The Sweetest Thing, and they do it with such game good spirits that they ought to get the actor’s equivalent of a Purple Heart.
30
The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin
Diaz does what she can under adverse circumstances, but she doesn't come close to salvaging this ramshackle vehicle.
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30
Film Threat Michael Dequina
A sour attempt at making a Farrelly Brothers-style, down-and-dirty laugher for the female set.
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30
Austin Chronicle Kimberley Jones
Christina Applegate, of Eighties white-trash pinup fame, is a comic foil par excellence, delivering a snazzy, self-assured performance that lands the biggest laughs in a movie made mostly of hollow chuckles. She, in fact, is the sweetest thing in this sour, sucky film.
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25
Portland Oregonian Kim Morgan
Garners only a few chuckles, becoming, even in its short running time, boring.
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25
New York Daily News Jack Mathews
This vulgar, equal-opportunity chick flick aims pretty low.
25
San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle
Nothing but a showcase for the inherent comedic gifts of Cameron Diaz. The problem is she doesn't have any.
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20
TV Guide Steve Simels
It's hard to overstate just how awful this movie is, despite the efforts of the appealing cast.
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10
The New York Times A.O. Scott
After about 20 minutes of "Thing," a concussion begins to look enormously appealing.
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10
LA Weekly Manohla Dargis
So badly written, so poorly directed and performed, and so garishly visualized -- attention Kmart shoppers! -- it defies explanation.
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0
New Times (L.A.) Robert Wilonsky
The dumbest thing this side of a lobotomy.
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0
Village Voice Dennis Lim
One of the cruddiest-looking movies ever made.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 6.6 (out of 10) based on 34 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Nes K. gave it a1:
Never seen such a vulgar, brassy film ever. Really disgusting dirty scenes at toilets, a lot of underwear, and lousy gags. Degrading all women to sexobjects, full of men fantasy.

Erin W. gave it a10:
This movie ROCKS!!!

Angie S gave it a10:
The best movie ever! It's so funny it's hard not to pee yourself! Finally girls have a raunchy comedy to match all the ones guys have!

Kate gave it a10:
Favoritie movie.

Sarah N. gave it a 10:
It was soooo cute ! I don't see how you could hate it. It's so funny and i always howl at the screen of laughter cause its just so cute...

Jane D. gave it a 0:
By far the worst movie I have ever seen.

Me gave it an 8:
Very funny and great to watch with your friends, but Cameron Diaz is such a ditz it gets old at times, but great ending!

Read more user comments...

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