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Melanie Carmichael (Reese Witherspoon) is a successful fashion designer who just had her first show in New York. Coming off the high of that extravaganza, she's blindsided by a romantic proposal in Tiffany's by her love, Andrew Hennings (Patrick Dempsey), a JFK surrogate and the son of New York City Mayor Katherine Hennings (Candice Bergen). Melanie accepts, of course, but there's one slight impediment; she's still married to her childhood sweetheart, Jake Perry (Josh Lucas). Despite her repeatedly mailing the divorce papers to him during their years of separation, he's steadfastly refused to sign. So after an absence of seven years, Melanie heads home to her poor country parents, Pearl (Mary Kay Place) and Earl Smooter (Fred Ward), and to have it out with Jake.

There wouldn't be much of a film if there weren't some hostility camouflaging an underlying affection. Melanie and Jake bicker like an old married couple, which, I suppose, they are. At first, Melanie erects a wall, an emotional barrier that she uses to deny her background and support the notion that she's risen above it. This has no small affect on her interactions with Jake, old friends, and relatives. The plot devices are clear. Will she allow herself to be drawn back into the warmth of her humble beginnings? Or will she flee to her glamorous life in the city? Who will she end up with, the right guy or the great guy? And which is which?

It's interesting to watch how the filmmakers develop Jake's character; our first impression is that of an ignorant redneck, but as the film progresses, Melanie and the viewer learn that there's more to Jake than one might expect. Director Andy Tennant and screenwriter C. Jay Cox manipulate the audience, attempting to keep the viewer off balance, trying to avoid telegraphing an ending that's transparently predictable. But Witherspoon is delightful and both Dempsey and Lucas invest their characters with, well, character. Neither becomes the jerk; we'd be happy if either won the girl. The supporting cast is uniformly excellent. Jean Smart has a few fine scenes as Jake's mother. And Candice Bergen is a hoot as the politically obsessed Mayor and potential mother-in-law from hell. The skill of the filmmakers and the players elevate the film above some flimsy material.

Video: How Does The Disc Look?

The film's theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1 is presented in anamorphic video. Edge halos are present but are rarely seen. Small object detail and fine textures are quite good, based on the visibility of weaves within fabrics in close-up and the subtle freckles on Reese Witherspoon's nose. Color accuracy is great; flesh tones are very natural and there is no hint of smearing or chroma noise. Shadow detail is fine but not outstanding. Little film grain is apparent in this very clean transfer. I noticed no compression artifacts. We're left with a reasonably film-like presentation.

I should mention that highlighted items on the DVD's text menus have odd rainbow shadows that had me wondering whether my DVD player or projector had a problem. It's on the disc.

Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?

Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks are available in both English and French. The filmmakers missed an opportunity to take advantage of the bottom-most octave during the Civil War battle reenactment sequence; the cannons lack a visceral punch. Deep bass, even during several thunderstorms, simply wasn't there. Surround effects are virtually nonexistent; all the emphasis is on the front soundstage. George Fenton's down home score is presented within a nicely defined acoustic space and, thanks to a small ensemble dryly recorded, with a pleasing sense of presence. I was particularly impressed with the clarity of what sounded like a string quartet playing the wedding march. The dialog is always reproduced with great accuracy.

The audio is supported by subtitles and Closed Captions, both in English.

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

There is a generous selection of eight deleted scenes in Off The Cutting Room Floor. Director Andy Tennant introduces each and explains the rationale behind their being edited from the film. Observant viewers will notice a newspaper article involving a woman named Erin during the closing credits (Tennant uses the titles to tie up a few loose ends). We learn much more about her (and see a bit more, too) in six of the eight deleted scenes. A ninth deleted scene is listed separately; it's the Alternate Ending. This clip is book-ended by the director.

Tennant also may be heard in a feature-length, screen-specific audio commentary. He takes us through the shoot, explaining locations, shooting conditions, timing, and peppers his monologue with interesting anecdotes. Of interest is how the story evolved through the production; whole sequences were excised, some to be replaced with others. Unfortunately, he spends a bit too much time discussing character motivation and story arc. I'm pretty confident that you'll get it without the director's explanations.

For all you country and western fans out there, Touchstone has included a music video of "Mine All Mine" (3:42) by SHeDAISY. The 109-minute feature is organized into twelve chapters.

DVD-ROM Exclusives: What do you get when you pop the disc in your PC?

The DVD invites the viewer to register the DVD, but no Touchstone skin with a described Register button loaded on top of my InterActual player. A link is provided for manual registration.

Parting Thoughts