Thanksgiving in America is one of the biggest holidays, celebrated with delicious turkey and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Strangely enough, I spent a different holiday watching this hilarious modern rom-com. It was Halloween night, and everyone in Savannah, Georgia was bringing out their best costumes—gallivanting through the Savannah Film Festival 2024. Instead of watching slasher films like Scream this Halloween, I enjoyed a wholesome experience watching Sweethearts in the filled Trustees Theater.
Originally intended as an HBO Max original, Sweethearts premiered in theatres during this festival—and I find myself hoping for a wider theatrical release. This funny and touching comedy follows college freshmen Jamie and Ben, who choose to break up with their small-town high school sweethearts on the same night during Thanksgiving break. This leads them to a chaotic night out in their hometown that tests their codependent friendship. This fun college comedy features unpredictable antics, witty dialogue, and a talented cast, making it a modern classic.
The main story structure of this film took a fairly linear path but with believable human errors along the way. Staying with high school partners through college is a timeless theme, featured in many films and stories throughout generations. Another common theme is whether college couples maintain their relationships after graduation and the start of their careers. Either way, it is a common ‘core memory’ for a lot of people—thanks Inside Out for the new terminology.
In Toronto, the fall dating scene is commonly referred to as “cuffing season.” This phenomenon occurs as couples start dating and often show off during the holiday season and New Year’s Eve, only to break up before Valentine’s Day. Sweethearts takes a different dating pattern of the “Turkey Dump”, but one where the characters are slightly more self-aware.
“Sweethearts takes a different dating pattern of the ‘Turkey Dump’, but one where the characters are slightly more self-aware.”
This film accomplishes the common trope but with a slight spin on it. To a certain degree, Jamie and Ben are practical thinkers about going to college while being in a relationship. They both realize it jeopardizes the college experience they both dreamed of. Whether their conclusions are correct or not is what made this film ambiguous and human. Most of the film had a lot of ambiguity—a reflection of life, especially at this age for most people’s lives.
The side story/parallel story follows Caleb Hearon’s character Palmer who is Jamie and Ben’s close friend studying abroad in Paris, France. A common theme for college students studying abroad is that they often drift apart from friends back home. Those abroad make local friends, and time zone differences can make communication difficult. This was somehow the same situation for Palmer, but it was interesting to see his journey of coming out to his parents after returning home to their small hometown—learning from unlikely adult role models.
Based on the premise I read of Sweethearts, I did not expect this film to tackle queer issues as well—and in a non-traditional way too. My only gripe was how it felt a bit shoehorned into the main story, and came off as a choppy side story. The whole film screamed modern rom-com because it subverted a lot of the overly done tropes in storytelling, and opted to tell realistic stories. The whole vibe of the film resembled FX’s English Teacher sitcom series. Essentially, this film expects its audience to be aware and open to dialogue with political correctness and pop culture references.
This was not a film for kids or those with conservative, traditional values—but for those trying to break those traditions. At its core, the relationship between Kiernan Shipka and Nico Hiraga’s on-screen friendship was the film’s strongest pillar. Hearon also held his own, delivering some great one-liners.
While Sweethearts does not bring anything new to the rom-com scene through cinematography or music, the story is a nice rollercoaster to ride on that does not overstay its welcome. It challenges societal norms and the classic rom-com genre.
The coolest fact from the panel after the screening for this film was that the writers Jordan Weiss (also the director) and Dan Brier based the story on their lives being childhood friends. If you are looking for some great laughs with friends (and family if they can handle it) this Thanksgiving season, this could be a great rom-com to stream on HBO Max.
