Warning: SPOILERS for Sweethearts are ahead!
While everyone flocked to the movie theaters this week, serving up a box office feast for a handful of new 2024 releases, I decided to check out what was new on streaming. I happened to stumble upon Max’s new comedy Sweethearts, and it was hilarious from start to finish. However, it would have been even better if the A and B story plots were split into two separate movies.
For those who haven’t stumbled upon Sweethearts while aimlessly scrolling some of the best streaming services looking for something to watch, the A story follows two college freshmen/childhood best friends who have decided that they need to break up with their high school sweethearts when they’re back in town for Thanksgiving break. Jamie (Kiernan Shipka) and Ben (Nio Hiraga) come up with an elaborate plan to end their respective relationships on Thanksgiving Eve, but things don’t go according to plan.
Meanwhile, their other best friend, Palmer (Caleb Hearon), decides to take a break from his exciting life in Paris to return home to Ohio in order to throw himself a coming-out party the night before Thanksgiving. Like Jamie and Ben, Palmer’s plans are derailed, but he learns that his hometown isn’t as close-minded as he previously thought it was.
Sweethearts Brought The Humor And Plenty Of Emotions
The idea of college students coming home on Thanksgiving to break up with their high school-era relationships isn’t a new one — see Freeform’s original movie Turkey Drop — but Sweethearts made it unique by focusing on Jamie and Ben’s platonic relationship.
It was refreshing to see their friendships take center stage and stay that way for the duration of the movie. Even when they did kiss, they quickly realized that they were better off as friends, something that doesn’t happen all too often. Not to mention, Shipka and Hiraga’s comedic timing was impeccable as they delivered hilarious lines of dialogue and physical comedy moments.
While there was an emotional element at play in Jamie and Ben’s quest to be single again, the real emotional arc of the story fell on Palmer’s shoulders. Sweethearts could have played his entire plot for laughs, especially since it was assumed that everyone knew he was gay even if he hadn’t officially come out publicly. Instead, it handled it with a grace that not many other films would have been able to do. Through Palmer’s story, Sweethearts was able to tackle an authentic look at the Midwest queer experience that is largely underrepresented in media.
Letting The Two Plots Be Their Own Movies Would Have Made Them Even Better
As it stands, Sweethearts is an excellent movie with two tight storylines that eventually intersect. However, because these two stories are going on simultaneously, there are times when we should be diving deeper into them, but instead we’re cutting to the other.
If the two stories had happened in separate movies, Jamie and Ben would have had more time to explore their codependent relationship and what that means for their respective futures. Their kiss wouldn’t have felt so out of place because they could have built up to it more, and thus the resolution that they’re better off as friends would have been more fulfilling.
It’s Palmer’s story, though, that truly would have benefited from being its own film. Like I said, it’s not a point-of-view explored a lot, even in the best LGBTQ+ movies, and the way it was handled here was heartwarming and hilarious. I would have loved to see Palmer learn more life lessons from Coach Reese (Tramell Tillman) and a slower progression of his relationship with Lukas (Miles Gutierrez-Riley). It also would have been nice to spend more time with Palmer at the beginning to see how miserable he actually was in Paris instead of having to hear about it.
Regardless of what I think, Sweethearts was a fun and entertaining film that everyone should check out. You can stream it with an active Max subscription.
