Uh oh. Melanie Carmichael (Reese Witherspoon) has a dilemma. Thrown back into a life she left behind, she is forced to confront her past and choose between two men who are in love with her. It's too bad she isn't worth the trouble. A wealthy socialite climbing the ladder of the fashion business and fiance of Andrew (Patrick Dempsey of "Scream 3"), son of New York City's mayor (an icy Candace Bergen), urban chic Melanie must return to her hometown in Alabama to finalize a divorce with a man whom she deserted seven years before to make something of herself.

It seems as though the sweet, yet steady, New York sophisticate we initially see suddenly becomes a brutish, self-centered drama queen as soon as she inhales that Alabama air. Embarrassed by her low-down, dirty past, Melanie's main concern is to get her divorce papers signed and get out of Alabama as soon as possible. Yet, she is forced to stick around due to her husband Jake's (Josh Lucas of "A Beautiful Mind") refusal to sign them. Meanwhile, her superiority complex gets her into trouble with the townies, even resulting in her outing her old friend Bobby Ray (Ethan Embry of "Can't Hardly Wait") in front of a crowd of people.

The two worlds of New York and Alabama begin to clash with one another when a photographer of a New York newspaper attempts to cover her visit. We discover that Melanie is so humiliated by her poor, simple past, that she has feigned a blood connection to a rich plantation family, using their last name and stately house to pass off as her own. Yet as Melanie is reminded of her Southern roots, she becomes torn between happiness in New York with a man who will provide her with a life of luxury and the feeling of comfort in Alabama with the man she fell in love with at 10-years-old.

If you want artificial, you can find it here. The portrayal of characters put forth strong stereotypes. The Southerners are reckless, fun-loving rednecks, including Melanie's father whom she must pick out from a sea of fallen Confederate soldiers during a Civil War re-enactment.

In contrast, the New Yorkers are cold, stern and too successful for their own good. Jake and Andrew are both decent, good-natured guys whom, in a real-life situation, might be difficult to choose between. Yet it is hard to comprehend why Jake would still harbor romantic feelings for such a changed Melanie. It is too bad both men are not pining after a woman who actually deserves their devotion, as opposed to a superficial snob.

This film fails to impress: Witherspoon is not doing anything we have not seen before; this role is reminiscent of her character in "Legally Blonde." I failed to muster any concern for the characters, except maybe sympathy for the two poor guys who are too blind to see that Melanie is not worth their time.

It is not only the triteness of this plot that fails to please this movie-goer; it is also the blatant stereotyping and the celebration of shallowness which disappoints. So who does Melanie choose in the end? Who cares?