The bawdy, One-Crazy-Night comedy has been a tried-and-true (and sometimes tired and blue) staple for decades, from “Risky Business” to “Sixteen Candles,” from “Dazed and Confused” to “Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle” to “Superbad” to “Booksmart,” and director/co-writer Jordan Weiss’ “Sweethearts” often plays like a greatest-hits montage of the genre.
This is a smart, funny, original piece of work that turns some well-worn tropes upside down in clever fashion, a heartwarming slice of comfort comedy — albeit one that’s rated R for “sexual content, language throughout, teen partying and brief graphic nudity.” (The latter of the male variety and played for laughs.)
Whereas most films in this category feature characters who are in high school, “Sweetheart” is set primarily during freshman year in college, specifically the Thanksgiving holiday weekend when everyone comes home for the first time.
Kiernan Shipka and Nico Hiraga have instant and credible chemistry as Jamie and Ben, who have been best friends forever and are attending the same college, where they’ve been reluctant to participate in the social scene out of loyalty to their respective high school sweethearts: Jamie’s boyfriend Simon (Charlie Hall), a dumb jock football player attending Harvard (kind of odd, given Ivy League schools don’t offer athletic scholarships, although they do recruit athletes, but no biggie), and Ben’s girlfriend Claire (Ava DeMary) who is a senior in high school. (She’s 18, it’s OK!)
After an extended and quite hilarious prologue set at college, Jamie and Ben come to the realization they both need to be single, and they make a pact to break up with their partners when everyone reunites over Thanksgiving break. Off we go on the aforementioned One Crazy Night. Will there be binge drinking and beer pong, wacky misunderstandings and epic arguments, and perhaps even a bonfire gone wrong? You betcha. Still, despite the predictable developments, the screenplay by director Weiss and Dan Brier is filled with crisp and funny one-liners, realistic dialogue and some nifty surprises.
Caleb Hearon is an absolute hoot as Palmer, who is the third wheel in the Jamie/Ben friendship and has taken a gap year to live in and work in Paris, in a bistro just outside Euro Disney. Palmer has decided it’s time for him to come out, which is going to come as a shock to absolutely no one, but his journey on this evening will take a surprising turn. The standout supporting cast also includes Tramell Tillman as the high school football coach — and this is another instance in which a character who at first seems like an easy stereotype turns out to be more complex and interesting.
Mostly, though, “Sweethearts” is about that friendship between Jamie and Ben, which has a very “When Harry Met Sally…” vibe. (There’s even a scene where Ben’s parents are watching the scene in the movie where Billy Crystal says, “No man can be friends with a woman he finds attractive.”) Once again, though, the storyline is handled — well, let’s leave it at that. With Kiernan Shipka and Nico Hiraga delivering winning performances, “Sweethearts” is a “raunch-com” with true heart.