Sweet Home Alabama

Parents need to know that Sweet Home Alabama stars Reese Witherspoon as Melanie, a New York City fashion designer who returns to her rural Alabama town. Unlike so many movies in which Southerners are portrayed as little more than punchlines or bullying bigots, even the minor characters here have some depth and rise above typical stereotypes, even if the movie sometimes comes off as trying a little too hard to prove its Dixieness. Also encouraging: When a closeted gay man is outed in public, his friends offer positive models of acceptance. On the iffier side, you can expect occasional profanity, including "s--t," "d--k," "bitch," "piss," "bastard," and "t-t." There are references to teen pregnancy, and Melanie gets drunk at a bar: She acts belligerent, vomits, and passes out. Drinking, vandalism, and minor crimes are portrayed as evidence of a free spirit.