Editor’s Note: This article contains spoilers for “Sweethearts.”
The Max original rom-com and coming-of-age hybrid “Sweethearts” hit the streaming platform on Nov. 28. Co-written and directed by Jordan Weiss, the film is a lighthearted twist on the holiday romance genre with the added bonus of a youthful self-discovery journey. “Sweethearts” stands out as an unexpected hit in the under-utilized subgenre of holiday movies: the Thanksgiving rom-com.
The story follows college freshmen and childhood best friends Jamie (Kiernan Shipka) and Ben (Nico Hiraga) on their first trip back to small-town Ohio from the fictional Densen University. After realizing their long-distance relationships with their high school sweethearts are holding them back, the duo plans to break up with their partners on Thanksgiving Eve. As with any romance comedy, the pair’s plan gets sidetracked by several zany obstacles and their friendship faces the possibility of it becoming more romantic.
The question of how best to inflict heartbreak looms heavy over the two friends. Jamie’s and Ben’s relationships slowly crumble not only because of the strain of a long-distance relationship but they have also realized that they have drastically grown in the short time since they left their hometown. Additionally, their lackadaisical yet unwavering commitment to these long-distance relationships leaves them feeling isolated from their college’s social scene.
Jamie and Ben decide to set themselves free the next time they return to their hometown, which happens to be Thanksgiving weekend. Scheduling conflicts leave just a few hours for the pair to, as Jamie puts it, “thoughtfully, respectfully, lovingly” break up with their partners. Their intentions are pure, but their execution, not so much.
When Ben and his parents sit down to watch a film after their family Thanksgiving dinner, he goes through a sexual de-awakening, realizing that his friendship with Jamie is just that — a friendship. The beauty of the resolution to “Sweethearts” is that this is a comforting realization for him.“Sweethearts” pays a wonderful homage to one of the most beloved romance movies of the 20th century, and what is often considered the pinnacle of friends-to-lovers films, “When Harry Met Sally.”
The age-old debate over whether or not the sheer possibility of sexual attraction between an adult heterosexual male and female would ruin a friendship receives opposite responses from the two films. “When Harry Met Sally” is a true romance, answering in the negative to that question. Harry and Sally pass like ships in the night for nearly a decade before a chance encounter and a friendship between two newly single adults is formed. The pair fall in love rather quickly after that, and the audience is left with a satisfying happily ever after.
“Sweethearts” answers the debate in the affirmative, or rather it poses a different question altogether. Instead of assuming the inevitability of sexual attraction between adult heterosexual male and female friends, “Sweethearts” asks whether or not sexual attraction can remain fully outside of an adult heterosexual male and female friendship.
The subversion of the friends-to-lovers trope in favor of preserving the rarity of a purely platonic male-female adult friendship is an excellent writing choice. While Ben and Jamie are portrayed as a will-they-won’t-they relationship throughout most of the film, they end up staunchly in the ‘they won’t’ camp. It is an organic next step in their friendship as well as in their personal journeys as young adults.
Remaining close friends — but not crossing into the territory of lovers — allows them to develop separate identities in a new environment. This not only achieves the primary goal of devising their breakup scheme in the first place, but it also pieces together one of the most important messages to be drawn from any coming-of-age film — that a healthy amount of discomfort and exploration are absolutely imperative for personal growth.
Jamie and Ben’s codependent friendship is the biggest flaw in their relationship, but it is mostly resolved by the brief epilogue. The duo who had once been so reliant on each other that they could not end a romantic relationship without meticulously planning it out together is nowhere to be seen by the film’s end.
In the six months following their reconciliation and return to college, Jamie has opened herself up to the idea of forming new friendships for the first time in years, and Ben has gained a new sense of confidence after spending a semester abroad. Jamie and Ben can still exist as a unit because of their unbreakable bond. Nonetheless, they can also have separate lives that can intertwine because they want to, not because they have to.
One slight low point in the film is the underutilized character, Palmer (Caleb Hearon), who rounds out the friend trio with Ben and Jamie. After spending the first few months of his gap year in Paris, Palmer returns to Ohio ready to boast about his swanky new European life, one in which he can be unabashedly gay. The reality, however, was that his Paris life was not so glamorous, as most of his time was seemingly taken up either by being homesick or working in a patisserie outside of Disneyland Paris.
Palmer’s journey in accepting that his proud gay experience can exist in the comforts of his small hometown is touching but at times feels shoehorned into a movie already rich in subplots and sidequests. Palmer’s story does, however, align with the lesson learned from the lead characters: Sometimes you have to run away from what is familiar to figure out who you want to be.
While “Sweethearts” does not quite reach the timeless classic that it draws upon, it remains a solid entry into the current rom-com renaissance. Moreover, it is one of the better additions to the consistently underwhelming set of streaming-company-produced teen dramas. “Sweethearts” is an easy and enjoyable watch for rom-com fans this holiday season.
Camille Robinson is an Arts & Entertainment Intern for the fall 2024 quarter. She can be reached at camilllr@uci.edu.
Edited by Alaina Retodo and Mia Noergaard.