Please don't spend money on this.

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

This film offers the modern viewer born say during the Reagan Administration and well after or into the Civil Rights Movement, a little perspective on what was the socio-political atmosphere in Alabama in 1957, the year in which "Hearts of Dixie" was based. And while this film is no exceptional film by any stretch of the imagination, it is worthy of viewing and comment on several grounds.For one thing, it reveals the naiveté prevalent among the South and especially young Southerners of the time regarding the race issue, and especially their superficial and almost arrogant attitudes toward it.The film portrayed these elements with skill and prowess.The film also examined the social awakening of two of its main and central characters, namely Phoebe Cates' character for one, which was cursorily touched upon, and the role played by Ally Sheehy, the central character in the story. The juxtaposition of her supposed civility and grace mixed with her moral and ethical outrage at the act of injustice at the Elvis concert and afterwards was especially revealing and telling. And her awakening was a true metamorphosis, and the crowd scene shows this, for it allows her Southern-ness to essentially disintegrate and disappear was artful while her new self emerges and into the arms of her hero.It would appear that the first person who reviewed and panned this film failed to catch as much.The film itself may have been overacted and a bit contrived, that much is given, but overall the story and screenplay itself was a good and solid one and does not deserve to be panned in the manner in which it was panned. I would urge everyone to view this film with a more critical eye, which means to do so with an eye more toward seeing the film's cinematic merits and detractions and to look beyond just how the actors respond to their roles. For in just regarding an actor's portrayal, you too might be accused of taking the film a little too superficially.

This is a movie that strives to be more than it is, but fails miserably. The plot is simple. A college senior, at a southern university in 1957 experiences an awakening, and realizes that she does not want the life that has long been planned for her, with the rich boyfriend and life of ease. Rather, she decides she wants to fight for racial equality, even if that means expulsion from school and the loss of everything she has.Heart of Dixie tries very hard, but ultimately it simply does not work. The actresses' accents come and go, and sound as if they are rejects from the cast of Gone with the Wind. The characters are underdeveloped, making it hard to care what happens to them and the movie itself drags. Oddly enough, Phoebe Cates barely has a presence in the film, but receives third billing. Essentially, this is a movie to watch when nothing else is on. Other than that, it is best to avoid it.

Maggie(Ally Sheedy), Delia(Virginia Madsen)and Aiken(Phoebe Cates)are returning to Randolph University in 1950's Alabama. These sorority sisters spend most of their time worrying about finding and keeping the men they will eventually marry and become the typical southern wife. Education actually is on the back burner. Maggie awakens to the realities of the world around her; after witnessing a young black man being beaten by a crowd of whites and the police at an Elvis concert. She wishes to write an article in the college paper about racial discrimination and segregation. But she is ahead of her time.Other cast members: Treat Williams, Don Michael Paul, Lisa Zane and Peter Berg. This is one of those cases where the soundtrack actually outshines the film. Some real great 50's music by the likes of Ivory Joe Hunter, Jackie Brenston, The Platters and Elvis Presley.

I enjoyed this movie very much. I remember the time very well and the social & racial barriers that went with it. I think this movie was very accurate in showing how much the young emerging adults were going thru, what they were really like. (Much like the movie MONA LISA SMILES shows us about another area of the same period in time.) It shows not only breaking out of their social naivety but how hard it was to step outwith the awakening conscience of what is right and wrong, even when it went against what they were taught. It shows the dying embers of the old South "privileged class'" finally breaking into the 20th century.I also think we could use more of this caliber of movie making. Where the "true stories" with accuracy portrayed. A movie that gives the generations to come something to learn from, as well as being entertaining. I think it is the best of Ally Sheedy.