Stylish little thing

At the beginning of the film, Alabama Beach is shown, where two children chased each other during a thunderstorm, these are 10-year-old Melanie Smerter and Jake Perry. They examine the sand into which lightning struck and it turned into a beautifully shaped glass. They discuss their future and Jake confidently says that one day they will get married. When asked why he would like to marry Melanie, he replies that he can kiss her at any time. And they kiss, but at that moment lightning strikes.

Our days. Melanie changed her surname to Carmichael , got rid of the southern accent and is a successful fashion designer in New York. After the betrothal with Andrew, the son of the mayor of New York, Melanie announces that she needs to go home alone to Alabama to personally notify her parents. In fact, she needs to divorce Jake, since she did not tell Andrew that she was married.

Upon arriving in Alabama, Melanie immediately goes to Jake and demands a divorce, as well as an explanation of why he had not returned her signed divorce papers for many years. From the conversation we learn that Jake got so drunk on their wedding night that they never had their first wedding dance. In response, Jake accused Melanie of having forgotten her roots and becoming a careerist, and said that if she went to visit her parents (which she had not done yet, having spent the whole day in the city), he would think about giving her divorce. In response, Melanie empties Jake's bank account, as technically this is still their total account. Melanie is surprised at how much such a large sum came from Jake, and even suggests that he might be plotting something illegal. Jake still refuses to get divorced, and following him to the local bar, Melanie gets drunk and announces to all those present that she married Jake because she was pregnant, but then had a miscarriage. After that, she begins to insult everyone in the bar, smugly asking how they can live like that. Jake takes her home, and waking up in the morning, Melanie discovers signed divorce papers on the bed.

Melanie learns from her friend Larlynn that Jake once came to New York to find her, because he still loves her. He was astounded by New York and realized that in order to return Melanie, he needed to “take over the world.” That night, Melanie goes to the cemetery to say goodbye to their dead dog, Bear. Jake tells her that with her departure, the Bear has changed a lot, and that he tried to explain to him that she had gone through his fault, Jake. And the conversation gradually turned to discussing the reasons why their marriage failed, the loss of the child, her departure. Jake blessed Melanie to marry Andrew, but Melanie is already saying that she will not be able to do this and passionately kisses Jake. Jake pushes her away, but still asks to return to the house.

Andrew arrived in the city in search of Melanie Carmichael , he was going to the plantation, where, according to Melanie herself, she grew up. Jake meets him and finds out that this is Melanie's fiance, and that she came up with a completely different personality in order to hide her true origin, which she was ashamed of. Jake, calling himself Melanie’s cousin, leads Andrew to her, telling along the way Melanie’s past feats, including how they tied a piece of dynamite to the cat’s tail, causing the bank branch to collapse, confirming the origin of her long-standing nickname “Felony Melanie” - “ Criminal Melanie. " Andrew and Jake came to the Civil War reconstruction field, where Melanie watched her father, one of the participants. Jake tells Andrew that they love two perfect different people in Melanie. And Andrew, realizing the whole truth, leaves.

Melanie returns to her parents' home, where her father walks with Andrew. Andrew tells her that he is very sorry that everything turned out that way, but he still wants to marry her. And they decide to get married in Alabama. During a pre-wedding bustle, Melanie and her New York friends find a store with a signboard called “Deep South Glass”, which Melanie admired from her return to Alabama when she saw Jake’s plane and sand formations from a lightning strike in a window, she decides that this store is owned by Jake, which explains his bank account. Jake leaves his office, they notice each other, but do not say a word.

On the wedding day, when Melanie goes to the altar, the ceremony is interrupted by a lawyer who explains that the divorce is still not finished, because Jake signed the papers, but she did not. Melanie tells Andrew that he cannot marry him, because he still loves Jake, and that he deserves someone who can give him all his heart. She asks the guests to stay in place until she finds a groom.

Melanie finds Jake on the same beach that we saw at the beginning of the film, looking for new formations of sand glass. She explains to Jake that they are both still married and that she wants to be with Jake. Jake asks why she wants it, to which Melanie answers: “Because then I can kiss you anytime.” They return to Jake’s mother’s bar, where guests and family are already waiting for them, and finally dance the first dance that failed on their wedding day.

• " A Stylish Little Feature ” on the Internet Movie Database
• Stylish little thing on the Rotten Tomatoes website