I like character driven films. Adventureland comes to mind, even My Dinner With Andre. If you have characters you like and the dialogue is interesting it doesn't matter if nothing else happens. Sweet Thing tries hard, it has two great likable leads, but is done in by it's too many musical montages and under developed script.

In this film, two girls looking for love and life comes to a head when they become quick friends. Liz serves drinks at a coffee drive-thru while looking for love and tries to find her way in the world that awaits her. Jody seeks relief in her mundane life in the form of drugs. The film starts out by showing the two different lives of the girls but stumbles by making us wait for them to meet. The low key drama is helped immeasurably by the two leads Jennipher Foster and Beth Ison. They have a very natural fresh quality when on screen they seem pretty real. I think with the right director and writer, they could shine even more. Rest of the cast is variable on acting. It feels like a student film and seems stretched to feature length. The film is only 78 minutes long, but is always interrupted by the overuse of the musical montage. The film feels longer than it should. There is some nice cinematography and there is some nice dialogue, but this doesn't make a complete film.

That being said, I think with a tighter focus and tighter script, Joe Lia could come up with something nice.

As they say, nice try but no cigar.

Thomas A. King