Aahana Swrup
‘Sweethearts’ is a unique Holiday comedy film that revolves around a pair of best friends and their Thanksgiving adventures, which includes the seemingly impossible task of breaking up with their long-distance significant others. Ben and Jamie have been friends since middle school and have a tendency to do everything together. This includes attending the same college, realizing their high school relationships from back home are ruining their lives, and embarking on a mission to break up with their partners on the same day. However, despite their extensive planning, things fall apart as Turkey Day nears and their hometown erupts in drunken celebrations the night before.
Ben and Jamie’s dynamic remains at the center of the narrative. Thus, the duo undergoes many ups and downs in their relationship. However, as the codependency of their friendship becomes evident, the two characters—and everyone else around them—can’t help but wonder if they really are “just friends.” SPOILERS AHEAD!
Ben and Jamie’s Codependent Camaraderie
Ben and Jamie’s story begins in college, where, despite getting months to settle into their new normal, neither has made a single new friend. For the most part, this is a direct result of their reluctance to go out and party with their fellow college-goers. However, according to Jamie, it would only be a futile attempt at socializing since neither of them can actually enjoy the perks of going out, a.k.a. randomly hooking up with strangers. Both Ben and Jamie are still with their high school sweethearts, maintaining long-distance relationships.
For Jamie, this means ill-timed preoccupation with distracted attempts at phone sex with her jock boyfriend, Simon. Meanwhile, Ben’s girlfriend, Clarie—still in high school after repeating a grade—consistently bombards his phone with texts and calls. Although the pair try to convince themselves they’re still in love with their partners, their disastrous foray into a college party proves to them that their relationships are no longer functional. Consequently, when Ben begins considering a getaway to Copenhagen, the duo arrives at the conclusion that they must break up with their respective significant others.
By then, Ben and Jamie’s consistent reliance on each other’s company becomes more than obvious. From attending classes to getting kicked out of parties together—the pair inevitably arrive as a package deal. Naturally, this extends to their love lives as the two come up with the plan to simultaneously dump Claire and Simon on Thanksgiving break when they return to their hometown. Furthermore, they plan out their breakup scenarios, trying to fabricate the perfect circumstances and speech that will result in the least amount of fallout. However, when the time comes, their plan spectacularly falls apart.
As such, Ben and Jamie don’t get their drama-free breakup on the afternoon before Thanksgiving. Instead, they find themselves on a wild Turkey Day eve, including a tense bus ride, a chaotic visit to the bar, and an ultimate arrival at Kurt’s house party. Still, even though the venue isn’t ideal, the two best friends manage to steal a moment with their partners for the much-anticipated breakup talk. Only they accidentally end up picking the same spots for their conversation, which clues Claire in on the fact that her boyfriend and his best friend planned their joint breakups. Thus, while Ben and Jamie succeed in dumping their partners, they also get a reality check about their mutual codependency.
Ben and Jamie: Is Their Friendship Purely Platonic?
From eighth grade to college, Ben and Jamie’s friendship remains a stagnant dynamic that both individuals can rely on. The same couldn’t be said for their actual high school romances that both outgrow soon enough. However, during the crash and burning of their first love, the duo is confronted with a crucial question. After Ben does a poor job of dumping Claire, she doesn’t take the news well and snaps at him and Jamie. As such, she accuses them of hooking up with each other, considering their close relationship. Even though they easily deny the accusation, it leaves an impression on them.
Despite their closeness, Ben and Jamie have never found themselves in a romantically or sexually heated instance simply because they have always harbored platonic feelings for one another. Even so, they can’t deny their effortless chemistry. As the two discuss the same, they admit that they have considered the possibility of something other than platonic happening between them over the years. Nonetheless, neither ever thought to give it a try for fear of ruining their friendship. However, their friendship is already partially ruined as of now.
As it turns out, Ben has been seriously considering taking up the chance to study in Copenhagen for a semester. Since he initially decides to keep it a secret from Jamie, a huge argument breaks out between the duo by the time she learns of it. After a few choice words about Jamie’s guarded nature and desperate need to be liked are thrown around, she and Ben find themselves on uneven footing. For the same reason, in the aftermath of their breakup, the two realize now might be the best time to find out if their dynamic could evolve into something other than friendship. Consequently, Ben and Jamie end up kissing each other.
Nonetheless, a small fire at the party distracts the duo from talking about the kiss, which ultimately results in a few days of awkward radio silence between them. The kiss was a monumental decision in Ben and Jamie’s friendship since its aftermath would dictate their future together. Should one of them feel differently about the kiss, it would ruin their dynamic forever, preventing them from going back to their old relationship. For the same reason, both of them spend the following days moping, unsure of how to approach the other person. Eventually, after a conversation with his mother during a rewatch of the classic rom-com ‘When Harry Met Sally,’ Ben finally makes the decision to confront Jamie.
Harry Burns may have thought men and women couldn’t be friends due to the ever-looming possibility of a sexual relationship between them. However, Ben doesn’t agree with him. In the aftermath of the kiss, he realizes he doesn’t have any non-platonic feelings for Jamie. Even so, he deeply cherishes her friendship and wants her in his life forever. Fortunately enough, Jamie is on the exact same page and is relieved to learn nothing has to change about their friendship because of one curious kiss. Still, the two recognize that some things about their friendship call for a change.
Ben and Jamie have become too solidified in their comfort zones around each other. They can always rely on their best friend to spend a Friday night with them, which is why they’re reluctant even to try branching out further. Much like their high school relationships were keeping them from unlocking their potential in college, so was their codependent friendship. For the same reason, Ben decides to go through with his plan to study abroad for a semester, and Jamie agrees to give her roommate, Kelly, a try and perhaps join a sorority. Ultimately, Ben and Jamie learn how to stop being attached at the hip but still remain best friends until the very end.
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