How to Make an American Quilt (1995)

Plot: Finn (Winona Ryder) basically runs away for the summer after her long term boyfriend, Sam (Dermot Mulroney), proposes. He brings her to stay with her grandmother (Ellen Burstyn) and her great-aunt (Anne Bancroft), like she did every summer when she was a child. They are part of a quilting bee, and the members (Kate Nelligan, Alfre Woodard, Jean Simmons, and Maya Angelou) each share their stories of loss and love with Finn while they quilt to the theme of “where love resides”.

You’ll just have to ignore the Ryder part. She’s exasperatingly horrible, but the stories those strong and beautiful women tell are definitely worth it.

Truly, Bancroft and Burstyn alone make it worthwhile. Have I mentioned them before? I know I have talked about Bancroft, but what about Burstyn? Possibly two of my fav actresses, at any rate. Burstyn’s this big ball of fire. I love watching her ignite everyone and everything around her.

Based on Whitney Otto’s novel, Jane Anderson’s screenplay is touching if a little underwhelming. The stories of the different women are beautiful and compelling, but she fails to connect the patchwork with any sort of a pattern. Plus, Finn’s story is just plain stupid. She behaves like a selfish child, and she gets rewarded in the end. I don’t expect every movie I see to be a tale of morality, but shouldn’t Finn learn something from her transgressions? Seriously, could she learn anything?

As for Jocelyn Moorhouse’s direction, well, she could have done better. She’s a good storyteller, which is very important, but she doesn’t seem to know the difference between a made-for-TV movie and a major motion picture. The latter is even more important. As humble as we all should be, there is a certain sense of grandeur that should lie slumbering within every movie. At least, within every picture meant to be something more than entertainment. And shouldn’t they all strive to hit that mark?

Thomas Newman (composer) seems to be pretty hit and miss. I love his work on American Beauty and In the Bedroom, but I hate his score for Pay it Forward because it was just a reworking of the groundbreaking sound of American Beauty. I also don’t like it hear. I don’t know why, but whether I watch it on cable or on satellite, whether I rent it on video or DVD, the music always sounds worn out. Do you know what I mean? It sounds like someone has played the tape too many times or that the record is warped. It’s distracting and annoying.

I confess what you have already figured out: it’s a chick flick. A huge, girly chick flick. Fine, I said it.