ChanBot i must have seen a different film!!

HeadlinesExotic Boring

Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Invaderbank The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

sddavis63 Near the beginning of the movie, Finn (played by Winona Ryder) offers this rather drab and depressing observation: "love sometimes dies." Well, sure - and I suppose most of us have been present at its death at some point in our lives, but I don't know that I want to have to be in on the autopsy afterward. Personally, as obviously true as the above statement from Finn may be, I'll still take 1 Corinthians 13:8 - "love never fails." It sounds so much more hopeful! As for this movie, it was just a dismal portrayal of love, marriage - and men, who generally come across here as rather unlovable, adulterous and shallow twits.Much of the movie is told in flashbacks. Finn is a young college student writing a master's thesis who gets engaged and then promptly heads off to stay with her grandma and aunt and their friends for an entire summer while they make her wedding quilt. The movie revolves around the stories of the women's loves - and, for the most part, it ain't a happy story! They've all failed at love in one way or another (or, more usually, the men they loved failed them) and they end up getting poor Finn to the point of wanting to back out on her own wedding.From my perspective none of the performances here were particularly memorable (including Ryder's) and the characters not all that interesting or memorable. The movie ends with what appears to be some attempt at redemption, but you have to be able to stick with it long enough to get there, and then the redemption itself is a sort of qualified one as Finn ends her narration by essentially saying that she and her fiancé Sam might as well go through with this marriage thing because they have as much chance of succeeding as failing, and maybe their love will tip the scales ever so slightly on the "success" side of the scale. Isn't that heartwarming (or pathetic!) 2/10 (and I'm struggling to remember why I decided to go that high!)

tavm Filled with veterans, (Ellen Burstyn, Anne Bancroft, Jean Simmons) recognizable character actors, (Rip Torn, Holland Taylor, Esther Rolle, Alfre Woodard), hot young adult stars (Winona Ryder, Dermot Mulroney, Samantha Mathis), some up-and-comers (Jared Leto, Claire Danes, Johnathon Schaech), and a poet (Maya Angelou), How to Make an American Quilt is an inspiring movie about a young college student staying during the summer at her aunt's house with many of that aunt's friends sewing a quilt while sharing memories of their young lives that provide material for the young woman's college paper. Based on a novel, this film provides detailed flashbacks of some of those lives and less so on others but they mostly provide some impetus for the aspiring author's decisions as she makes up her mind of what future she decides on. As a result of the constant flashbacks, some of what happens may be confusing but most gets explained at the end. So on that note, I recommend How to Make an American Quilt.

fimimix I truly wanted to like this movie - what a cast ! But, I had problems deciding whom was who, except the fabulous Ann Bancroft - has she ever made a bad film ? - Maya Angelou, from whom I expected really good acting - I'm still trying to figure-out which one of them was Jean Simmons: the artist's wife ? Me, I want them to show a picture of the cast AT THE BEGINNING OF THE FILM, showing who's doing what. Unless you point to her and say, "that's Ryder", I wouldn't know her at all.Of course, this movie answers the question "can men and women be friends"? I guess they can't if they are heterosexual, but I know gangs of gay men and women who are very devoted friends - mostly, because the women know they aren't going to be hassled-off-to-bed by the guys. If something happens, that's a plus. It also answers the question can ordinary people be faithful to their spouses, and that answer is announced with a blasting "NO!" We like to say "it's women's lib" or the liberally modern attitude for today. Heck, all of the great classics are about infidelity, huh? Just wasn't as blatant as it is today. This is demonstrated by the "pretty swimmer-boy" who was telecasting he would become more than "friends" - did you see that finger on her leg ??? I truly believe the empathy between Bancroft and whomever that other sister was is possible. Many more of that kind of relationship going-on that is known, or talked about. Perfectly believable they both would come to realize we are all too sexually riled-up and forgiveness makes life beautiful. Why some were surprised that the sisters smoked grass between them is more of that "they're old" syndrome younger people carry today - pot has been around for a long time ! I've watched this movie twice and kinda enjoyed it - the colors were nice for cinematography; I really didn't pay that much attention to the score. How can you praise the script and direction if you're disappointed in the finished product? Maybe I should read the book and let it go at that. If there were any great acting or promise of Oscars in this film, it all escaped me. I like "talky" movies, but these stories were far too undeveloped to make any impression. I was totally surprised that Maya Angelou found the perfect, young, black man at the end of the rainbow, then got pregnant by a white nincompoop. Was she just "gettin' the air" under that tree? I'm not convinced. Maybe I'll watch it again and understand it better for a future review - I hope. I REALLY wanted to like this movie !

DazedDreamer OK, so I'm not really what I'd consider to be a Winona Rider fan, but I did like this movie (inspite of her). I think Drew Barrymore, or someone of that vein (not as dower as Rider) would have been better in this role honestly. The movie started out kinda slow, but as it went on and as the womens stories unfolded, I began to have a familiar feeling. I realized that this movie has a kinda of "Steel Magnolias" & "Ya-Ya Sisterhood" feeling about it: phenomenal ensemble cast (who more than outweighed the lackluster performance of the "lead"), diverse story lines, and I also like the fact that not every 'story' had a "happy ending" in the traditional way, but that every woman did come to a place where she felt comfortable experiencing her own version (good or bad) of 'where love lives' - be it in a daughter's heart, a lover's arms, a sister's forgiveness, a mother's admission of her faults, a stranger's kiss, or even in your fiancé's van.