"There's a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole."     

THE SPITFIRE GRILL (PG-13) 

Reviewed September 14th, 1996 - check out the Spitfire Grill website.  

Winner of the audience award at this year's Sundance Film Festival, The Spitfire Grill is the story of Percy Talbott (played by Alison Elliott), an ex-prison inmate who comes to the small town of Gilead, Maine in the hopes of starting a new life.  Percy is reluctantly taken in by a local grill owner named Hannah (played by Ellen Burstyn), and for the remainder of the film we watch as Gilead learns to accept, and is ultimately transformed, by the presence of young Percy.  

I guess the best way to describe The Spitfire Grill is as a quaint, quiet movie with a bit of heart and a tendency towards melodrama.  Combined with the feminist themes that weave through the plot, it is somewhat reminiscent of the Fried Green Tomatoes types of films we've seen in recent years, and depending on how you feel about Fried Green Tomatoes, I suppose that could be either good or bad.  

Sundance award aside (or maybe because of it), many critics have panned The Spitfire Grill as an overly-manipulative tearjerker with a derivative plot and derivative characters.  Well, it is all that, but even then it remains a watchable film, thanks in no small part to the fine performances turned in by Elliott, Burstyn, and Marcia Gay Harden (a local housewife who befriends Percy).  This is not an exceptionally good film, but there are also worse ways to spend a couple of hours of your day.

IMPRESSIONS

Essay contest: I've got a 9-year old Macintosh SE that I've been trying to get rid of for a while.  If you want it, send me $100 (cash only, I'm not dealing with those interstate checks...) along with an essay describing why you should get the computer.  The person who writes the best essay gets the Macintosh...

This is how my local paper summarizes the plot of this movie (no joke!): THE SPITFIRE GRILL - A young woman leaves prison and moves to Gilead, Maine, where she works in the local cafe and starts lots of gossip.

Responses from cyberspace--thanks for writing!

ajajaj@mtco.com gives this movie  stars: "The Spitfire grill was a wonderful movie that I could relate to. It is great when they make movies that actually deal with real life situations!!!!!!" (8/13/01)

jim.maze@monacodenver.com gives this movie  stars: "Rarely have I seen a movie more moving or beautiful than "Spitfire Grill".  This has all the qualities of Field of Dreams, Fried Green Tomatoes, and It's a Wonderful Life, but in a small film sort of way. The acting, scenery, music, and theme of redemption make this one of the most memorable films I have ever seen. Rarely can a movie and a soundtrack be so moving that they can bring you to tears listening to the soundtrack months later. Being a former navy pilot and not Alan Alda type that is saying a lot. I will revisit this film and be taken with the warmth, love, and charm of the story for years to come. Hope you enjoy it too!" (10/22/99)

jamesharrington@mailexcite.com gives this movie  stars: "having been to peacham vermont and visiting store, moviesite for ethan fromme also, this is one wonderful motion picture, with no end of adjectives to describe it!" (3/31/98)