Borgarkeri A bit overrated, but still an amazing film

HottWwjdIam There is just so much movie here. For some it may be too much. But in the same secretly sarcastic way most telemarketers say the phrase, the title of this one is particularly apt.

PiraBit if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Marva-nova Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

TxMike I found this movie on Netflix streaming movies. I had avoided it all these years because just based on the title I didn't think I would enjoy it. Now I know that was an incorrect judgment. It really is an exceptional story and the movie treats it very well.The main character is played by Winona Ryder who unfortunately is often known mainly for her shoplifting conviction, but she is a good actress. She plays Finn, 26 and working on her Master's thesis. It seems she has changed topics more than once which is used as an illustration of some difficulties she is having making commitments.She is engaged to be married, her fiancé is played in an understated manner by Dermot Mulroney as Sam. He drops her off at her grandma's place north of Los Angeles, a house at the edge of a large citrus grove. She plans to spend the summer there working on her thesis and he will pick her up at the end of the summer. But she wonders if marrying Sam is really what she wants to do, and meeting an attractive young man complicates her decisions.The title arises from the comparison of a group of ladies, a "quilting bee", making a quilt. Certain choices must be made, the overall intent of the quilt must not be forgotten, but in the end choices must be made and chances must be taken. Outcomes can't always be accurately predicted.So it is in life. The ladies are making the quilt for Finn but at the same time she is uncertain about her choices. As the movie moves along each of the older women shares her tales, of loves gained and loves lost, of compromises they might have made, all having an impact on Finn and helping her sort out her own feelings, goals, and desires.

HotToastyRag I'll save you some time. Gents, feel free to skip this movie. Based off the Whitney Otto novel, How to Make an American Quilt shows the audience a confused woman and the journey she takes to find herself as she talks to the women in her knitting group. If you like those kinds of "girl power" movies like Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood or Fried Green Tomatoes, you'll definitely want to watch this one.I don't happen to like those kinds of movies, so despite the large cast—Winona Ryder, Afre Woodard, Jean Simmons, Anne Bancroft, Ellen Burstyn, Maya Angelou, and Kate Nelligan—I didn't like this movie. Many women will find this movie touching and heartwarming, but it did nothing for me. The overriding theme is that every woman is a patchwork product of the other women in her life, so when we choose our path of love, it's not really because we're choosing it; it's because all the other women's experiences in love have taught us and shaped us. I've never been a huge fan of estrogen-fest films, but if you like them, rent this one with your girlfriends.

SnoopyStyle Finn Dodd (Winona Ryder) is soon to marry Sam (Dermot Mulroney). Only she has doubts. She has trouble finishing a thesis for her master's degree. She has doubts about everything. She asks "If you have to choose between marry a lover or marry a friend. Who would you choose?"The movie takes many flashbacks as it tells the stories of the various women's heart breaking pasts. It's a disjointed form of storytelling. I guess that's the quilt of stories being stitched together. It really disrupts the flow of the main Finn story. The relationship between all the characters in all the timelines can get quite confusing. The whole thing is a jigsaw puzzle of rambling stories. Quilts are patch works, but I would like a story to have better flow.Finn is a mess of neuroses. It's not a pretty character. All the doubts and all the confusion make it hard to root for her. At the end of the day, she has to decide and deal with the consequences. The pontificating on the matter just isn't that compelling. It's the dealing that makes for compelling movie watching. I spend most of the movie wishing Finn would move the story along quicker instead of talking about essentially the same thing over and over again. And quite frankly, I don't know how following a bird is anything more than Hollywood hokum.

Faizel-R I have watched parts of this movie more than once. The movie from start to finish only once. Each story unfolds like a facet on the quilt. Then as the main plot line draws to a conclusion, the thread that binds these stories together resolves each individual facet, to complete the whole.Quilting as I understand it, is bringing many contributions together to create a final product. Each little design tells a story and the master quilter put's these stories together , to convey a theme or message. I have not read the novel, but the movie conveys the message in it's title.The soundtrack is tranquil and adds to the mood.The interplay between Burstyn and Bancroft is a pleasure to watch. Winona is excellent.