How to Make an American Quilt - PG-13

Rollicking, soap-like tale of women's love lives.

Rating: PG-13 for a scene of drug use, some sensuality and nudity. Studio: Universal Studios Directed By: Jocelyn Moorhouse Cast: Anne Bancroft, Ellen Burstyn, Winona Ryder Running Time: 117 minutes Release Date: 10/06/1995 Genre: Drama

Common Sense Note

Parents should know that this girl-power-themed drama is heavy on the smoking, some drinking, and on illicit affairs. Several of the women cheat on their partners with others, including Hy sleeping with her sister's husband, Finn sleeping with Leon while engaged to Sam, and Constance sleeping with Ann's husband Dean. Dean is rumored to have had several affairs. The film also depicts the way in which women have had their dreams stifled by a society that wedded them to their home.

Families can talk about whether a film like this is really feminist or whether it's just reasserting old ideas of what it means to be a woman. Do you think the ideas about women and the ideas about men that it professes are true? Do you think it's a biological imperative for men to "flaunt their feathers," as Ann asserts?

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Common Sense Review

Reviewed By: Heather Boerner

Men don't have the market cornered on fear of commitment -- and HOW TO MAKE AN AMERICAN QUILT shows why.

In the movie, Finn (Winona Ryder) is a newly engaged doctoral candidate who can never seem to seal the deal: She's researched three different theses and each time, she gives up just as she's about to finish. So in an effort to hunker down and sort out her feelings about marrying fiancé Sam (Dermott Mulroney), she decides to spend the summer with her grandmother and great-aunt (Ellen Burstyn and Anne Bancroft, respectively) in their quiet rural California town.

Finn's grandmother and great-aunt, with the help of their many friends (among them women played by Maya Angelou, Alfre Woodard, Lois Smith, and Kate Nelligan) begin work on a wedding quilt for Finn. The quilting time brings out the stories of each woman, helping Finn understand her fear of commitment and the legacies of the women in her life. And it helps her understand her flirtation and growing feelings for Leon (Jonathan Schaech), who could just complicate her plans.

What this film does really well is tell the stories of all these women's lives. Who would have thought that crotchety old Sophia (Lois Smith) was once a talented diver who was convinced by her alcoholic mother to marry because she's "not pretty enough to make it on her own?" Who would have guessed that being a single mother would have been the best thing that ever happened to Anna (Maya Angelou)?

The women are fascinating, and you want to hear more about them. They exemplify the very real reasons a woman might be afraid to tie herself down to one man. And the star power of the women playing them (including a cameo by Kate Capshaw as Finn's mom, Sally) is dazzling. To have a chance to see these talented actors come together to play off one another is a delight.

However, despite all that, it's hard to consider this a feminist film. There's a fine line between telling the silenced stories of women and dressing up a soap opera in Thelma and Louise clothing. At one point, Constance deadpans, "The hardest part of being a woman is having woman friends." At another, Anna says, "I've come to believe that (her philandering husband) Dean is more typical than not. The female keeps the nest and the male goes out and flaunts his feathers." What could be more "biology is destiny" than that? So viewers should know that the woman-power ethos is a veneer for a great old Southern gothic story and enjoy it for that.

People who enjoy this film may also enjoy Beloved, Boys on the Side, Inventing the Abbots, Spitfire Grill, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, and the TV series Gilmore Girls.

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Content		CS	adults	kids
Content
Sexual Content Lots of heavy kissing among many partners and lots of discussion of love affairs. Some stripping and posing naked, though no breasts are shown. One illicit affair ends in pregnancy and desertion.
Violence Glady throws statues at her husband in a fit of rage. Young Sophia jumps into the water and seems to drown.
Language Some salty language, including "damn," "s--t," "hell," "bulls--t," "son of a bitch," "bastard," "whore," and "asshole."
Message
	Social Behavior The film depicts systemic sexism and racism that keeps women from following their dreams. Anna's mother steals back her quilt and gives it to Anna. But the film's moral, that you "have to go by instinct and you have to be brave," is a positive one.
	Commercialism Glady eats Dreyer's Ice Cream
	Drug/Alcohol/Tobacco Several people smoke, including Finn and Constance. Hy and Glady smoke a joint. Dean smokes a pipe. Sophia's mom is drunk and belligerent.