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How to Make an American Quilt

(1995, Rated PG-13, Drama, Starring Anne Bancroft, Ellen Burstyn, Winona Ryder)

  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 13, age appropriate for kids over 14; suggested age 14.

  • Is it any good?

    4.0

  • Common Sense says

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

Why We Rated This on for Ages 14 and Up

What to watch out for

  • Messages:

    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.

  • Violence:

    Glady throws statues at her husband in a fit of rage. Young Sophia jumps into the water and seems to drown.

  • Sex:

    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.

  • Language:

    Some salty language, including "damn," "s--t," "hell," "bulls--t," "son of a bitch," "bastard," "whore," and "asshole."

  • Consumerism:

    Glady eats Dreyer's Ice Cream

  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Several people smoke, including Finn and Constance. Hy and Glady smoke a joint. Dean smokes a pipe. Sophia's mom is drunk and belligerent.
 

What Parents Need to Know

About How to Make an American Quilt

Parents need to 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.

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Families Can Talk About

  • 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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