The Spitfire Grill (1996)

Redundant and unnecessary.

it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

My sidekick gave it a 2, I give it a 3, we both agree it's made for TV and belongs on Lifetime or Hallmark. Fine for burning a few hours on the couch on Sunday, but not a good movie. The script is evidence of the thousands of movies that came before this one and the fact that the writer and producer had to somehow come up with something "new" enough to get the project funded. So the plot is rather cockamamie, forced, and silly soapy. While there are necessary unexpected twists and turns, the predictability came in the form knowing exactly when the writer was forced to add a new twist, and our "uh-huh, sure, yeah right" reaction each time. Struck us as overwritten and overacted, with bad music and bad attempts at Maine accents. Interesting to see the 1996 version of Marcia Gay Harden, and Ellen Burstyn is a name, however I'm sure they'd agree this is not their best work. Not terrible if you have absolutely nothing to do, but go find something to do.

This film was allegedly a critical success but in reality it's a plodding, overwrought film that never really gets going.The characters are shallow and the alleged protagonist is a "Mary Sue". While I was led to believe that the film would be a wonderful account of people and complexities of relationships all I saw was bad writing and worse acting.While the written version and Biblical allegories of forgiveness and healing may work, this theatrical version misses the mark. I suppose if you have a pariah complex you can relate to this movie but for everyone else it's a waste of time.

How I missed seeing this movie in the 90s is beyond me. This movie is something that everyone should have in their collection at home. I cried my eyes out towards the end after seeing it for the first time this week. It should teach people NOT to judge a book by its cover. It just shows how heartless some people can be in real life. I can still remember Ellen when she played the role of Nurse Rachett in One Flew Over the Cockoo's Nest. The young lady that plays Percy was so right for this part. I could never say enough about this movie. It will be one of my old time favorites like High Noon, King Kong, The Wizard of Oz, Cat Ballou, etc.

I first saw Spitfire Grill shortly after it came out on video and today I just saw it again on HBO, and so I've confirmed to myself that this movie truly is excellent. The acting, writing, plot, subplots, editing, cinematography, and sound are all of excellent quality which allows one to become immersed in this story.I suppose that one may not like it if they are suffering from Attention Deficit Disorder or similar ailments, because you really need to just be able to sit down, relax, and enjoy the show. Seeing this movie currently rated near 7, is a little disappointing because this movie is so rich. My guess is that the people who gave it a low score probably didn't watch it, or perhaps think only cool special effects and nonstop action make for a great movie.This movie is more akin to Shawshank Redemption in the way it presents itself, without the narration. Shawshank is probably my personal favorite movie regardless of category, and I usually prefer comedies and sci-fi action type movies. But like Shawshank, this movie rates pretty high with me too. So if you're able to enjoy Shawshank Redemption, you'll enjoy Spitfire Grill.