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List Price: $9.98 | | Label: Turner Home Ent
Salesrank: 6586
Released: December 7, 1999 |
| Our Price: $4.46 |
| Used Price: $2.90 |
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MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
This well-acted drama won the Audience award at the 1996 Sundance Film Festival, causing a festival ruckus when several distributors entered a bidding war in response to the movie's positive buzz. When the movie was finally released, audience and critical response provided a sudden reality check: the movie's good to a point, but hardly worth the fuss it received at Sundance. Packing a miniseries' worth of melodrama into 117 minutes, the story centers on a young woman named Percy (Alison Elliott) who served prison time for manslaughter and arrives in a small town in Maine with hopes of beginning a new life. She works as a waitress in the Spitfire Grill, owned by Hannah (Ellen Burstyn), whose gruff exterior conceals a kind heart and precious little tolerance for the grill's regular customers, who cast their suspicions on Percy's mysterious past. The plot unfolds when Hannah holds a $100-per-entry essay contest to find a new owner for the grill. There's ample mystery surrounding the collected money, a local hermit who's really Hannah's shell-shocked Vietnam veteran son, and circumstances that lead the locals to adopt a lynch-mob mentality at Percy's expense. By the time Percy is nearly drowning in a raging river, The Spitfire Grill has taken its melodrama a few steps 'round the bend. Fine acting is the movie's saving grace, however, and newcomer Alison Elliott anchors The Spitfire Grill with a subtle, emotionally involving performance. Thanks to Elliott and Burstyn, you don't have to feel too guilty if you find yourself reaching for a Kleenex as the closing credits roll. --Jeff Shannon
The Spitfire Grill Reviews:
Don't miss this one!!! 
2008-10-05 - Extraordinary film, full of grace and compassion. Beautifully filmed with solid performances, Alison Elliott is a stand-out!
Spitfire Grill 
2008-09-30 - This movie is beautifully done. We all still become teary-eyed at the end of the film, despite viewing it numerous times. The story makes you think and teaches us not to judge others harshly based on face value. A good movie for older children. Some might consider it "boring", but conservative families looking for good viewing for the entire family, definitely will not!
Redemption of a town
2008-07-26 - The Spitfire Grill is one of my favorite movies because it deals with the timeless themes of sin, judgment, redemption and grace. Percy Talbot comes to a town whose people are suspicious of her background and few are open to getting to know her since she had spent time in prison. Gradually, through her relationship with the owner of the local diner/grill, Percy begins to make inroads into the life there, just by being herself.
Eventually, through her grace filled manner to others who often do not treat her in kind, Percy's life leads to the redemption of the entire town.
Peopled with believable characters and fine actors (Ellen Burstyn and Marsha Gay Harden)the film does not have a classic happy ending, but it is a most satisfying one that moved me to tears. It's message stayed with me.
Fantastic Movie
2008-07-04 - This is a tremendous movie. It is a movie that you can get into from the beginning and it keeps your attention. It also has a extraordinary ending that will get to your heart.
Surprising Treasure
2008-01-04 - I was quite impressed with this movie. Well acted, excellent character development, thoughtful and interesting plot, well-timed unveiling of Percy's past, multi-layered symbolism, and an excellent combination of sadness and hope. The fundamental theme is redemption, and it presents this theme in a nuanced, light-handed yet serious and complex manner. Deeply human and moving. There are no special effects, and some people might find it a bit slow, as it is set in small-town Maine, though I thought it moved along quite well. It is a thoughtful human drama, not an action thriller, and as such, I found it to be remarkable.
