LITTLE WOMEN (1994)
A film review by Andrew Hicks
Copyright 1996 Andrew Hicks / Fatboy Productions
*** (out of four)
No, this movie doesn't feature the many girlfriends in the life of Tattoo from "Fantasy Island" (located two miles east of Gilligan's Island), it's an adaptation of the classic Louisa May-Alcott novel about the Civil War days... and a darn good one at that. I wasn't too thrilled about two hours of repressed women in bustles, but once I gave in to my feminine side (I know you're snickering right now, so just stop it), I got into it.
Fueled by excellent performances from Winona Ryder (the movie was almost retitled SLAVERY BITES), Claire Danes (star of the defunct drama "My So-Called Life"), Kristen Dunst (who gets my vote of approval just for saying kissing greasy Brad Pitt in INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE was "yucky") and Susan Sarandon (obviously, she plays the mother), LITTLE WOMEN is thoroughly entertaining without the usual 90's Hollywood hang-ups of sex, violence and profanity. Well, someone does say "blast it!" (gasp!) in LITTLE WOMEN, but otherwise, it's profanity-free.
If you were ever forced to read the book in school, you're already familiar with the dainty-yet-tough-as-nails ladies in the March family, who are making it on their own in the absence of the father, who is off fighting the war. The main character, Jo, wants to be a writer (let's not draw any parallels here), while the other sisters just want to find husbands (women never change). We see two hours of their trials and tribulations, with moments of tense drama and female bonding.
It's a good movie, but even though I tried to block the flow of testosterone to my brain for two hours, I was still bored and restless at times. It took me no less than six sittings to get through LITTLE WOMEN, so a word of warning to you non-movie-reviewing guys--this movie is not to be entered into lightly. Male minds require great persistance to finish LITTLE WOMEN, which is one of the ultimate chick flicks out there, but once you get through, you can list it on your resume for the rest of your life.
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