THE SPITFIRE GRILL
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1996 James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 6.0 Alternative Scale: **1/2 out of ****
United States, 1996 U.S. Release Date: 8/30/96 (limited); 9/6/96 (wide) Running Length: 1:57 MPAA Classification: PG-13 (Profanity, mature themes) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Cast: Alison Elliott, Ellen Burstyn, Marcia Gay Harden, Will Patton, Kieran Mulroney, Gailard Sartain, John M. Jackson Director: Lee David Zlotoff Producer: Forrest Murray Screenplay: Lee David Zlotoff Cinematography: Robert Draper Music: James Horner U.S. Distributor: Columbia Pictures
If you decide to see THE SPITFIRE GRILL, bring a handkerchief. Or, better yet, make that a whole box of tissues. The only dry eyes at the end of the film will belong to movie-goers who recognize writer/director Lee David Zlotoff's gauche and shameless manipulation. Cynic that I am, I left the theater dry-eyed, realizing that, had Zlotoff not been moved to inject overblown melodrama into this simple character-based piece, THE SPITFIRE GRILL could have been an enjoyable little picture. By failing to curb certain excesses, Zlotoff damages the film's emotional balance.
It's understandable why this motion picture took the audience award at this year's Sundance Film Festival, especially when you consider the fete's growing commercial tendencies. With THE SPITFIRE GRILL, if you don't think too hard about what's going on, it's easy to be drawn in by the film's apparent sincerity. The movie pushes all the right buttons, and viewers inevitably react. However, the bottom line is that, while THE SPITFIRE GRILL is a tearjerker, it's too clumsily-constructed to be considered a skillful one.
Actually, the movie follows up a strong start with a solid middle. It's only in the last half-hour that things start to go bad. It's as if Zlotoff, not knowing how to end the story, decided that the easiest way to tie up loose ends was to go for the quick, cheap way out. The concluding quarter of THE SPITFIRE GRILL contains a few too many contrivances -- missing money, a "surprise" revelation (which is anything but unexpected), white water rafting without the raft, and an "emotional" speech that strikes the wrong chord.
The Spitfire Grill is the only place to grab a bite in the small town of Gilead, Maine -- the North's answer to FRIED GREEN TOMATOES' Whistle Stop Cafe. With her bad leg, the proprietress, Hannah Ferguson (Ellen Burstyn), is finding the Grill progressively more difficult to run. So, when the sheriff comes to her with an offer of help, she reluctantly agrees. Her new waitress/kitchen worker is named Percy Talbot (Alison Elliott), and she's an ex-con, having just been released from Windham Prison after serving a five-year term for manslaughter.
When Hannah suffers an incapacitating injury, Percy is forced to take over the day-to-day operation of the Grill. Since she's a terrible cook, she's grateful for the help of a local woman, Shelby Goddard (Marcia Gay Harden), who's a godsend in the kitchen. Shelby's bitter husband, Nahum (Will Patton), is far less helpful, however. Convinced that Percy means no good, he'd like nothing better than to run her out of town. Meanwhile, a mysterious watcher in the woods lurks around the Grill by night, coming into the open only to collect a bag of canned goods that Hannah leaves outside for him.
As a character study of Percy, THE SPITFIRE GRILL works. Although parts of her past are painted with broad strokes, she is fleshed out with amazing aptitude by actress Alison Elliot (the "woman left behind" in THE UNDERNEATH), who's easily the best thing about this movie. Elliot's performance keeps us involved for nearly the entire film, and almost gets us through the turbulence of THE SPITFIRE GRILL's dissatisfying climax.
Playing roles that are variations of familiar stereotypes, none of Elliot's co-stars are especially noteworthy. Ellen Burstyn is the crusty old woman with a good heart who hides a terrible, tragic secret. Marcia Gay Harden is the meek wife who finds a backbone as a result of her association with Percy. And Will Patton is the hard-hearted cynic who distrusts the newcomer from the moment that she sets food in Gilead. Burstyn's performance is robust, and Harden is effectively pathetic (despite the uneven accent), but Patton's unsubtle, unsympathetic portrayal is unfortunate.
There are numerous similarities between THE SPITFIRE GRILL and FRIED GREEN TOMATOES, but, while both movies shamelessly go for the tearducts, Jon Avnet's 1992 feature has a level of emotional honesty that's missing here. I wanted very much to like THE SPITFIRE GRILL, in large part because Alison Elliot made me care about Percy, and, for the better part of ninety minutes, I was willing to forgive the movie its few, mostly small, narrative problems. Unfortunately, those flaws multiply at an alarming rate as the end draws near, and I left the theater feeling somewhat let down. THE SPITFIRE GRILL isn't a bad movie, but, like Percy's breakfast special, certain overdone portions are difficult to digest.
- James Berardinelli e-mail: berardin@bc.cybernex.net ReelViews web site: http://www.cybernex.net/~berardin
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