Joan Plowright Movies
One of England's most esteemed actresses, Joan Plowright was trained at the Old Vic. She made her regional stage debut in 1951 and her London stage bow in 1954. Two years later, she joined the English Stage Company, where she essayed her most popular role up to that time, Margery Pincher in Wycherly's The Country Wife. That same year, she appeared in her first film, Moby Dick. In the original 1958 stage production of John Osborne's The Entertainer, Plowright co-starred with Sir Laurence Olivier, whom she would marry in 1961, a union that lasted until Olivier's death in 1989. She appeared on screen with her husband in the film versions of The Entertainer (1960) and The Three Sisters (1970), the latter of which was also directed by Olivier. During the same period, Plowright and Olivier were mainstays of London's National Theatre.In 1961, Plowright won a Tony award for her Broadway appearance in A Taste of Honey. Her stage work was briefly curtailed in the mid-to-late '60s, allowing her time to raise her family. From 1982 on, Plowright began appearing in films with increasing regularity, demonstrating at least two traits she'd evidently picked up from Olivier: a propensity for elaborate foreign accents (the hero's Jewish mother in Avalon (1990) and the heroine's Yugoslavian mom in I Love You to Death (1990)) and a willingness to take assignments possibly only for the money (Mrs. Wilson in Dennis the Menace (1993)). While an Oscar win is long overdue (although she was awarded a CBE from the Queen in 1970), Plowright was nominated for her work in 1992's Enchanted April. Perhaps one of her most endearing portrayals in recent years was as the high school teacher in The Last Action Hero who runs a clip from Laurence Olivier's Hamlet (1948) for her class, introducing Olivier as "the fellow who did all those Polaroid commercials." In 1999, Plowright additionally endeared herself to moviegoers with her role as one of a group of high society women living in fascist Italy in Franco Zeffirelli's Tea with Mussolini. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Mark S. Waters's adaptation of the popular fantasy novels The Spiderwick Chronicles tells the tale of the Graces, a family who must adapt to their new strange surroundings. As the story begins, twin brothers Jared and Simon, along with their sister Mallory and their mother, move away from the big city to a mansion owned by their uncle. When a series of strange happenings suggest that Jared may be causing a number of disturbances, the siblings band together to figure out what is going on. Soon they discover the magical history of the property. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Freddie Highmore, Mary-Louise Parker, (more)
The naughty little monkey from Margret Rey and H.A. Rey's beloved children's stories makes the leap to the big screen in this animated adaptation. Ted (voice of Will Ferrell) is an explorer with a large yellow hat who is good friends with Bloomsberry (voice of Dick Van Dyke), who runs a natural history museum. Bloomsberry's greedy son, Bloomsberry Junior (voice of David Cross), wants to tear down his dad's museum and put a parking ramp in its place, but the elder Bloomsberry is convinced that a spectacular new exhibit could save the museum from the wrecking ball. Ted heads to Africa on an expedition to find some special artifacts that will keep his friend in business, but while he's there he befriends a playful monkey he calls George (voice of Frank Welker). While George is friendly, he has a taste for mischief and seems to always get Ted in hot water; Ted thinks he's seen the last of his simian friend when his ship heads back to America, until he discovers that George managed to hide aboard the boat before it set sail. Ted's search for a eye-catching exhibit proved to be a failure, and Ted and his good friend Maggie (voice of Drew Barrymore), a schoolteacher who's sweet on him, struggle to find of a way to save Bloomsberry's museum. But time becomes precious for Ted when George has an entire new city to explore. Curious George features a handful of original songs composed for the film by surfer-turned-singer/songwriter Jack Johnson. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Will Ferrell, Drew Barrymore, (more)
An elderly widow and a young would-be author strike up an unlikely friendship in this comedy drama. Mrs. Palfrey (Joan Plowright) has been uneasy since the death of her husband, and she decides to move from her long-time home in Scotland to London so she can be closer to her grandson Desmond (Lorcan O'Toole). Mrs. Palfrey settles into the Claremont Hotel, a shabby residential inn for senior citizens that has seen better days. She tries to contact Desmond, but isn't able to get in touch with him, and at first she has a hard time relating to the other folks at the Claremont, especially friendly busybody Mrs. Arbuthnot (Anna Massey). Lonely and out of sorts, Mrs. Palfrey goes out for a walk one day and takes a nasty spill after losing her balance. Ludovic Meyer (Rupert Friend), a struggling writer in his mid-twenties, finds Mrs. Palfrey on the pavement and helps her, taking her back to her room and making sure she's OK. The two strike up a conversation and discover they have a surprisingly amount in common. A friendship grows between them, even though Mrs. Palfrey asks Ludovic to pose as her absent grandson so her neighbors will stop asking questions about him. Mrs. Palfrey even gives her new friend romantic advice, encouraging Ludovic to ask a pretty girl he meets at the video store out on a date. Based on a novel by the British author Elizabeth Taylor, Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont was directed by Dan Ireland. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Plowright, Rupert Friend, (more)
A young boy is sent on a remarkable odyssey as he flees a Communist prison camp in this historical drama, set in Eastern Europe in the early '50s. David (Ben Tibber) is a 12-year-old boy who was sentenced with his parents to a Bulgarian labor camp when they were found guilty of political subversion; he hasn't seen his folks in years, and looks to fellow inmate Johannes (Jim Caviezel) for protection and guidance. One day, David is able to escape, and as he flees, he is given a sealed envelope with strict instructions that he is to travel to Denmark, and he cannot open the letter until he gets there. David makes his way to Greece, stows away on an Italian ship, and is befriended by Maria (Viola Carinci), a girl he saves from a fire. Maria convinces her wealthy family to take David in, but when they become curious about his background, David realizes he's in danger and is soon on the run once again. In time, David makes friends with Sophie (Joan Plowright), a kind Swiss woman who gives him a home and is willing to help him complete his long journey. I Am David was adapted from the novel North to Freedom by Anne Holm, and represented a change of pace for director Paul Feig, best known for his work on such offbeat television comedies as Arrested Development and Freaks and Geeks. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Tibber, James Caviezel, (more)
A man looking for a woman just like himself ends up with someone quite different in this farcical comedy. Peter Sanderson (Steve Martin) is a lawyer who is having trouble getting his life back on track after his wife, Kate (Jean Smart), divorces him; he's also adjusting to his new status as a single father. Looking for companionship, Peter tries an internet dating site and virtually meets "lawyer-girl," an attractive and single fellow attorney. Peter makes a date with her, but the woman who arrives at his door turns out to be Charlene Morton (Queen Latifah), who not only isn't a lawyer, she turns out to be an escaped convict. Charlene is also a brash and brassy African-American, while Peter is perhaps the most tightly wound white guy in L.A. Charlene explains to Peter that she's strung him along because she's innocent of the crime for which she was convicted, and she needs a top-notch attorney to help prove her case. Peter isn't the least bit interested at first, but Charlene isn't the sort of woman to take "no" for an answer, and in time she wears him down and agrees to help. As Charlene moves into Peter's home, she helps him to loosen up and unleash his inner groove, which quite surprises Kate, and her down-to-earth advice comes in handy for Peter's son and daughter. But Charlene may end up going too far when Peter is asked to entertain Mrs. Arness (Joan Plowright), a wealthy woman looking for a new law firm. Bringing Down the House also features Eugene Levy as Howie, one of Peter's friends who takes a keen interest in Charlene, and Betty White as one of Peter's neighbors. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Martin, Queen Latifah, (more)
The family friendly adventure film George and the Dragon tells the tale of a knight who, upon returning home after an unsettling period fighting the Crusades, agrees to find a king's missing daughter in order to possess some land in a quiet area of the world. Soon he learns that in order to return the princess, George will be forced to outwit a dragon with the help of his loyal friend Elmendorf. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Purefoy, Piper Perabo, (more)
A mournful look at the last days of opera diva Maria Callas, director Franco Zeffirelli's biographical drama attempts to explore the irresistible allure of a comeback for a fallen star who hungers for the success of her past. Weathered from the excess of the previous decade and with her best performances long behind her, Callas (Fanny Ardant) withdraws to her Paris apartment to live her final days in seclusion. Despite being ravaged by a throat disease and being stuck in an extended period of mourning following the death of her true love, Callas' manager Larry Kelly (Jeremy Irons) nevertheless suggests that the former reigning queen of opera attempt a spectacular comeback. Though she is physically unable to perform the pieces the way that she once did, the suggestion to lip-sync to recordings of her previous performances offers a tentative chance for latter day fame. Despite her belief that lip-syncing her performance would be dishonest to her fans, the prospect of performing Carmen, an opera that she once recorded but never performed on stage, offers Callas one last shot at reliving her former glory. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fanny Ardant, Jeremy Irons, (more)
- 2001
"Bailey's Mistake" is the apt cognomen for a dismal, virtually uninhabitable island off the coast of Maine. Upon finding that the island was secretly purchased by her late husband, impoverished widow Liz Donovan (Linda Hamilton) heads "down east" to discover just what it was about Bailey's Mistake that compelled the deceased Mr. Donovan to squander all of his money on it. Before long, Liz and her two children are plunged into a mystery of Gothic dimensions, involving such elements as a man with a tail, a woman who calls herself "the Other Mrs. Donovan," a demonic land-grabber, airborne youngsters, eccentric Irish faith healers, a voracious goat, and a drunken cat. Originally aired by ABC as a two-hour episode of the Wonderful World of Disney anthology, Bailey's Mistake premiered on March 18, 2001. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Linda Hamilton, Kyle Secor, (more)
Veteran hack director Sidney J. Furie directs the silly straight-to-video comedy Rock My World. The aging stuffy English aristocrats Lord and Lady Foxley (Peter O'Toole and Joan Plowright) have fallen on hard times, so they loan out the use of their mansion to the American rock band Global Heresy. When the band's bass player mysteriously disappears, Nat (Alicia Silverstone) shows up to replace him. Then the servants don't show up, and the Foxleys are forced to pose and a maid and a butler in their own mansion. The culture class between the conservative English and the reckless Americans is played for comedy, leading to an ending where the power of rock & roll transforms both cultural groups. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter O'Toole, Joan Plowright, (more)
Walt Disney Pictures redefined computer animation with this technically accomplished fantasy of prehistoric life, combining live-action backgrounds with computer-generated animals. After a pterodactyl snatches a dinosaur's egg and accidentally drops it while flying away, the egg is rescued by a family of lemurs, who keep it warm until it hatches. They raise the baby dinosaur, named Aladar, as one of their own, and as he grows to adulthood, Aladar protects the primates that he has come to regard as his family. When a giant meteor appears in the sky, packs of dinosaurs have no idea what to make of the strange fiery light, but Aladar and the lemurs are convinced that they must escape to a safer place before the huge flaming stone destroys their home, leading Aladar to encounter his own kind for the first time. D.B. Sweeney provides the voice of Aladar; other actors in the voice cast include Joan Plowright, Julianna Margulies, Alfre Woodard, and Ossie Davis. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- D.B. Sweeney, Alfre Woodard, (more)
- 2000
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Home Vision Cinema presents Christmas Glory From Westminster. This program features poetry and music from celebrities from the worlds of film and opera. Readings include Greta Scacchi reciting William Blake's The Lamb and Joan Plowright reading Kipling's Eddie's Service, while the performances feature Charlotte Church singing Stephen Adams' "The Holy City" and Andrea Bocelli performing "Mille Cherubini in Coro." Released in 2000 and running one hour, Christmas Glory From Westminster also features Bryn Terfel and Trevor McDonald. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
Two friends get their first taste of adult responsibilities in this made-for-cable comedy-drama. Francesca (Mischa Barton) and Hazel (Ingrid Uribe) are two 12-year-old girls growing up in Percaucus, an economically depressed community that's seen better days. Hazel, who has an avid interest in politics and history, is upset with the slow decay of her hometown; she thinks new leadership would help, and when she discovers the city charter states no age requirement for the office of mayor, she decides to run against Mayor Harrison (Larry Musser), who has held the office for 28 years and is otherwise running unopposed. Meanwhile, Hazel's best friend Francesca loves the ballet, and has studied for years with the avid encouragement of her grandmother Phoebe (Joan Plowright). Phoebe has managed to get Francesca an audition for a scholarship with a prestigious dance academy; however, "Frankie," as her friends call her, also loves baseball, and has battled a sexist coach and dubious teammates to make it onto the local Little League team. Between her heavy schedule of dance practices and rehearsals, and her time with the team, Francesca's schoolwork is starting to suffer, and she realizes something will have to give. Frankie and Hazel was directed by actress-turned-filmmaker JoBeth Williams; it was produced for the Showtime premium cable network. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Plowright, Mischa Barton, (more)
Although Frances Hodgson Burnett did not feel the need to write a sequel to her classic fantasy novel The Secret Garden, this did not prevent producer Norman Rosemont from commissioning just such a sequel. Set in 1946, Back to the Secret Garden finds Mary Lennox, the youthful heroine of the original novel, all grown up and far removed from her beloved enchanted garden in Yorkshire's Mistlewaith Manor. Now living in New York, Mary comes in contact with Lizzie (Camilla Belle), a feisty Brooklyn-born orphan. It is Lizzie who tries to save the day by heading off to England and endeavoring to save Mary's secret garden, which has been literally dying in its caregiver's absence. Joan Plowright, George Baker, Cherie Lunghi, and Leigh Lawson co-star in this German-British co-production, which was originally intended for theatrical release. The American premiere of Back to the Secret Garden appeared on the Showtime Cable Network on September 2, 2001 -- nearly two years after the film's completion. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Camilla Belle, Joan Plowright, (more)
Based in part on his autobiography, director Franco Zeffirelli's Tea With Mussolini is a drama with comic accents about a group of British and American travelers on an indefinite visit to Italy in 1935, when, as one character puts it, "Mussolini was just a man who made the trains run on time." Luca (played by Charlie Lucas) is a boy living in Florence whose family situation is precarious at best; his mother has died and his father has little time for him. Fortunately, he's a welcome guest with Mary (Joan Plowright), a English woman visiting Italy to soak up European culture. Mary and her friends -- high-toned Lady Hester (Maggie Smith), pretentious Arabella (Judi Dench), American art collector Elsa (Cher) and cheerful lesbian Georgie (Lily Tomlin) -- enjoy the cultured, creative atmosphere of life in Italy, and their initial response to the rise of fascism is to arrange a polite meeting with Mussolini to make sure he and his soldiers mean well. After some time, Luca's father becomes concerned that the boy is soaking up too much British influence and enrolls him in a boarding school in Austria; by the time 1940 rolls around, situations have changed radically for everyone. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cher, Judi Dench, (more)
- 1998
- NR
This fantasy for younger audiences concerns Tom (Anthony Way), a 14-year-old English boy who in the 1950s is sent to live with his Aunt Gwen (Greta Scacchi) and Uncle Alan (James Wilby) after one of his siblings becomes seriously ill. Late one night, Tom makes a remarkable discovery -- after midnight, Gwen and Alan's clock strikes thirteen, and the dingy alley behind their home becomes a scenic wonderland where he meets Hatty (Florence Hoath), a 12-year-old orphan girl who lived 70 years ago. Tom's Midnight Garden, which was adapted from the novel by Philippa Pearce, also features a supporting performance from Joan Plowright. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Greta Scacchi, James Wilby, (more)
- 1998
In this TV sitcom, damaged vocal cords cut short the career of egomaniacal opera star Joe Pinoni (Nathan Lane), prompting his sudden return home to the Napa Valley where his family has a winery. His eccentric mother, Marie Pinoni (Joan Plowright), who usually finds companionship attending funerals of people she never knew, is delighted by Joe's return. However, his sister Francesca (Glenn Headly), just establishing herself as the winery manager, is certain he's going to interfere with her life. She's right. Filmed in L.A., this series premiered September 22, 1998 on NBC. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nathan Lane, Joan Plowright, (more)
Randa Haines directed this dance drama, focusing on young Cuban Rafael Infante (Latino singer Chayanne) after the death of his mother. Rafael leaves Cuba for Houston, where he meets his father John Burnett (Kris Kristofferson) for the first time. Burnette is unaware that the young man is his son, and Rafael can't figure out how to tell him. Rafael's mother was a singer on cruise ships where Burnett was a dance instructor. Burnett owns the Excelsior Dance Studio, and he gives Rafael a handyman job there, where he meets and falls for the Ruby (Vanessa L. Williams) a beautiful professional dancer. With the Las Vegas World Open Dance competition in a few weeks, dancers work on their routines, and Ruby aims for the Vegas prize. Rafael partners with Patricia (Jane Krakowski) after Burnett loses interest in the competition, and Ruby dances with her brutish ex-boyfriend, the father of her young son. Then it's on to Vegas. This film features great dance numbers and an homage to Gene Kelly beneath a sprinkler system. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vanessa Williams, Chayanne, (more)
- 1998
- PG
More chilling than fiction, this taut drama chronicles the CIA's search to prove that one of its agents has succumbed to greed and is exchanging highly classified government secrets for money. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Timothy Hutton, Elizabeth Peña, (more)
- 1997
Daniel Petrie scripted and directed this Canadian-British film, an adaptation of the memorable 1957 Brooklyn-based novel by Brooklyn-born Bernard Malamud, author of The Natural. During the Depression, drifter Frank Alpine (Gil Bellows) and hobo Ward Minogue (Jaimz Woolvett) rob the small Bober family grocery. Minogue attacks frail Morris Bober (Armin Mueller-Stahl) because he has little money. Later, guilt sends Alpine back to the store, where he goes unrecognized and is hired by Bober as an assistant, despite the objections of Ida Bober (Joan Plowright). While Frank works the store, receiving miniscule wages, he falls for Bober's daughter, Helen (Kate Greenhouse), and Morris eventually learns who Frank really is. Shown at the 1997 Montreal World Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gil Bellows, Kate Greenhouse, (more)
- 1996
- R
This unusual biography of the renowned Spanish artist Pablo Picasso is a Merchant-Ivory film. The team of director James Ivory, producer Ismail Merchant, and screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala has been responsible for many period dramas, including A Room with a View and Howard's End. The story of Picasso's remarkable misanthropy is told as experienced by his mistress Francoise Gilot (Natasha McElhone). Francoise was Picasso's lover from 1944 to 1954, and they had two children together, Claude and Paloma. The film shows Picasso (Anthony Hopkins) as a notorious womanizer, with flashbacks revealing his relationships with his wife Olga (Jane Lapotaire), the artist Dora Marr (Julianne Moore), and Marie-Therese Walter (Susannah Harker), an earthy type who sees the artist only on Sundays. Hopkins powerfully portrays Picasso as an artistic genius with an appalling habit of using and abusing women. He not only cheats on his wife but two-times his mistresses. Francoise has survived an abusive relationship with her father (Bob Peck), and she is 40 years younger than Picasso when they become lovers. The film was supposed to be based on Gilot's book Life with Picasso, but the filmmakers were unable to get the rights to it, so they settled for basing the film on Arianna Huffington's Picasso: Creator and Destroyer. The movie also uses imitations rather than Picasso's real paintings. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Hopkins, Natascha McElhone, (more)
Popular comic and television personality Ellen DeGeneres had her first starring role in a feature film in this black comedy. Martha Alston (DeGeneres) is a thirtysomething single working as a producer for a talk show. Ever since Martha's younger sister got married, her parents have been after her to settle down, but Martha has had little luck finding the right guy. On Valentine's Day, Martha is depressed and drinking at a bar when she meets Whitman Crawford (Bill Pullman), who seems like the perfect man -- he's good looking, sensitive, intelligent, and affectionate. However, when she makes the mistake of telling her new beau that he can be himself around her, she discovers the real Whitman -- he's a horrible poet, he likes awful music, he enjoys shoplifting ("Stolen beer just tastes better!"), and he's a borderline psychotic who doses her with LSD for fun. What's more, his mother (Joan Plowright) and ex-girlfriend (Joan Cusack) hate Martha's guts and don't mind telling her so. So how can Martha convince her friends and family that she wants nothing to do with the man of her dreams? More importantly, how does she convince Whitman? ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ellen DeGeneres, Bill Pullman, (more)
Director Franco Zeffirelli stresses emotional realism over gothic chills in this restrained adaptation of Charlotte Bronte's classic. The screenplay, by Zeffirelli and Hugh Whitmore, remains relatively faithful to the original story, beginning with a condensed look at the troubled childhood of young Jane (Anna Paquin) and her mistreatment by a cruel aunt (Fiona Shaw). The bulk of the film centers on Jane as an adult (Charlotte Gainsbourg), a prim governess who accepts a position at Thornfield Hall caring for the young Adele (Josephine Serre). There Jane also must deal with the estate's head, Edward Rochester (William Hurt), a mysteriously brooding yet oddly alluring older man. She finds herself drawn to Rochester, but their potential romance is threatened by Jane's fears and Rochester's internal torment. Rather than the spooky visuals of earlier adaptations, Zeffirelli and cinematographer David Watkins opt for a subdued gloominess, placing emphasis on Gainsbourg's and Hurt's wounded portrayals. Fans of the gothic will likely find Zeffirelli's interpretation anemic in comparison to the passionate 1944 version with Joan Fontaine and Orson Welles, though others may appreciate the more naturalistic and faithful approach. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Hurt, Charlotte Gainsbourg, (more)
There are more puppies than you can shake a rolled up newspaper at in this live-action remake of the Disney animated favorite 101 Dalmatians. Roger (Jeff Daniels) is a designer of computer games who shares his home with his pet dalmatian, Pongo. One day, Roger takes Pongo for a walk in the park and the dog sets his eyes on a beautiful female dalmatian named Perdy. Perdy likes Pongo as much as he likes her, and thankfully Perdy's mistress, a fashion designer named Anita (Joely Richardson), is quite taken with Roger. Romance blooms between the human and canine couples, and Roger and Anita tie the knot (Pongo and Perdy are apparently still living in sin). Anita works for Cruella De Vil (Glenn Close), an intense fashion maven whose lust for fur doubtless places her high on PETA's hit list. Inspired by her dogs, Anita finds herself working up a design for a fur coat made with spotted fur, and Cruella leaps on the idea of making garments out of real dalmatians. But where to get the animals? Cruella has two nasty but not especially intelligent henchmen, Jasper (Hugh Laurie) and Horace (Mark Williams), who've been known to kill the odd endangered species at madame's request. Now they're sent on a mission to round up dalmatians, and when they fall a bit short of their goal, it comes to Cruella's attention that Perdy has just given birth to a litter of 15 pups. For this version, a number of real dalmatian puppies were combined with computer-generated animation and animatronic creatures from Jim Henson's Workshop, who respond better to direction (and are doubtless easier to clean up after) than the real thing. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Glenn Close, Jeff Daniels, (more)
- 1995
- R
This Australian drama is an adaptation of Hannie Rayson's award-winning play. It is the tale of the three Moynihan sisters, Hilary, a widow who lives in the family "hotel" with their father and her teenage son; Pippa, who lives in New York; and Meg, who lives in London. After a long absence, the three gather in their familial home in Sorrento, a coastal town near Melbourne, for their father's funeral. Many of the town's most prominent citizens are terribly impressed that Meg has just published an award-winning book that is actually a thinly veiled vicious attack on the town, its people, and her family. It is not a happy reunion, as old hurts and rivalries amongst the sisters immediately begin resurfacing. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Based on the novel by Truman Capote, this often-witty coming-of-age drama looks at a young man growing up with an unusual family in the Deep South in the 1940s. After the death of his parents, Collin Fenwick (Edward Furlong) finds himself living in a small town with two of his aunts, Dolly (Piper Laurie) and Verena (Sissy Spacek). Verena is the more stable of the two, an entrepreneur who controls a number of local businesses and rules the roost with a firm hand. Dolly, on the other hand, is a gentle eccentric who claims to hear the voices of the dead as the wind whistles through the grass, and has developed a homemade concoction that supposedly cures dropsy. Dolly's potion attracts the attention of Morris Ritz (Jack Lemmon), a smooth-talking con man from Chicago who wants to snatch the formula away from her. Along the way, Collin also gets to know Catherine (Nell Carter), Verena and Dolly's quick-witted house maid; Amos (Roddy McDowall), a barber who is also the town's one-man rumor mill; Charlie Cool (Walter Matthau), a charmingly cynical retired judge with an opinion about everything; and Sister Ida (Mary Steenburgen), an accordion-toting traveling evangelist who has had a heroic brood of 13 children without benefit of marriage. The Grass Harp was directed by Charles Matthau, the son of Walter Matthau. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Piper Laurie, Sissy Spacek, (more)
