Adam Baldwin, Alfre Woodard, Anne Bancroft

Based on the bestseller by Whitney Otto, this film seemed to miss all the poetry and the ephemeral charms of the wispy novel by trying to make a concrete movie out of it. Directed by Jocelyn Moorhous...( read more  read more... )e (who made a similar hash out of A Thousand Acres), the film centers on Winona Ryder, who is debating her impending marriage and decides to make up her mind while spending the summer with her grandmother (Ellen Burstyn). This leads to a variety of encounters with Grandma and her sewing circle (which includes Anne Bancroft, Kate Nelligan, and Maya Angelou, among others), who reminisce about men, love, and marriage. It's put together piecemeal, like a quilt, but the parts add up to a fragmented, unsatisfying whole, despite some solid acting. --Marshall Fine

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60% liked it

8,959 ratings

PG-13, 117 min.

Directed by: Jocelyn Moorhouse

Release Date: October 6, 1995

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DVD Release Date: February 23, 1999

Stats: 395 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (395)


  • August 7, 2008
    Jared Leto is in it for like a scene or 2 that's all but its an interesting movie. its like a few stories in a movie. Each female character has their own story & therefore the movie itself is a 'quilt'
  • June 18, 2008
    Insomnia? This movie will put you to sleep quicker than Nembutal!
  • February 4, 2008
    could been better, still watchable, lovely story and the cast try their best
  • August 11, 2007
    Winona visits her grandmonther and joins her sewing circle and learns about their relationships. Touching movie.
  • March 6, 2007
    A sewing circle muses about life and love. Now THAT's what I call entertainment...
  • October 25, 2009
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    Winona Ryder's role in this typical American movie, was nothing more then breathtaking. The message brought in here was clearly. It w...( read more)as about a young woman Finn (Winona) who was about to get married with her long time fiance(Dermot Mulroney). She decided to pass the summer away from him to be sure of her feelings and to be with her great aunts. These aunts were quilt makers for years and while she was there they told her their stories of their past life.The movie unfold these flashbacks stories beautifully. So Finn discovered that love was not perfect, and that you must appreciate what you have.Good performances by Anne Bancroft and Ellen Burstyn.
  • October 13, 2009
    It was very sweet and romantic except for Winona Ryder's character's story. Cheater!
  • September 5, 2009
    Very compelling on an emotional level - loved it.
  • August 24, 2009
    "Young lovers seek perfection. Old lovers learn the art of sewing shreds together and of seeing beauty in a multiplicity of patches."

    At first I thought this film would be really poignant and interesting; but it just ended up being a bit ridiculous and boring. It's about ...( read more)a group of women who reminisce about their pasts whilst sewing a quilt (perhaps not the most exciting premise for a film), and through flashbacks we see them all when they were younger. Could have been interesting I suppose, but it all takes a little bit too long. And I couldn't keep up at all with who was who, and who they all were in relation to each other - it was such a mish mash of characters that they all became unimportant.

    Also, this film seemed to do nothing but condone cheating and lying! I despised all the male characters, and the film did nothing for the women either. It loses all of it's potential charm because Jocelyn Moorhouse just has not directed it very well. Everything was supposed to come together in a nice metaphor comparing life to quilts, but it just fell sadly flat.

    Despite a pretty stellar cast, this was extremely disappointing.

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  • August 24, 2009
    Other than writing, this movie tells how a family/clan/culture hands down through generations the stories of their ancestors and their own by making a quilt.

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How to Make an American Quilt Trivia


  • What 1995 had this tag line :There's beauty in the patterns of life ?  Answer »
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