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Show F" ranrifrr?fnnprfnn(nnft ULJU UG t ' 'Scarlet Letter' falls short I The Daily Herald Friday, October 13, 1995 Cast weaves masterful 'Quilt' The name of the game in Hollywood is to play it safe. This means that if something worked before, then by all means use it again. By comparison, producers put most environmentalists to shame in their fervent practice of recycling, rehashing and repackaging previously used material. The Scarlet Letter is the latest example of this truth. Not only is it recycling (some of) its story from the Nathaniel Hawthorne novel, but it has been "updated" in an attempt to duplicate the financial success of the most recently filmed version of Last of the Mohicans. We get a colonial America time frame, a fiercely independent woman challenging the prevailing notions of the period, an unstable alliance between the native "savages" and the impeding white settlers and, of course, a passionately charged love story fraught with danger. It certainly seems as if all the elements are there, and yet, an actual viewing of the story makes one wonder whether any of the elements are there. Where is the adventure, the scope and the drama? What happened to the excitement, the splendor and the underlying tension? Could it be that a film is more than just a list of components? More than just an assortment of loose ideas and images? Apparently some filmmakers don't think so. All of this is not to say that Last of the Mohicans (as visualized by Michael Mann) was anything more than a gloriously decorated By CHARLENE WINTERS Special to The Daily Herald i Let it be known up front How to Make an American Quilt is what is commonly called a "chick flick." Not since Steel has Magnolias in the mid-198a film provided such a showcase for so many talented women. At the heart of the film is Wynona Rider, who plays a woman who can't decide whether she should marry a man who really loves her or allow the seduction of a gorgeous would-b- e lover. Her flaky mother, a throwback to the hippie era, has told her marriage is outdated as is permanent monogamy, but the child, far deeper than her mother, is not so sure. She decides to spent a summer at the home of her grandmother and great-auand think while she works on her thesis. She encounters a group of quilters she has known all her life who are making her a wedding quilt. nt During the course of the summer, she learns each of their stories, which gives her a better understanding of life and what she needs to do. Much like the layers that hold together a quilt, the film is crafted with layer after layer of substance. Most of the women depicted have been quite unhappy in love, yet their resilient spirit shines through. Particularly gifted in the talented ensemble cast are portrayals by Ellen AP Photo Anne Bancroft, left, Ellen Burstyn, Winona Ryder, Alfred Woodard and Kate Nelligan star in "How to Make An American Quilt." The film is based on the novel by Whitney Otto. courage that makes her a successful swimmer, but loses him when she forgets to go near the water and instead gets lost in heartening. By the time the quilt is made, the audience loves all the women and embraces them. An entire row of women behind this reviewer sobbed, cheered and gave an ovation. It earns the applause. Ryder, who gets more radiant with every movie, is only one of the gems found in this small classic. Charlene Winters is a mas- Samantha Mathis with plays younger Sophie with heartbreaking honesty. drudgery. Burstyn, Anne Bancroft and Maya Angelou. Besides the the quilt, a obvious metaphor second metaphor of diving in and embracing life emerges from one of the characters, Sophie, a gifted diver, who captures the love of her life with the At times the film is funny in its pain. A wronged woman smashes every bit of pottery in her house and then gleefully builds a wall with the broken pieces of her life. The joy of life that emerges despite hardship is ALHAMBRA THEATER 6:30 9:30 e DAILY POCAHONTAS Nightly 7:00 Sat. Mat. 1:00 3:00 756-3i- POCAHONTAS Nightly 7:00 9:15 Sat. Mat. 3:00 5:00 I 12:30 3:30 BABE SATSUN MAT 254 So. Main. Springville. S1 50 j 2:00 4:25 11304:15 ULTRA (PG) 12:15 STEREO ULTRA (R) 9:05 6 40 11 30 let UNDER SIEGE 2 (R) 11:35 2:20 4:45 7:35 10 00 STEREO NINE MONTHS 11:45 2:10 4 35 7:00 9 35 12 00 STEREO WHILE V0U WERE SLEEPING 11:55 2:30 4 50 7:30 9.55 12:10 ULTRA IN THE CUPBOARD (PG) Perms S895 ULTRA STEREO ) Introduce You To Out Fabulous Services Us Cut & Style ULTRA (PG) IIIIMWIIt.M " STEREO reg ULTRA STEREO At! STEREO POCAHONTAS (G) 12:30 2:50 5:00 7:10 9 15 11:40 STEREO IVf g w.th this witri this CO'Jt'Qr, ULTRA 1210 2:40 5:05 7:20 9:4011.50 I i com I services pe'tormed by studer u under professional suoe'vissoi. J IOOSOLW TOH3S ACCEPTED 2230 N Umve,s:ty PorKway CottonTree Squafe Provo PQ 2.00 4 ! 375-800- 0 ULTRA ; I 3D 7 TDSTSACCEPTED DANGEROUS MINDSiri 7:15 9:4S IN STEREO da Sort $3 1 to OBQCXNT O 034 MA WALK IN THE CLOUD&re, 7:15 9:45 IN STEREO SATSUN MAT 4 2:00 4:30 DAILY WITH A SAT & SUN J 2:15 4:45 BRAVEHE ART m. MON. FRI 7:30 IN STEREO ) "TO WONG FOO" 7:30 9:50 Sat. & Sun. 2:00 5:00 (PG-13- ... SATSUN & 1:15 5:00 8:45 "SEVEN" (R) 7:20 10:00 Sat. & Sun. 2:10 4:40 QUAUC 98 W.Ut,Av..,Pay.on. r-- rwr ii a rT " v-T- ' $4 50 " 7 A Q 1 1 unit Minhtlu Sat Mat 3 A t (PG-"- .. LVanhJL, MO 7:00 9:45 wSaA Sun r asses NO UlSCOunl m Manoeese, I f DAILY ASSASSINS 7:00 IN : 1 Ultntu I CTi I -- 7rC .trykC rs.SS VV1 i i II U sum ft. ois CKelS wCCepleQ IlLU & losee L alard JEWELERS W ) j feffetSl a Getting Engaged? MMUH O 13 nm THE NET nr in U 7V B "TO DIE FOR" (R) 9'30 Sat. & Sun. iw Jtf t7j?VS1 Prwvo Villa Theatre DAILY WITH A ALL I il-7- (See SCARLET, Page 1)2) , A vJ Clueless i.iks&zz 13 3.30 6.30 9.25 INDIAN STEREO i:vv a:l MAT uailyA SATSUN e ei f'MJ0 the announcement of the hubby's fate was slightly premature. For many moons, he has been a slave of a ACCEPTED NO ,0l IN LAST OF THE Fri & Sat 7 & 9 pm Sat Mat 2 pm INDIAN IN CUPBOARD Nightly 7:00 9:15 Sat. Mat. 3:00 5:00 circumstances, lf All Shows $1.50 American Fork cinemas V STEREO i NOI WGSE9 A 2424 H. University Pkwy., 375 5667 THE NET 11:20 1:45 4:15 6:50 9:30 12:05 WITH Mon - Thur 7 P.M. j 7:15 9:45 VifflffllSuti 1992. American Heart Association of types Price STEM, as, STEAL unu 0trNSISFtOf&13 IN SATSUN MAT WITH A 20 S. MAIN PLEASANT GROVE American Heart Association lier--se- POCAHONTAS 1:30 JADE - 9:20 only,-,- tempered by the custom! that requires her to remain out of. circulation for seven years pend-ing any conclusive proof of her spouse's demise. (Seems that most of the bodies were washed out, with the tide.) m The prescribed custom being too unthinkable, she opts to wait aboijt-seveseconds before throwing at the hapless preacher The' result is a child born out of wedlock by a father determinedly unnamed. As is too often the case in these Nightly 7:00 Sat. Mat. 1:00 3:00 NINE MONTHS - 9:20 DESPERADO DAILY FIRST KNIGHT a. ! without positive comment. Mrs. Hester Prynne has been sent ahead to the new world to establish a home within the Massachusetts Bay colony. Whether her husband has done this as a test of her fortitude or her faithfulness is a question voiced early in the narration, but never answered within the story. Rumor has it that hers was a marriage of convenience arranged by her father in a measure of debt to the older groom. The independent (and therefore Hester controversial) already develops a mutual attraction for the 12:20 DEVLNABUEDRBS NSTEHEOR Sun Pai(y Herald A. On Movies APOLLO University. 375-510- 3 hpn--orabl- her husband's slaughter by marauding band of Indians Troy Cullison ter's candidate in film theory and criticism at Bhgham Young Subscribe Today i most eligible bachelor m Hie colony, the handsome and pious minister. Arthur Dimmesdale. Whether it is his rousing sermons from the pulpit or his rousing practice of bathing in the buff on that offers the most attraction is hard to tell, but certainly; e before you can say "the most Arthur Dimmesdale." she is' pledging her eternal love. The much welcomed news of PUT WTTH A Stye soap opera, but at least it was glorious and stirring. The Scarlet Letter, on the other hand, is deadly dull in any comparison with a daytime soap, and it flaunts a distasteful moral tone to boot. Were it not for some crisp cinematography and the occasionally interesting performance, the film would be . (ALL SHOWS $1.50 ALL DAY 0ALY94S with a Sal & 4 ill j faimimmmmi il;fni f t tthrAA. Only in CottonTree Square 2230 North University PaTkwayProvo 373-100- ft DAILY "J i 0 I I p- - N0 7:00 10:00 -- m I s.ereo w sat &sun Mat e 100400 passesno discount tickets accepted .1; 'as' . w , i- -n m ' SHOWTIMES Sat. MaSeesvoo 3.00 ' JI YVV? f r-- j - mmm ... - Daily 7:15 9:45 H m stereo 30 4 15 Sun Matinees No Passes No Discount Tickets Accepted VV'Sat & 1 I |