The Spitfire Grill

PG-13

1996

1 hr. 56 min.

Drama

List

38%

29 Reviews

Tomatometer

76%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

After being released from jail, Percy Talbott (Alison Elliott) travels to a town in Maine looking for a new beginning. When she arrives, she finds work at a restaurant owned by the crabby Hannah (Ellen Burstyn). She also befriends a waitress named Shelby (Marcia Gay Harden) and begins a romance with an attractive local named Joe (Kieran Mulroney). But when Hannah falls ill and Percy plans to help her sell the restaurant, Shelby's husband (Will Patton) becomes suspicious of her intentions.

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John A

Hate to say (wanted to be enamored by it) but this film feels like a missed opportunity. Mid 90's low-budget slice-of-life motion picture has all the pieces to be a hearty/tragic multi-character study that radiates 'Indie Spirit' as many other film buffs say. 'Spitfire' suffers from a slightly soapy and far too cliched screenplay. If the initial draft had fallen into the hands of Atom Egoyan, Paul Thomas Anderson or some other auteur, the end result would've probably been one of 1996's best films all around.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

07/15/23

Full Review

Leonard O

The Spitfire Grill is one of my favorite movies. Allison Elliot gives us all a command performance as Percy Talbot, a young woman fresh out of prison looking for a fresh start the small town of Gilead Maine where she finds work at a small restaurant known as the Spitfire Grill owned, operated and employed by Hannah Fergusson (Ellen Burstyn). She soon develops friendships and has others wondering why she chose to restart her life in Gilead. The movie is well written and well acted by all actors in the movie. It's a movie I'll never forget.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/17/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Other than what others say, this movie is a classic, it is well done, heartfelt and unique as far as I can see. The acting by Allison Elliot, Ellen Burstyn and many others in the movie is simply amazing. You will be blown away by the scenery and motion here. Percy Talbot (Allison Elliot) is a convict released from prison and settles in Gillead Maine and starts working at the Spitfire Grill owned and operated by Hannah Ferguson (Ellen Burstyn). At first Percy is met with criticism by almost everyone in town but soon builds friendships with people in town. Percy and Hannah build a strong bond of friendship. Percy finds a way to help Hannah sell her grill but Hannah's son soon starts believing Percy is only there to try and cause trouble in his familly and starts something he soon regrets. The Spitfire Grill is a movie about how a new person can come to town and build the kinds of friendships she never had in life before. This movie will make you wonder, smile and cry.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/11/23

Full Review

steve d

Melodramatic and sometimes ridiculous

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The sad, outdated, often wrong Rotten Tomatoes "Tomatometer" gives this film a low rating (33% at the time of this review). But when judging by actual viewer/reviewer ratings (the Audience) you always see much higher ratings. For instance, The Spitfire Grill holds a strong 5 star rating with 90% of its reviewers on Amazon and also a 75+% by the "Audience" here. Don't let the jaded opinions of Rotten Tomatoes "critics" cause you to miss out on a very beautiful film. This is a wonderful little film that just might change your life in a very big way. I highly recommend this movie. One of my all-time favorites!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/16/23

Full Review

Audience Member

fairly Spoiler free : The Spitfire Grill pretends to hold space for as many gritty issues as it can think of, but only to look extra sweet while insulting the gritty self honesty that actually going through any of them calls for from one. In short, the film is either a wellmeaning child talking above its having-paid-too-much grade or, worse yet, a communal narcissist. .. Regardlessly, it encourages delusions. As someone who watches films to legitimately educate my empathy when i am not watching them to feel seen myself, i strongly suggest looking elsewhere for either of these purposes. If you just want a pretty score, a couple beautiful characters, and spoken-out-of-turn permission to pretend a lot of the others are less ugly than they really are, then you've come to the right place. I've seen more grit in a Care Bears film. .. It's actually really sad: i found myself wishing that i could know Pursy in real life. .. This movie didn't illuminate her gritty truth for me, like it suggested that it would. .. Maybe my standards are just high because i've faced so much dark side in real life. I am privy to the fact that i have known more than one person who went through childhoods like Pursy's, which is only one of the stories of violence referenced in the film. .. This movie erases what that really does to them, which is hurtful, because they are still worth knowing. [ The one sentence to follow contains the closest thing to a *spoiler* ] : I don't even want to think about what the movie was really trying to do instead; it will just make me upset, because i have been aware of the disparity of understanding between people who have faced the assorted issues of violence in this film and people who have not for most of my life, even when i felt on the other side of it. (I say faced- not covered one's eyes for.) If you do watch it: keep in mind that later scenes reveal that she is supposed to be around 21. It might make it less confusing. .. Or it might make it more confusing... i'm still not sure.... I was a lot more like Pursy /before/ i went through so much. .. And i think that that's its point, but to pretend that that is a good thing is mean to people who have really had to grow up, wise up, and arm up. Enjoy the music. :-)

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

01/24/23

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Lee David Zlotoff

Director

Alison Elliott

Percy Talbott

Ellen Burstyn

Hannah Ferguson

Marcia Gay Harden

Shelby Goddard

Will Patton

Nahum Goddard

Kieran Mulroney

Joe Sperling

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Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

If one can put up with these cliches, and with Marcia Gay Harden’s overacting, there are some nice compensations here, including most of the other performances and the location shooting...

Jun 14, 2022

Full Review

Owen Gleiberman

Entertainment Weekly

Rated: C+

Sep 7, 2011

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Globe and Mail

Rated: 2/4

Apr 12, 2002

Full Review

Rachel Wagner

Rachel's Reviews (YouTube)

It's really quite good and Ellen Burstyn is great

Dec 5, 2020

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Rob Gonsalves

Rob's Movie Vault

Like "High Plains Drifter" as a Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation.

Rated: C

Feb 3, 2007

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 3/5

Jul 12, 2005

Full Review

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Synopsis

After being released from jail, Percy Talbott (Alison Elliott) travels to a town in Maine looking for a new beginning. When she arrives, she finds work at a restaurant owned by the crabby Hannah (Ellen Burstyn). She also befriends a waitress named Shelby (Marcia Gay Harden) and begins a romance with an attractive local named Joe (Kieran Mulroney). But when Hannah falls ill and Percy plans to help her sell the restaurant, Shelby's husband (Will Patton) becomes suspicious of her intentions.

Director: Lee David Zlotoff
Executive Producer: Warren G. Stitt
Screenwriter: Lee David Zlotoff
Production Co: Castle Rock Entertainment
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 1, 2011
Box Office (Gross USA): $12.6M
Sound Mix: Surround

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