Help me remember a movie from 1996 that isn't Jack!
December 6, 2018 7:32 AM Subscribe
I'm trying to remember an US movie I saw back in 1996. I remember for certain that Jack, with Robin Williams, was playing in the house next to this, because we initially sat in the wrong theater!
This was at a megaplex, not an art house. I think I heard about it on an NPR story, as it was financed or produced by a well-known film actor, but who isn't an A-lister. I believe she played a lead in the story. I thought it was Frances Conroy or maybe Shelley Duvall, but imdb confirms they weren’t in this movie. I vaguely remember that the story centered on two maybe middle class women, in the present day USA, trying to save their home, or business? There may be a child involved, who is a stranger to one or both? The story may revolve/evolve around their relationships? I remember there being a fire or a fireplace? It was a touching heart-felt drama, that I'm pretty sure has a happy/uplifting ending. This is literally all I can remember, please help me remember!
This was at a megaplex, not an art house. I think I heard about it on an NPR story, as it was financed or produced by a well-known film actor, but who isn't an A-lister. I believe she played a lead in the story. I thought it was Frances Conroy or maybe Shelley Duvall, but imdb confirms they weren’t in this movie. I vaguely remember that the story centered on two maybe middle class women, in the present day USA, trying to save their home, or business? There may be a child involved, who is a stranger to one or both? The story may revolve/evolve around their relationships? I remember there being a fire or a fireplace? It was a touching heart-felt drama, that I'm pretty sure has a happy/uplifting ending. This is literally all I can remember, please help me remember!
Best answer: To help jog your memory, here's a list of movie releases in 1996. None of them sound like what you're describing other than Spitfire Grill.
posted by fiercekitten at 8:02 AM on December 6, 2018
posted by fiercekitten at 8:02 AM on December 6, 2018
Best answer: I don't know a ton of 1996 non-explody movies (I can confirm you're not thinking of The Rock), but the links from the BoxOffice Mojo page for Jack show what other movies were in theatres for the 12 weeks it was playing; Spitfire Grill opened on Jack's 3rd week in theatres.
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 8:02 AM on December 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 8:02 AM on December 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
Best answer: If they were both in the same multiplex they would have been released at about the same time. Spitfire Grill looks like it came out only one week after Jack, so my hunch is that that's it.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:05 AM on December 6, 2018
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:05 AM on December 6, 2018
Best answer: Here is a list of dramas released between 1996-08-09 and 1996-11-30
https://www.imdb.com/search/title?title_type=feature&release_date=1996-08-09,1996-11-30&genres=drama
posted by bdc34 at 8:12 AM on December 6, 2018
https://www.imdb.com/search/title?title_type=feature&release_date=1996-08-09,1996-11-30&genres=drama
posted by bdc34 at 8:12 AM on December 6, 2018
Response by poster: Thanks! That was it! Bonus points for anyone finding the related 1996 NPR story? :)
posted by Pig Tail Orchestra at 9:45 AM on December 6, 2018
posted by Pig Tail Orchestra at 9:45 AM on December 6, 2018
Best answer: It was a Pat Dowell interview with Roger Courts, director of the Sacred Heart League—the Catholic organization that financed The Spitfire Grill—that aired on Morning Edition on September 5, 1996. Unfortunately it’s not in the realplayer archive descriptions of that episode (I admit I didn’t install realplayer in 2018 to listen to them, so it may well be tucked in there) and the archives of standalone Pat Dowell pieces only goes back to 2002.
posted by The Bridge on the River Kai Ryssdal at 9:42 PM on December 6, 2018
posted by The Bridge on the River Kai Ryssdal at 9:42 PM on December 6, 2018
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posted by wellred at 7:41 AM on December 6, 2018 [1 favorite]