This females' field day, based on the novel by Whitney Otto, is one of the nicest and the best crafted of the genre, although its blatant similarities to The Joy Luck Club will court obvious comparisons to the superior Wayne Wang film.
Graduate student Finn (Ryder) retreats for the summer to the country home where her grandmother (Burstyn) and great-aunt (Bancroft) suppress a long-running, eccentric feud and make traditional patchwork quilts with a group of friends. The sewing circle includes celebrated authoress/ poet Maya Angelou as their former maid, the artistic matriarch to whom they now all defer, Alfre Woodard as her sophisticated daughter, Jean Simmons and Kate Nelligan. Their tales are enacted by a major collection of actresses from Little Women's Claire Danes and Samantha Mathis, to venerable Esther Rolle. And when she isn't being diverted by a devastatingly sexy neighbour (Johnathon Schaech), Finn learns some useful and moving tips about womens' eternal quest for love and fulfilment.