Customer Reviews

The Grass Harp

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Set in the 30's, The Grass Harp is a story about an orphan boy who is sent to live with his eccentric aunts. The story follows the plight of social "outcasts" with humor and insight.

On the surface this story is about love and our connections to others - both living and dead. Yet underneath run themes of social prejudice, racial inequality, religion, morals and the struggles of social conformity vs. individual expression - but the film never preaches. It just reveals.

Director Charles Matthau accomplished the near-impossible task of adapting Truman Capote's classic book into a beautiful rendered film. Wisely, he approached this multi-layered story with a light touch, allowing the material and talent to shine. Matthau skillfully captures a myriad of complex relationships and emotions, allowing the characters to live and breathe without placing judgment on who they are.

The boy's coming-of-age story is entertaining, humorous and poignant. As the film unfolds, Collin encounters a diverse group of characters, from which he gains valuable insights about life. Now an adult he looks back (as the narrator) reflecting on this formative time.

Each character is uniquely distinct and true-to-life. The entire all-star cast is at the top of their game.

This is the best performance of Piper Laurie's career. She is delicate and mesmerizing as the fragile Dolly Talbo. Her scenes with Spacey and Matthau will break your heart.

For those of you who have only seen Walter Matthau in grumpy curmudgeon roles, you are in for a treat! Matthau is wonderful as a Judge Cool, a Southern gentleman struggling to find meaning in his retirement years. As Piper Laurie's love interest he is tender and charming yet dignified. A man of integrity and honor, Judge Cool is the only "accepted" towns person with compassion for the outcasts.

As a collective, the ensemble cast captures the social pecking order with uncanny accuracy.

Jon Don Baker is great as the Sheriff, Nell Carter is a hoot as the eccentric housekeeper and Sissy Spacek is an amazing blend of steely resolve masking her conflicted feelings of vulnerability and insecurity.
Roddy McDowell is the delightfully sarcastic barber. Jack Lemmon and Mary Steenbergen are great fun as out-of-towners who stir things up. Mary as a traveling cowgirl evangelist out to save souls - never mind that she is a single- mother of fourteen kids...all by different fathers! She pulls it off with comic charm and sad poignancy. Lemmon is a "chemical engineer" (read quack potions salesman) with a scheme to get his hands on Dolly's herbal potion. Although some locals may be skeptical about Lemmon and Steenbergen motives, they never play their roles in black and white terms.

The film is exceptionally well written, particularly considering how many characters there were to juggle. All the characters are well-developed and performed. Even the shady characters are oh-so-human in their desperate schemes to survive the Great Depression.

There is also one of the most delightful casts of furry creatures ever assembled: a host of cats, dogs, fish, and a scene-stealing Rooster named Ralph. It looked to me like Ralph was huffing around wishing he had more lines. I'd be all for him getting his own sequel.

I adore this movie. I saw it quite awhile ago, so I can't give many specifics, but you can read the other reviews for commentary on the performances. An ensemble cast rather than a real star turn for anyone, with the exception of Piper Laurie. Laurie is always wonderful in her varied roles, and this is a very sweet and graceful conception of a child-like character. She never plays it for laughs, and the portrayal does not indicate that childlike here is equivalent to childish or emotionally disturbed. Poor Sissy Spacek is cast as a typical "old maid/prude", unfortunately; the writer(s) might have made the two women's roles less extreme in their behavior, but it does contribute to the reconciliation at the end. I think I will put this movie on my wishlist. By the way, I came across this movie on an [...] list that gave a rundown of all the movies the very interesting Mia Kirshner has been in. I don't remember her being in the movie, and apparently she had a small role, but it makes me even more eager to see the movie again. She's hot, and I love her on "The L Word". One more note--I have never particularly liked
Walter Matthau, but he does an amazing job with his role. It's worth it to see the very elderly Matthau wrap up his career with an attractive acting job. The title of the movie aptly reflects the airy tone of the story--there is a kind of windy music flowing throughout the performance.
See it at least once!

Truman Capote's memoir of his past is translated to the movie screen with the right kind of homage that it deserves. Colin Fenwick, orphaned in his youth, is sent to live with his two maiden aunts and their eccentric housekeeper. The awakening of his senses of the outside world is shaped by these women. Vereena-the hardened bussinesswoman, Dolly-the free spirit filled with a warmth that is like a comfortable blanket on a cold winter morning, and Catherine-the opinionated but loyal and protective housekeeper. Charles Matthau has given us a movie devoid of the tastelessness that permeates most Hollywood movies these days. We move lazily along (as it was in the South) getting to know each character intimately and at the end, we are the richer for it. BRAVO!

If you like movies like "Fried Green Tomatoes" and "Crimes of the Heart", or "Practical Magic" then you'll love this Southern tale. The story is told through the eyes of a young boy recently orphaned by his mother and a seemingly uncaring, grieving father. Sent to live with a mis-matched pair of spinster Aunts, the boy learns that love is not always what it seems and can be found in the most unlikely characters.

One of the best films EVER made. Hypnotic, beautifully acted and photographed, treasure. Sure to inspire, amuse, and forever change anyone who opens their heart to this stunning film.

I loved this film adaptation of Truman Capote's classic novel. Even if you haven't read the book, the movie stands on its own and conveys the wit, humor and depth of the characters as intended by the author.

This is one of my favorite films-not due to grand production values, or staying true to the novella, but because it packs such a powerful punch in the lesson of what life is really about. Certainly worth watching, but not really a film for shallow critical types.

"The Grass Harp" (1995) will remind a lot of viewers of "To Kill a Mockingbird". Not a huge surprise given that both stories involve Truman Capote's childhood (Harper Lee based the Dill Harris character on Capote). Both films also use small Alabama towns for their locations.

Capote loosely based his 1951 "The Glass Harp" novella on the eccentric maiden cousins of his childhood. For the film Piper Laurie plays good Aunt Dolly and Sissy Spacek bad Aunt Verena (who is even less likable than Pollyanna's Aunt Polly). Spacek gets to do something out of character and nicely underplays this one. Laurie gets to have even more fun and turns in a joyful performance. She is a little too good to be true but Laurie manages to sell the character with a remarkable performance. In the 1950's Laurie was an extremely pretty (and hot) young starlet but it is obvious from this and her performance in "Carrie" (playing Spacek's mother) that there was a lot of substance in that pretty package.

Edward Furlong (best know as John Conner in "Terminator 2") avoids the "Pollyanna" trap and is pretty easy to take. The coming-of-age side of the story works quite well.

"The Grass Harp" is a bit underrated, probably because the screenplay fails to capture the lyrical quality of Capote's storytelling, giving the viewer a surfeit of sentimentality compounded by a too sweet score. The title is a reference to the musical sound of blowing grass, a metaphor about intergenerational connections and the primary theme of the story.

The film would have benefited from a little more restraint. This is not a fatal flaw but the film would have been more powerful with Mockingbird's toned down production design and less colorful characters; maybe even going so far as to release it in black and white.

Those looking for action adventure and hot romance should look elsewhere. But there are a lot of "Mockingbird" fans out there who should really enjoy "The Grass Harp".

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

First of all, you could never go wrong with a movie chalked full of so many tremendous actors. The script is touching, humerous and wise. Each and every character is written, and portrayed, to perfection with the various flaws of human kind in mind. Some strive for more, others are happy exactly as they are, and each of them will affect you in some way.

Okay, I do say this movie is a little slow. But it's SO lovable and sweet! :D And I think EVERYONE did a beautiful job acting.... Even though, the ending was a little weird to me. I still cried! I LOVE this movie!! And there are 3 people who rated it 1star and I think that's kinda stupid to me. How can you NOT even LIKE this mvoie? Whatever, it's they're choice... So, I say: Watch and enjoy the movie. It's a little hard to understand at first. But the story is right out there! If you're a fan of ANY of these actors then watch The Grass Harp. Believe me. You'll love it!