Big Stone Gap

Adriana Trigiani, author of the 2000 bestselling novel Big Stone Gap, here directs her own adaptation. Trigiani drew from her personal background, so it comes as a bit of a surprise that the film feels as if she spliced Fried Green Tomatoes with Moonstruck for the ultimate quirky Southern-Italian romantic comedy. Ashley Judd makes the most of her role as Ave Maria, a 40-year-old pharmacist living in rural Virginia in 1978. With the exception of her friends, who include Iva Lou (Jenna Elfman) and Spec (Anthony LaPaglia), the townspeople consider Ave an old maid, but she doesn't lack for male companionship. It's just that her beau, Theodore (John Benjamin Hickey)—who helps her put on the annual historical pageant—would rather commit to the theater than to marriage. And there's another more suitable man in Big Stone Gap: coal miner Jack (Patrick Wilson), but for reasons that come across more as dramatic contrivances than genuine obstacles, Ave and Jack have trouble expressing their feelings for each other. After Ave's mother dies, she discovers a secret about her parentage that changes her relationship to the town, but Jack and his mother, Nan (Judith Ivey), do everything they can to encourage Ave to stay just as she's planning to leave. Although a bit familiar and clichéd, the fine cast still makes this a strong optional purchase. (K. Fennessy)