Perfect Pie

Perfect Pie is a beautiful film about friendship. It weaves the past with the present and the stellar performances of the actresses make the trip through time seamless and enjoyable. Wendy Crewson's portrayal of Patsy is gentle and lovely while never allowing the audience to lose sight of the character's inner strength and determination. A "must see" movie for anyone who has ever had a best friend.

I borrowed this DVD from a friend and I really thought this was a great movie! I thought the acting, writing......everything was really good and found it easy to follow despite the flashbacks throughout the movie. I really could relate to the character Marie/Franchesca in temperament more than anything as I also tend to be a little high strung, sensitive and have that artistic nature within me. Also, it took guts for her character to come back to a place that was hell on earth for her. I could not blame her for leaving in the first place! Also, abuse survivors tend to change their identities at some point so could also understand why Marie changed her name. Patsy was more practical and realistic but that is what makes a best friend who she is: someone who is totally opposite from ourselves and one we can learn from. It sorta reminded me of my long time friend since the 5th grade. Nothing alike or in common except a lifetime of friendship. Great movie and kudos to all involved!

Perfect Pie is a cliche-loaded movie about a small-town girl, who made it big, returning home. It's a whole slew of played out ideas that have been done before, and I simply have no patience for any of it. They try to hook you early by suggesting there was some dramatic falling out between these two girls who are reuniting, but they get to a point where I would not believe the animosity they seem to harbor unless it was shown that Rachel McAdams shoved Alison Pill in front of a train. The reveal at the end is uncomfortable, seems improbable, and doesn't really explain the divide we've seen between the two women for the entire film. The movie up until that point felt like it was supposed to be kind of heartwarming and nostalgic, but that 180-degree turn makes it creepy and weird.

It's strange, because I feel like Perfect Pie has an unlikely mix of being both under-written and over-written. The script is lazy and unfocused, so they could have used some tightening up in order to give the entire film a better flow. But at the same time when people are talking the dialogue doesn't feel natural. There's a wordiness to the way they speak that ruins my suspension of disbelief and I can see the script-writer's hand putting words in people's mouths. I'm probably not the target audience for the film, though. This feels more like a Lifetime movie, and would be entertaining for people who enjoy coming-of-age dramas and you-can't-go-home-again tales. Perfect Pie was a bland exercise for me, and one I definitely have no desire to watch again.

Francesca Prine, formerly Marie Beck (Barbara Williams) is a troubled famous opera singer. Her former best friend Patsy Willets (Wendy Crewson) invites her to sing in their hometown after thirty years of separation. In flashbacks, Marie (Alison Pill) and Patsy (Rachel McAdams) are the closest companions until Marie leaves an unconscious Patsy in the hospital permanently. They were ten when they first met.

This does become a waiting game. One is always waiting to go back to Alison Pill and future A-lister Rachel McAdams. Their time seems to be the important part of the movie and contains the big revelation. I don't mind the present day story, but it should be the wrap-around story of the movie. This is based on a play and I don't know anything about that. No matter what, this needs to change.

This is a low budget woman's movie with a bad title. But that doesn't detract from the fact it is an extraordinarily sensitive and engrossing item. It is a simple story of female friendship, neatly knitted to-gether with well done flashbacks. It's a film anyone, male or female, rural or urban, can identify with, nicely shot, well performed and ably crafted with a definite Canadian accent and style.