Review of Big Stone Gap

I don't think I stopped smiling from the first frame until the end, even though a few times I was smiling through tears. Call it a chick flick if you will, but this is a film with great heart and more than a little gravitas. I have enjoyed Adriana Trigiani's novels for years and was pleased to see that Big Stone Gap was to be made into a film. I admit that I was a bit skeptical about the author serving as writer and director, but kudos to her for an outstanding job! The cast is excellent -- Ashley Judd and Patrick Wilson are just right as not-so-young single residents of a small Virginia town where everybody wants to mind their business. The supporting cast includes veteran actors such as Whoopi Goldberg, Jenna Elfman and Judith Ivey, who really pull their weight. It's funny, heartwarming, and absolutely beautiful, shot on location in the real town of Big Stone Gap, Virginia, where Trigiani grew up (and where Patrick Wilson's grandparents lived. Go figure.) No phony Southern accents in this film - They get it right. Thank you!!