BONNEVILLE

Love covers a multitude of sins, and, in BONNEVILLE, three somewhat weathered but still delightfully talented female actors cover for a low energy, slow paced, rather uninventive bittersweet story with all the dignity and poise their careers have earned them.

Jessica Lange plays Arvilla, whose husband, Bill (Tom Amande), has just passed away. Bill’s last wish was for Arvilla to scatter his ashes to the wind in various locations holding a special meaning to them. Sadly, Arvilla’s intention to do just that is resisted by her husband’s daughter, Francine (Christine Baranski), who wants Arvilla to hand over the ashes so she can take them back to California. Francine happens to have inherited her father’s house, and, unless Arvilla agrees to give her the ashes, Francine will sell the house. Arvila now faces the dilemma of either losing her home, or failing to honor her husband’s last wishes.

Enter Arvilla’s two best friends, Margene (Kathy Bates) and Carol (Joan Allen). After some spirited discussion, they finally convince Arvilla to deliver “Bill” to Francine, but Arvilla in turn persuades her two buddies to accompany her for moral support. As a result of Arvilla’s continuing indecision, the trio misses their flight, and the quick round trip to California turns into a revealing, in more ways than one, road saga in Bill’s old, but well kept Bonneville through the beautiful scenery of Idaho, Utah and California. Along the way viewers discover the women are Mormons with very strong religious/moral values, and those values become tested in the various vicissitudes they encounter as they slowly make their way to the impatiently awaiting Francine.

Lange, Bates and Allen manage to make this slow, rather plodding movie entertaining by pooling the power of their acting skills for the best possible results. They are further helped by Tom Wopat as Arlo, a young hitchhiker on a mission to find the father he never knew, and Tom Skerritt, as Emmett, a widower truck driver who has a sunny, positive disposition and takes a liking to Margene. The, should we say, controversial, aspect to this movie is the seeming dichotomy which occurs when these Mormon women barely suppress their lustful thoughts toward the men they meet along the way. Carol, who is married, instead gives in to the lure of a slot machine and drinks an alcoholic beverage.

BONNEVILLE is the kind of movie that has the warm and comfortable feel of a favorite well-worn sweater, but also as such, the kind that sports a few holes and stains here and there which can no longer be repaired.