COME BACK TO THE 5 & DIME JIMMY DEAN, JIMMY DEAN (1982)

Talk to anyone who has seen this film - set in 1975 in one of the last remaining Woolworth's in the dustbowl town of McCarthy, Texas, where the Disciples of James Dean are about to have their 20th reunion on the anniversary of Dean's death - and you'll find if they're a fan, they're also rabid about their absolute passion for it.  Flashing back and forth between 1975 and (by way of the mirror behind the dime store's counter) 1955, Jimmy Dean tells the stories of Sissy (Cher, in one of her best performances), Stella Mae (a then-virtually unknown Kathy Bates), Edna Louise (Marta Heflin) ... and Mona (Sandy Dennis, so encapsulating Mona, you never see her "acting"), who nearly two decades ago gave birth to the son of James Dean, after a one-night tryst with the legend when she did extra work on the film Giant.  When a stranger (Karen Black) "crashes" the reunion, old hurts and dark secrets come to light, in a film that - every time I see it - holds something new and real I never noticed before.  In its way, a masterpiece of filmmaking. (rated PG)  A

COME BACK TO THE 5 & DIME JIMMY DEAN, JIMMY DEAN trailer (fan-made)