The Curio Shop

CURIO SHOP SYNOPSIS Ceci and Sharon meet at a college bookstore. Ceci is a young undergraduate who lives with her traditional Hispanic family. Sharon, a divorced suburban mom of two teenagers, is jittery about returning to school. The two become fast friends and decide to work on a class project together. After their first meeting, they take a walk. To their surprise they discover a Curio Shop where none had existed. Intrigued, they enter and meet the owner, Lilah, an enigmatic woman. Lilah takes them on a series of simultaneous fantasies that thrust Ceci and Sharon into far-flung times and places. Each adventure leads them to a different historical period where they embody different women. Each of the women challenge them with unique circumstances and relationships. They visit ancient China, the 1800s in the Native American Southwest, present-day Botswana, 1947 Israel, and a midwestern twentieth century fair. Each adventure fosters the personal and interpersonal growth of our protagonists. Ceci is involved with Chad, a fraternity jock, who emotionally and psychologically mistreats her. Chad’s controlling manner mirrors her authoritarian father, with whom she clashes. Sharon has a contentious relationship with her ex-husband, who threatens to sue for custody of their two children. Their children side with opposing parents, making family life contentious. Sharon is reluctant to enter a new relationship. Vijay is a waiter at the Java Express, where Ceci and Sharon meet frequently to work on their school project. He has had his eye on Ceci for a long time but is too shy to make his intentions known. Besides, he knows she is involved with that repulsive Chad. Ceci is unaware of his attraction to her but enjoys their banter. Sharon meets Kent on a blind date. Shortly thereafter, Sharon invites him to her house to meet her children. Warned of their family problems, he successfully charms her kids. Even her rebellious daughter responds favorably to him. Chameleonlike, Kent adapts his behavior to each new situation he encounters. Richard, Sharon’s ex, does not pay child support on time. He is critical of her parenting, as she is of his. Referring to Sharon as a neglectful mother, Richard informs her that he is taking her to court to gain custody. Chad takes Ceci to dinner at Hooter’s to celebrate his football team’s victory. Appalled at his choice of restaurants and his behavior at the restaurant, Ceci loudly confronts Chad on his flirting with a buxom server and his discounting of her feelings. Patrons cheer her as she dumps a drink on him and walks out. She then responds to Vijay’s flirting and the two begin to date. Vijay clashes with his parents, who insist upon an arranged marriage with a Hindu woman from India. Ceci’s father is likewise opposed to her choice of Vijay as a partner. Dissention threatens to destroy Ceci and Sharon’s relationship. Sharon neglects her friend when she becomes preoccupied with her new partner, Kent. Sharon is head-over-heels in adolescent thrall to the point she misses one of their scheduled meetings, talks incessantly about Kent, and does not deal with Ceci’s need to thrash out her own problems. Inspired by the series of fantasies and consequent lessons provided by Lilah, the two friends gain insight into their roles in relationships. They work toward resolving the breaches in their relationships. Ceci’s father insists that Ceci plan her sister’s quinceanera and criticizes every one of her decisions. They have a major confrontation that results in Ceci’s leaving the family residence to stay at Sharon’s house. As a conciliatory gesture, Ceci’s father plans a birthday party for her. Vijay’s parents, also in attendance, have come to accept that he has chosen Ceci as his wife. Ceci gratefully accepts her father’s celebration of both her birthday and her acceptance of Vijay’s proposal of marriage at the celebration. Sharon and Richard come to blows about parenting their children. Following a nasty exchange, they are confronted by their children who insist they resolve their differences. Kent expresses his desire for a long-term relationship with Sharon. Rather than commit to him, she insists that she must first establish her identity more firmly. The two couples decide to revisit the Curio Shop but instead find an empty lot in its place. Lilah is gone, but the strains of the carousel music play. The story of Lilah is threaded through the plot. The movie opens with her a as young servant girl in ancient China. There she is the mistreated servant Lee Lah, who gives birth to her master’s unwanted daughter. After drowning the baby, Master Chen casts her out. We again (unknowingly) meet her as Lilah, owner of the Curio shop, where she guides Ceci and Sharon through life changing experiences. Lee Lah re-emerges in modern-day China as the happily married mother of a treasured baby girl.