Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageFried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café (1991)
Director: Jon Avnet
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Southern housewife Evelyn (Bates) has had enough of her couch-potato husband (Sartain). Their sex life is dying, and even wrapping her naked body in cling-wrap merely provokes further apathy. Then, at a nursing-home, she meets old-timer Ninny (Tandy), who launches into a rambling recollection of long-gone friends and family: tales of feisty Idgie (Masterson) and Ruth (Parker) who once ran a café in Ninny's small Alabama home town. Gradually, Evelyn finds strength in the bravery of these two, and solace in Ninny's evocation of simpler times. With director Avnet, Fannie Flagg co-scripted this adaptation of her novel; but while the book deftly juggles separate narratives, the device proves clumsy on screen. More dizzying than the jumps between past and present is the speed with which consciousness-raised Evelyn swaps caricatures, evolving from Frump to Fighter. Essentially, the film is about fine performances - with Tandy securing an Oscar nomination - but it wins no prizes for subtlety.Author: CM
Cast & crew
Director: Jon Avnet
Producer: Jon Avnet, Jordan Kerner
Cast: Kathy Bates, Jessica Tandy, Mary Stuart Masterson, Mary Louise Parker, Gailard Sartain, Stan Shaw, Cicely Tyson, Gary Basaraba, Lois Smith, Grace Zabriskie full cast
Duration: 130 mins
Top Stories
Ridley Scott interview
Director Ridley Scott tells Cath Clarke why he's making a science fiction comeback
Cannes Film Festival 2012: half-time report
Dave Calhoun reports on the hits, misses and a shocking new masterpiece from Michael Haneke
What do you think?
Post your review now