Fried Green Tomatoes (film)

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Fried Green Tomatoes
Movie poster
Directed by	Jon Avnet
Produced by	Jon Avnet
Written by	Fannie Flagg Carol Sobieski
Starring	Kathy Bates Mary Stuart Masterson Mary-Louise Parker Jessica Tandy
Music by	Jo Jo Hailey K-Ci Hailey Thomas Newman
Cinematography	Geoffrey Simpson
Editing by	Debra Neil-Fisher
Distributed by	Universal Pictures (USA) The Rank Organisation (UK)
Release date(s)	December 27, 1991 (USA) March 13, 1992 (UK) March 26, 1992 (Australia)
Running time	136 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
Gross revenue	$80,100,000 (USA) $119,418,501 (Worldwide)

Fried Green Tomatoes is a 1991 drama film based on the novel Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg. It was released in the UK under the novel's full title.

The film was directed by Jon Avnet and written by Fannie Flagg and Carol Sobieski. It stars Kathy Bates, Jessica Tandy, Mary-Louise Parker and Mary Stuart Masterson.

Contents 1 Cast 2 Plot summary 3 Differences between the film and novel 4 Reception 4.1 Critical reception 4.2 Box office 4.3 Awards 5 The Café 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Cast

• Kathy Bates as Evelyn Couch
• Mary Stuart Masterson as Idgie Threadgoode
• Mary-Louise Parker as Ruth Jamison
• Jessica Tandy as Ninny Threadgoode
• Cicely Tyson as Sipsey
• Chris O'Donnell as Buddy Threadgoode
• Stan Shaw as Big George
• Gailard Sartain as Ed Couch
• Timothy Scott as Smokey Lonesome
• Gary Basaraba as Grady Kilgore
• Lois Smith as Mama Threadgoode
• Danny Nelson as Papa Threadgoode
• Jo Harvey Allen as Women's Awareness Teacher
• Macon McCalman as Prosecutor
• Richard Riehle as Reverend Scroggins
• Raynor Scheine as Curtis Smoot
• Grace Zabriskie as Eva Bates
• Reid Binion as Young Julian
• Nick Searcy as Frank Bennett

[edit] Plot summary

Evelyn Couch (Kathy Bates) meets an elderly woman named Ninny Threadgoode (Jessica Tandy) in a nursing home waiting room. Ninny tells her the story of the now-abandoned town of Whistle Stop, Alabama, and the people that lived there - specifically the tale of the relationship between Imogen (Idgie) Threadgoode and Ruth Jamison, the two women who ran the Whistle Stop Cafe. As the story of Idgie and Ruth (and a missing person, Frank Bennett) develops, Evelyn Couch finds herself being empowered by the stories of the strong-willed Idgie and the fiercely loyal and independent Ruth. She also finds a true best friend in Ninny.

The action takes place in Alabama. The heroine, Evelyn Couch, is a housewife. Evelyn is unhappy with her life and her marriage and her husband Ed appears not to be interested in her any more. Their son Cal is grown and is "busy with his own life." She has many problems including needing more confidence in herself. She and Ed often go and visit his aunt, who is in a nursing home. This aunt further compounds Evelyn's self esteem problems by having violent temper tantrums whenever she sees Evelyn, no matter how nice Evelyn is to her. During one visit to the nursing home Evelyn retreats to the waiting room, while Ed visits with his aunt, and she meets a very pleasant old woman - Ninny Threadgoode.

Ninny tells her stories about the life of two women she knew long ago. The heroines of her story are Idgie Threadgoode and Ruth Jamison, who together ran the Whistle Stop Cafe in Ninny's small Alabama hometown. The signature dish served there is fried green tomatoes. From Ninny’s recollections, Evelyn learns that Ruth loved Idgie’s brother Buddy, who lost his life in a railway accident. Then follows the story of the relationship between Ruth and Idgie.

Ruth and Idgie’s story is about their life after Buddy's death. Idgie helps Ruth to become free from her abusive husband, Frank Bennett. These two strong women work together to raise Ruth's son and face the trials of life during and just after the Great Depression.

The recollections of Ninny greatly influence Evelyn. First, she is inspired by the strength of these two independent women, and Evelyn’s life changes for the better. Secondly, she finds a true best friend in Ninny. Evelyn invites Ninny to live with her after Ninny's house in Whistle Stop is demolished.

[edit] Differences between the film and novel

Unlike the book Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, the film adaptation does not explicitly present the lesbian romance between the two central characters, instead making the relationship between Idgie and Ruth ambiguous.^[1] The DVD edition of the film has an audio commentary with the director acknowledging this and pointing out that a scene between the two women engaging in a food fight was intended to be seen as symbolic love-making. At the time of the film's debut, it was criticized by reviewers and activists for what was seen as "glossing over" the lesbian overtones of the relationship.^[1][2] However, the film won an award from the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) for best feature film with lesbian content.^[3]

In the novel, Evelyn tries, unsuccessfully, to lose weight on her own several times and, eventually, resorts to going to a weight loss spa. In the film, Evelyn is able to control her dietary habits and maintain a regular exercise regimen on her own.

In the novel, Ninny passes away while Evelyn is visiting a weight loss spa. However, in the film, Ninny leaves the nursing home and ends up going to live with Evelyn and Ed in their home.

The novel's version of Evelyn is somewhat darker than her film portrayal. In the novel, Evelyn is extremely depressed over her weight and her personal life to the point of considering suicide. While her unhappiness with her marriage and weight are stated in the film, the degree of seriousness is much lighter than in the novel.

In the movie, Evelyn embraced the concept of "Towanda," and the movie makes a strong feminist statement through this. The book, however, is less feminist, and though Evelyn originally buys into "Towanda," the concept is later somewhat repudiated and a more moderate stance is taken.

The passage of time in the novel and the film is portrayed differently. In the novel, the events of the story are stretched and explored from just after the ending of World War I up to the late 1980s. In the film, most of the story takes place between 1919 and the late 1930s. However, the modern day sequences involving Evelyn, her husband, and Ninny still take place in the 1980s.

In the novel, Idgie and Big George are placed on trial for the murder of Frank Bennett years after Ruth has died. In the film, the trial takes place less than a year before Ruth's death in which she testifies on Idgie's behalf.

At the conclusion of the movie, the staging of Evelyn's dialogue with Ninny suggests that Idgie and Ninny are the same person, and that Ninny has been recounting tales of her own youth when telling Evelyn about Idgie. Earlier in the film, however, Ninny tells Evelyn "I was practically adopted by the Threadgood's; I married her [Idgie's] brother Cleo." In the novel, Idgie is more explicitly another character. Third-person narrative sections of the novel feature Ninny and Idgie interacting. After Ninny's death, her next-door neighbor recalls Ninny and Idgie as separate people, and the book's concluding section (set after Ninny's death) features Idgie working at a roadside food stand.

[edit] Reception

[edit] Critical reception

Fried Green Tomatoes was generally well received by critics. Film review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a "fresh" score of 82% based on 22 reviews.^[4]

[edit] Box office

The film grossed a total of $82,418,501 in the United States alone, and took in $37,000,000 outside the U.S., bringing the total to $119,418,501 worldwide.^[5]

[edit] Awards

The film was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Jessica Tandy) and for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium (Fannie Flagg and Carol Sobieski).^[6] At the 46th British Academy Film Awards in 1992, Tandy was nominated for the Best Actress award, and Bates was nominated as Best Actress in a Supporting Role.^[6]

[edit] The Café

The "Whistle Stop Café" is loosely based on a real-life restaurant, the Irondale Café in Irondale, Alabama. The restaurant is still in operation and is a local tourist attraction, thanks to the novel and movie. It is famous for its fried green tomatoes, and is located adjacent to the main line of the Norfolk Southern Railway (formerly Southern Railway) and near one of the line's large classification yards.

Irondale is a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, Flagg's birthplace.

After the film became a hit, the set used as the Whistle Stop Café, on location in Juliette, Georgia, was converted into a restaurant and is a tourist attraction. It is famous for the fried green tomatoes and has thousands of visitors a year.

A second Whistle Stop Café was located on Houston Rd in Macon, Georgia and a third in downtown Kennesaw, Georgia. The Macon, Georgia location was closed in Spring of 2009.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Fried Green Tomatoes at the Internet Movie Database
• Fried Green Tomatoes at Allmovie
• Fried Green Tomatoes at Rotten Tomatoes

v • d • e Films directed by Jon Avnet Fried Green Tomatoes (1991) · The War (1994) · Up Close & Personal (1996) · Red Corner (1997) · Uprising (2001) · 88 Minutes (2008) · Righteous Kill (2008)