Review of Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe

Introduction

Marking the directorial debut of John Avnet, ‘Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café’ is a moving, heart warming emotional drama set in the small suburban town of Whistle Stop, Alabama, in several different times, and is actually a story within another story told by the use of regular flashbacks.

The story focuses on Evelyn Couch (Kathy Bates) who is unhappy with herself, her marriage and her lack of assertiveness. She sees life as a daily grind where nothing ever changes, apart from the number of candy bars she eats every day, and the number of pounds she puts on, and the number of times her husband Ed ignores her – even when she opens the front door to him in gold stilettos and wearing only cling film!

While visiting a sick relative in hospital she gets talking to an 82 year old widow by the name of Ninny Threadgoode (Jessica Tandy), who starts to tell her the engrossing story of Ruth and Idgie who lived in Whistle Stop over 50 years previously. Idgie was the rebellious tom-boy and Ruth was the demure lady of the pair. They opened and ran the little Whistle Stop Café together, their speciality being the fried green tomatoes, served hot, and the secret’s in the sauce!

Tragedy struck young Idgie when she was a little girl in that her 18 year old elder brother (Chris O’Donnell) is accidentally killed in a bizarre accident. This so deeply affects her that for years afterwards she lives a secluded life and refuses to trust anyone emotionally. Ruth however, is a strong character and a life long friendship develops. Eventually Idgie is accused of murder, and a powerful story progresses.

Video

The film is beautifully shot and this is brought to life in the 1.78:1 anamorphic transfer. The southern America landscape is shown in vivid colour and ambiance that carry across well on the DVD. Images are sharp and colours are rich and warm.

Audio

A Dolby Digital 2.0 surround sound track is provided, which carries the wonderful musical score well, although there is not a great deal of surround action (not that you would really expect a lot in this kind of film).

Notable surround moments are the distant thunder claps, and the train sequence at the beginning of the story.

Features

The menus are very basic, and have just enough movement in them to cross over from being classed ‘static’ to ‘animated’, but are really nothing special.

The trailer and a 4 minute featurette are included, which includes interviews with the cast and crew. Such a powerful drama deserves far more than this, and I found myself wanting more. A full 30 minute documentary would be very welcome, and it seems that these short featurettes just whet the appetite in what is really just an extension to the trailer.

A full commentary would have been very welcome, with director John Avnet and maybe Mary Stuart Masterson or Kathy Bates. The Region 1 ‘collectors edition’ version of this film boasts a longer documentary, and also provides a commentary.

Conclusion

The key to the success of this film is the superb story and depth of the characters, the screenplay having been co-written by the director.

Adapted from the novel by Fannie Flagg, which was actually a Pulitzer prize nominated story, this is a really emotional movie experience, and there will be a few tears shed by the time the end credits role (yes I admit it…!).

Fannie Flagg herself is quoted as saying:

"To me, Fried Green Tomatoes is nostalgic to the point that it deals with love and respect for those who have lived full and fruitful lives. Today`s society tends to discount the contributions that its older citizens have made or even continue to make. One generation can pass on so many valuable things to another - that`s an essential point of the movie and the book".

The power in the characters erupts on screen, and the drama is so well written you can’t help but get emotionally involved. Ninny’s tale inspires Evelyn to take charge of her own life, and her assertiveness classes allow her to do just that thanks to the inspiration given to her by Ruth and Idgie in the tales of old, which includes one very memorable scene in a mall car park!

The actors bounce off of each other beautifully. Mary Stuart Masterson is superbly cast as the tomboy Idgie – her character and charm on screen allures the viewers to her almost immediately, and Mary-Louise Parker is excellent as the prim and proper Ruth. Kathy Bates conjures up so much sympathy with the viewing audience, that it is hard not to feel for her – notably with the yob in the supermarket. Academy Award winner Jessica Tandy is stunning as Ninny, who invokes such an air of mystery to the whole story during the final scenes.

If you have never seen this film, do yourself a favour and try to grab a viewing. It really should be seen, as dramas of this quality are few and far between. The Region 1 collectors version is the better bet here due to the extras that are included, however I believe the RRP of this Region 2 version is now less than 10 quid – so each version has its merits.