Movie Review: Fried Green Tomatoes (1991)

A drama about friendship and women's empowerment across the generations, Fried Green Tomatoes has a sprawling story and good performances, but lacks narrative focus.

The story is set in Alabama over two timelines. In the present, while on a visit to her husband's aunt at a seniors' care home, middle-aged and frumpy Evelyn (Kathy Bates) bumps into the kindly and elderly Ninny Threadgoode (Jessica Tandy). Evelyn is suffering from neglect in her marriage to Ed (Gailard Sartain), and over the course of several visits is comforted and inspired by Ninny's family history stories.

Just after the Great War in the tiny rural community of Whistle Stop, spirited tomboy Imogene "Idgie" Threadgoode lost her loving brother Buddy (Chris O'Donnell) in a train accident. She withdrew further from her family and church, and gravitated towards the edges of the community, enjoying drinking and poker. Her worried mother (Lois Smith) eventually calls upon Ruth Jamison (Mary-Louise Parker), Buddy's former love, to try and cajole the growing Idgie (Mary Stuart Masterson) out of her shell.

After a rough start, Idgie and Ruth become best friends. But eventually Ruth gets married to the oily Frank Bennett (Nick Searcy) and moves to Georgia. Idgie later has to rescue the pregnant Ruth from an abusive marriage, and the two women open and operate the Whistle Stop Café. But with the Ku Klux Klan growing in influence and Frank determined to reclaim his child, trouble lies ahead.

Back in the present, Evelyn is empowered by the stories of the resolute and tenacious Idgie and Ruth, and starts to make changes in her life to seek he own happiness.

An adaptation of the novel by Fannie Flagg (who co-wrote the script) directed by Jon Avnet, Fried Green Tomatoes aims for a wistful story of women inspiring each other across generations, but is only partially successful. The episodic structure of Idgie's story, which may work well on the written page, translates into choppy cinematic presentation, lacking a cohesive arc. The jumping back and forth between the post-war depression era and the much less interesting modern-day story featuring Evelyn and her husband Ed does not help.

What carries the film over its rough patches is a strong theme of friendship between Idgie and Ruth. In the book this is an unambiguous romance, but in search of a broader vanilla audience the film unfortunately reduces the relationship to coy hints of  love. Fried Green Tomatoes could have carried a memorable edge, instead it settles for bland instead of brave. Nevertheless, the soulful connection between the resourceful Idgie and the more circumspect Ruth radiates plenty of warmth at the heart of the film.

Other social themes pop up as expected in the nostalgic look back at simpler but still dangerous times. Racism, loss, abuse, and fiery religious sermons intermingle with plenty of family support and a sense of small community where everyone knows everyone and they all depend on each other to varying degrees.

The performances are uniformly good from the cast of mostly women, with Jessica Tandy and Mary Stuart Masterson notable standouts. Tandy finds the glint in the eye of an old woman with stories to tell, and is the only good thing in the modern-day episodes. Masterson is the rebel woman with a cause, pushing her tiny community towards the future by her sheer force of personality.

The final act of the film veers towards a half-baked investigation of a missing-person mystery introduced in the opening scene, and finally a mini courtroom drama complete with a surprise witness and spiritual payback of sorts. While the secret hidden within the lake near Whistle Stop keeps the fires burning, the further the film moves away from the core bond forged between Idgie and Ruth, the weaker it gets.

Like all side dishes, Fried Green Tomatoes taste better when surrounded by the genuine glow of family and friends.

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Movie Review: The Desert Fox: The Story Of Rommel (1951)

A profile of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel during the latter days of World War Two, The Desert Fox portrays Rommel as a gentleman warrior who grew to oppose Hitler and was at least silently complicit in the attempt on Hitler's life.

The film starts with a recreation of Operation Flipper, a failed 1941 British commando raid on what was thought to be Rommel's headquarters. The action moves to North Africa in 1942, with Rommel (James Mason) rallying German troops in the Battle of El Alamein. As he is engineering an orderly withdrawal in the face of overwhelming forces, Rommel is shocked to receive ridiculous orders from Hitler to fight to the last man. He ignores the Führer.

While recuperating from a sickness Rommel and his wife Lucie (Jessica Tandy) are visited by family friend Dr. Karl Strölin (Cedric Hardwicke), the mayor of Stuttgart, who hints that Germany will be better off without Hitler. Later Rommel is placed in charge of organizing defences along the Atlantic Wall in anticipation of the Allied invasion. Once the D-Day landings take place, he is further frustrated by Hitler's strategic failure to muster the necessary military response. Further conversations with Strölin and Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt (Leo G. Carroll) convince Rommel that Hitler is a hindrance to Germany's future survival.

Directed by Henry Hathaway, The Desert Fox is an adaptation of the Desmond Young book with Michael Rennie narrating. Young was a British Army Lieutenant Colonel and prisoner of the Germans when he briefly met Rommel in the North African desert, a scene recreated in the movie. The film is just 88 minutes long, including not insignificant padding with actual war footage, such as random artillery guns firing in the desert and scenes from D-Day.

The Desert Fox was part of a concerted effort to recast Rommel as a good German, to help repatriate West Germany's post-war reputation. The film is less concerned with his military genius or battlefield exploits -- these are barely mentioned. Rather the focus is on his gentlemanly mannerisms, strong familial bonds, increasing disgust with Hitler and finally his support, morally at least, for the plot to assassinate the Nazi leader.

The film is professionally constructed to serve its purpose as educational entertainment. James Mason gets quickly in the groove of the role and maintains the steady temperament of a proud man who hides his arrogance well behind the veil of service. Utilizing black and white cinematography in businesslike fashion, Hathaway hustles the action along, interspersing some battlefield scenes with pivotal meetings featuring Strölin, von Rundstedt, Lucie and Hitler himself. At no point does the film come close to revealing anything personally remarkable or enriching about the celebrated Field Marshal; but it always sustains a solid level of engagement.

Neither inventive nor dry, The Desert Fox: The Story Of Rommel fulfils its function with the efficiency of a well-drilled soldier.

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Movie Review: Batteries Not Included (1987)

A Steven Spielberg produced family friendly science fiction drama, Batteries Not Included features cutesy aliens and cool special effects, as well as bloated emotions, superficial characters and a flimsy plot.

In a derelict corner of East Village, Manhattan, an entire neighbourhood of old buildings has been purchased and razed to the ground as ruthless developer Lacey plans to build a clutch of new highrises. One old building still stands in the way, and Lacey has hired local thug Carlos (Michael Carmine) and his gang to pay off or scare away the few remaining tenants. The holdouts include elderly couple Frank and Faye Riley (Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy), struggling artist Mason (Dennis Boutsikaris), pregnant woman Marisa (Elizabeth Peña) and handyman Harry (Frank McRae).

With Carlos becoming more violent in his methods to forcibly evict the tenants, Frank fervently hopes for some kind of intervention and two miniature friendly spaceships arrive to help. The mechanical aliens have the ability to repair anything, fight off aggressors and even reproduce. The residents are empowered by their new allies to stand their ground, forcing Carlos and Lacey to pursue even more desperate measures.

A mash-up of Cocoon, E.T. and a scaled down version of the alien spaceship from Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, Batteries Not Included is too intent on pushing facile emotional buttons to register with anyone over 12. Directed by Matthew Robbins and closely following the Spielberg whimsical playbook but lacking any genuine depth, the film generally gags on its own sugar level.

The characters fighting eviction are a contrived multi-ethnic collection of lovables whose only purpose is to play stoic victims. Frank runs an old-style cafe located in the building, while his dotty wife Faye is exhibiting signs of dementia and always calling out for her absent son Bob. Mason's girlfriend has just walked out on him, Marisa is hoping against hope that her musician boyfriend and father of her child will return to her. Of course Mason and Marisa, both abandoned, start a relationship. Harry is a former boxer, recluse and television addict. He rarely speaks and when he does all his sentences are television advertising slogans.

All that is relevant about the characters is revealed in the first 15 minutes, and they are then frozen in time as the cute machines dominate the rest of the film. The robots are adorable and the special effects are good for the era, but the film feels more like a manipulative advertisement for toys than a serious attempt at family-oriented drama.

The bad guys are all bad, and the script fails to ever explain why a developer with the deep pockets and resources of Lacey would ever resort to blatant goonery to evict a building.

Veteran couple Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy deliver reliable performances, but they are way above the material. The batteries may not be included, but the film nevertheless oozes icky acid.

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The Movies Of Jessica Tandy

All movies starring Jessica Tandy and reviewed on the Ace Black Movie Blog are linked below:

The Valley Of Decision (1945)

The Desert Fox: The Story Of Rommel (1951)

The Birds (1963)

The World According To Garp (1982)

Still Of The Night (1982)

Best Friends (1982)

Batteries Not Included (1987)

Driving Miss Daisy (1989)

Fried Green Tomatoes (1991)

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The Movie Star Index is here.

Movie Review: Driving Miss Daisy (1989)

A simple two-person character study, Driving Miss Daisy enjoys excellent central performances but rides an utterly linear path to nowhere in particular.

Georgia, 1948. Daisy Werthan (Jessica Tandy) is a stubborn 72 year old rich Jewish woman, living alone in her big house with her faithful kitchen servant. When she crashes her car in a driveway mishap, her son Boolie (Dan Aykroyd), a local businessman, insists on getting her a driver, and hires the elderly Hoke Colburn (Morgan Freeman). Hoke is amiable and professional but nevertheless it takes Daisy several weeks to admit that she needs help. Eventually she succumbs and accepts to have Hoke drive her to all her errands and visits.

Daisy initially treats Hoke as the hired help and barely trusts him. But over the years she warms up to his company, and teaches him to read while he helps tend to her vegetable garden. Their friendship deepens and together they witness episodes of racism and antisemitism as the South goes through radical social changes.

An adaptation of an off-Broadway play directed by Bruce Beresford, Driving Miss Daisy is a small, modest film, an intimate look at a friendship that evolves over 12 years against a backdrop of social upheavel. The focus on the complexities of relationships in the crusty elderly years is refreshing, and the film remains stubbornly faithful to a low-key pace and tone, consistent with the greying years.

Daisy and Hoke are interesting enough characters to carry the film. Daisy is now rich but has never forgotten growing up in poverty, and she goes out of her way to avoid demonstrations of wealth. She is also headstrong, humourless, and set in her ways. Hoke is a survivor, keenly aware of the social position occupied by an older black man in the deep South of 1948. He is nevertheless full of wisdom, pride and unafraid to (always respectfully) express opinions that contradict his employers.

The film establishes its premise and central characters in the first 30 minutes, and then sputters and occasionally stalls down the dusty backroads of history. While Tandy, Freeman, and (more surprisingly) Aykroyd are never less than excellent, the Alfred Uhry scripts struggles to find a narrative thrust. Driving Miss Daisy defaults to a series of vignettes, Hoke in the front seat, Daisy in the back, exchanging sometimes sharp but often superficial views as the years pass them by and the car models are updated. The little episodes add up to a deepening friendship, but precious little emotional resonance is actually generated.

In an admittedly weak year, Driving Miss Daisy won the Best Film Academy Award, ahead of more celebrated movies such as Born On The Fourth Of July, Field Of Dreams and Dead Poets Society. Beresford was not even nominated for Best Director. Sometimes, an uncomplicated drive in the country remarkably seizes the day.

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Movie Review: The Birds (1963)

A chilling horror film that succeeds in infusing birds with maliciously evil intent, Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds is a thrilling masterpiece, packed with unforgettable visuals and impressive subtext.

San Francisco socialite Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren) trades barbs with lawyer Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor) in a pet shop. Afterwards she decides to surprise him by delivering two lovebirds to his sister, but Mitch has already left San Francisco to the small resort town of Bodega Bay. Melanie drives to the tiny community, where she meets local schoolteacher Annie Hayworth (Suzanne Pleshette) before making her way by boat to Mitch's house, where he lives with his younger sister Cathy (Veronica Cartwright) and mother Lydia (Jessica Tandy).

Inexplicably, birds start to attack the humans in Bodega Bay. At first individual bird attacks cause minimal damage, but soon the birds start to flock together, attacking in large numbers, injuring and killing residents and terrifying children. With the attraction between Mitch and Melanie growing, the birds become more brazen, destroying parts of the town in a series of sky-darkening raids. Mitch, Melanie, and Lydia have to find a way to protect Cathy and save their lives.

In a case of quantity becoming quality, Hitchcock brings out the evil in the birds by harnessing their strength in numbers. One bird on a wire is not a threat to anyone. Thousands of birds packed onto all the wires suddenly become a fearful sight and a dominating force, and Hitchcock visually plays with this threat to great effect. Melanie at the school oblivious to the army of birds assembling on the playground equipment behind her is a classic moment in film history.

Interpreting The Birds is as fun as enjoying it as a macabre thriller. The more straightforward metaphor involves nature fighting back, perhaps as a revenge against pollution, and deploying even the weakest troops in massive numbers to over-run the humans with sheer volume. The crows and the seagulls team up for the attacks on Bodega Bay, even the tiny sparrows cause chaos in the Brenner house, and the talkative Mrs. Bundy, the bird expert conveniently stationed at the Tides restaurant, estimates that there are 100 billion birds in the world. Without rallying any other species, the birds would win this fight and chalk one up for mother earth. The Birds may be among the earlier movies warning of nature's ultimate intolerance of insensitive human behaviour.

Even more interesting than the Nature's Revenge theme is Hitchcock's not-so-subtle placement of Melanie in the bull's eye of each bird attack on Bodega Bay. Every horrifying on-camera assault by the birds coincides with Melanie's intrusion into the community. The birds fire a warning shot on the bay when Melanie sails onto it; and follow up with another intimidating knock on the door at Annie's house when Melanie sleeps there.

But she does not heed the warnings and stays in town, so the serious offensive commences: the birds attack Cathy's birthday party when Melanie attends; the Brenner's house when Melanie visits; the schoolhouse when Melanie drops in; the Tides restaurant when Melanie takes refuge there, and finally the Brenner's house again when Melanie is barricaded in it. In this last battle the birds unleash their savage fury on Melanie in the upstairs bedroom, and succeed in driving her out of Bodega Bay. They don't attack as she leaves the community.

Melanie's presence and its consequences may represent the damage suffered by a small community when big city elements creep in. More mouthwatering is the story of a personal and catastrophic battle between women. Both Lydia and Annie resent Melanie's presence in Bodega Bay, the clingy mother and the forlorn ex-wannabe girlfriend both immediately sensing that Melanie could easily poach Mitch from under their noses. Tellingly, Melanie's first brush with the bird on the bay occurs after her initial, uncomfortable encounter with Annie: the enemy becomes aware of the incursion, and the scouts are deployed to probe the foe's resilience. Both Lydia and Annie will incur damage during the battle: once war erupts, the instigators also stand to get hurt. The Birds becomes a representation of the gruesome war between a man's mother, his potential lover, and the woman who pines for his heart, with an entire town suffering as collateral damage.

Tippi Hedren, Hitchcock's personally selected new ingenue, delivers an underrated performance as Melanie, a woman with big city savvy easily navigating her way around the less sophisticated Bodega Bay culture. Jessica Tandy and Suzanne Pleshette provide a good counter-balance, The Birds unique in providing three sophisticated central roles for women in what is superficially a horror film. Hitchcock is less fortunate with the bland Rod Taylor, who is unable to deliver sufficient charisma as Mitch.

The Birds is a remarkable experience, as effective in delivering sometimes terrorizing thrills as it is in prompting more cerebral interpretive pursuits.

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