"Fried Green Tomatoes" 1991

“Fried Green Tomatoes”

I have written about “Misery” and Kathy Bates much deserved Oscar. She followed it up with “Fried Green Tomatoes” and proved that she isn’t a one hit wonder. She was incredible in this movie. She started out as a quiet Southern woman and became a Steel Magnolia. (I will write about that one sometime too).

[Evelyn is cut off in a parking lot]
Evelyn Couch: Hey! I was waiting for that spot!
Girl #1: Face it, lady, we're younger and faster!
[Evelyn rear-ends the other car six times]
Girl #1: What are you *doing*?
Girl #2: Are you *crazy*?
Evelyn Couch: Face it, girls, I'm older and I have more insurance.

I saw this movie in the theater. I was at work and my husband picked me up. I didn’t have any plans beyond putting my feet up. The first thing I noticed was that our son wasn’t in the car. He was two at the time and was usually there. My husband surprised me by first taking me out for Mexican food and then rolling into the movie theater parking lot and announcing we were going to see “Fried Green Tomatoes”.

It was a movie I had been looking forward to for some months, ever since reading the book. This is a rare movie that I like the movie better than the book. The characters were great, the actors top notch.

In the movie it isn’t clear if Ninny and Idgie are the same person. In the book they are definitely different people. While the book was good, I love how the movie distilled all the important parts making them the focus. Fannie Flagg loves her characters and wants to tell all kinds of stories about them and it is a little distracting. I like Idgie and Ruth, Ninnie and Evelyn and about being best friends. That is what it is all about.

The other lead actresses, Mary Louise Parker, Mary Stuart Masterson and especially Jessica Tandy are all authentic and wonderful. I remember watching this with my husband, coming out to the car which smelled like leftover chimichangas and him saying, “I am kind of an Ed”.

He is sometimes, but like Evelyn, I’ll keep him.

Ed Couch: What the hell's this?
Evelyn Couch: That's a low cholesterol meal. Happy Valentine's.
Ed Couch: God! Are you trying to kill me?
Evelyn Couch: If I was gonna kill you, I'd use my hands.