Fried Green Tomatoes

Reader(s), it is almost 3 AM in the morning. I am listening to Jeff Buckley's "Forget Her" on repeat. And I know, this review is a long time coming. I promised a review of "Next Floor" and "Crazy Heart" and they will come in time. But I just rewatched Fried Green Tomatoes and must write about it. But first, a few thoughts. The name of this blog is sort of a misnomer, I know. Sometimes we don't write about images at all. Sometimes we write about a snippet of a song, or words, but most often feelings. But it'd be silly to call the blog "Feelings move me" cuz of course you are moved by feelings. Perhaps just "Moved"? And speaking of "moved," Esquire recently published a profile of Roger Ebert that was just good. You can find it here Roger Ebert profile. Kathleen and I are big big fans of Ebert. He writes so well and he manages to insert his personality and voice in every work. He's funny and irreverent. He gets it. Sometimes I wonder why I should write about anything he's written about? Kathleen said it best when she said that she sometimes just feels like linking to an Ebert article instead of writing her own review. I echo that sentiment no doubt. And I have moments of hesitation when I wonder: what is the point of putting Another Blog That Doesn't Say Much out there? But I think it's important that we write, even if not well (speaking for myself), and even if we have 2 1/2 readers, because it's about subjectivity. Affirming subjectivity and creating it. We are subjects in process and writing helps us be and become. Writing a movie review is really hard. It's hard to describe the camera work, the characters, the plot. It's hard to show and not etch. And I know that I don't often rise to meet the challenge. For instance, I have written reviews about movies where I have entirely ignored the plot because I have forgotten it. But I am trying to get better. But I am not Ebert or Manohla Dargis or A.O. Scott and I will never be..,Okay, now onto the review!

How can you go wrong with a saccharine sweet storyline and strong female actors like Kathy Bates, Jessica Tandy, Mary Stuart Masterson and Mary Louise Parker? Can someone please tell me WHAT HAPPENED TO MARY STUART MASTERSON? MSM is amazing and she stole my heart in Some Kind of Wonderful, Bed of Roses and Benny and Joon. Hollywood needs Mary. Really. There's something off-putting about her. Her beauty is modest and she has the most intelligent eyes. End rant. In the movie, Kathy Bates is an unhappy housewife who tries to attain self actualization by attending these feminist consciousness raising sessions. But of course (typical Hollywood patriarchal ploy) the sessions don't liberate her, storytelling does. She begins to listen to the stories of an old woman played by Tandy.

Tandy tells her the story of Idgie Threadgoode and Ruth Jamison--two best friends in the Depression era South. Idgie, played by Masterson, is a free spirit who wears men's clothes (but form fitting and sexy men's clothes, obviously), gambles and curses. She teaches Ruth (Parker) how to be free and live. They open a restaurant together and build a life together. In one scene they get into this foodfight with berries and chocolate and flour and they are so close to kissing. I wanted them to JUST KISS ALREADY. But they didn't because it wasn't that kind of movie. But the sexual tension between Masterson and Parker was palpable, though I may be the only one who felt it. Masterson helps uptight, prissy Parker let her hair loose. But *spoiler alert!* Parker's character ends up dying of cancer. The illness was sudden and sort of seemed thrown in to resuscitate and dying story but I have mad love for the cancer stricken heroine. I know what you're thinking. You're thinking: this sounds like a poor woman's Steel Magnolias. To which I will answer you: SHELBY HAD DIABETES, NOT CANCER. I won't lie...Fried Green Tomatoes is basically Steel Magnolias. Don't watch them both. Just watch Steel Magnolias. No no, I'm just kidding. Fried is good because Mary Stuart Masterson is in it and I swear she carries the movie. She can do no wrong in my book. And the costume work is incredible. The movie does deal with race relations but it does so heavy handedly, in my opinion. Idgie (Masterson) befriends the town's blacks and feels the wrath of the KKK. There's also an exciting murder trial that sort of fizzles at the end. I know this is not a very glowing review but you know those movies that you love because they try just hard enough and get just far enough? Fried Green Tomatoes is no masterpiece. Some of the acting could use some work and Kathy Bates's southern accent was cringe-worthy. But Mary Stuart Masterson? Well, she's irreproachable and I will watch anything she's in. Twice.