Fried Green Tomatoes

Released: 1991
Drama, Comedy (Not really either)
Director: Jon Avnet
Starring: Kathy Bates, Mary Stuart Masterson, Jessica Tandy
Running Time: 130 minutes
Rated: PG-13

The breakdown: A bored housewife, dissatisfied with her life befriends an older woman in a nursing home and hears a tale of two women who were friends 1920's Alabama.

This movie is the adaptation to the book written by Fannie Flagg, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop.  Perhaps this movie was talked up a bit too much to me, or maybe it's just highly overrated, but I did not enjoy it, not a single part of it.  What's even more baffling to me is that this movie was nominated for 2 Oscars.
Overall, if I had to describe this film in one word, it would be boring.  In fact, I'm having trouble even keeping interest enough just to review it.  I stopped by IMDB.com to refresh my memory of this movie and ended up watching a trailer for Prometheus again.
So anyway, this boring movie's plot.

Ruth and Idgie are friends in 1920's Alabama, and Evelyn and Ninny are becoming friends in the 1980's.  Evelyn is the middle-aged tired, depressed, housewife and goes to the nursing home (of, I think her husband's relatives, but they don't like her so she ends up waiting outside in the lobby).  She meets Ninny there, an elderly lonely woman who starts telling her tales of youth.
The stories of Ninny and the development of Evelyn are alternating throughout the movie.  The only thing you need to know about Evelyn's character is that she learns to be more outgoing, confident, and happier as she becomes close friends with Ninny. 
Imogene "Idgie" is Ninny's sister-in-law (or at least that's what she says) Idgie really is attached to her older brother, but he gets hit and killed by a train when they are very young. (Great beginning right?)
Idgie retreats into herself and doesn't really socialize during childhood and adolescence.  Her dead brother's former girlfriend (Ruth) tries to make a connection with Idgie to help her out of her depression.
Idgie is very resistant as she is a tomboy type and Ruth is straight laced and much different than Idgie.  Eventually the two become very close, but Ruth is then leaving town to Georgia, and marries Frank Bennet.  Idgie's upset and doesn't have any other friends so she tries to get over her loss, or forget her over a lot of time.  Either one does not work so she goes to Georgia to visit her friend.  Ruth is now pregnant and is obviously being physically abused by her husband.  Ruth leaves Georgia with Idgie and goes back home to Whistle Stop to have her baby, named after Idgie's dead brother, Buddy.  Idgie's dad gives her money so she can start a business.  Ruth and Idgie open the Whistle Stop cafe and employ a cook named Sipsey, and her son Big George.  The cook and her son make a delicious barbecue that attracts a lot of business for the cafe.  Now Ruth and Idgie have a way of taking care of themselves and Buddy Jr.


If you want to see this movie, I recommend you stop reading here because I'm going to discuss all the plot and ruin things for you now if you haven't watched it.  SPOILER ALERT.

The most apparent thing between Ruth and Idgie's relationship is that they are both repressed lesbians who are in love with each other, but never act on a sexual relationship.  Of course, in the south, during the 20's, this kind of relationship was discouraged and not at all accepted.  The movie doesn't say it outright about them being lesbians, but it's impossible to miss.  Take for example the fight in the kitchen with the flour.  That's the strongest example of it I can see.  Back to the movie!


Of course, Ruth's husband comes along looking for her and finds their son instead.  He wants to kidnap Buddy Jr. but off camera you see someone come along and "take care" of Frank.  Later on, we find out Frank's gone missing and his car is found at the bottom of a nearby lake.
Immediately, Idgie is the main suspect as she has threatened Frank for beating up her best friend.  She is arrested as well as Big George for Frank's murder.
The sheriff offers Idgie a deal to let her go and pin the  murder solely on Big George, but Idgie refuses.  During the trial, a minister lies and gives Big George and Idgie an alibi for the time of Frank's death and they are released from jail, cleared of any wrong doing.  The judge took into account Frank's getting drunk often and rules his death an accident.  I guess they think the body just floated away somewhere.
Later on, Ruth gets cancer and dies.  The cafe closes and many residents of Whistle Stop move away over time.  Ninny reveals at the end of her story what really happened to Frank though.  Sipsey, the cook, came upon Frank trying to steal the baby in the cafe and hit him over the head with a cast iron skillet.  She then barbecued his body and served it to the sheriff from Georgia who was searching for Frank.  Pretty gross huh?
So Ninny's story is over and Evelyn finds out that Ninny was supposed to only be at the nursing home temporarily.  But, while she was there, her house was condemned and torn down.  Evelyn offers Ninny a room to stay in at her house and Ninny accepts.  Ninny and Evelyn go to the house that was Ninny's and pass by Ruth's grave which has a jar of honey on top with a card that says "I will always love you.  The bee charmer" that was Ruth's nickname for Idgie.
So you find out at the end that Ninny is really Idgie.

Overall I know the movie got a positive rating, but I just don't see it.  The plot is bland, the acting is fine and all, but I just can't recommend it to you.  I didn't like it and was glad when it was over.

I give it a 1 out of 5 stubs for Jessica Tandy, who I thought was a very good actress.