As the title implies, this piece will be about one of my most favorite films - if not my most favorite - of all time, "Fried Green Tomatoes" (1991). My most favorite film not just because of the superb storyline, the wonderful acting demonstrated by an all-star cast or the fact that it was nominated for a coupla Academy Awards, but because of one very important reason - no matter what I have gone through in my life since that film was released, like a true friend, it's always been there for me. It doesnt matter if I've hadda wonderful experience regarding something in my life, or a traumatic experience, every time I have ever found myself sitting down to watch that film, it always ALWAYS makes me feel better about life in general. Films are like everything else in life, strictly a matter of personal interpretation; but, of the thousands of films I have viewed over the years, this single film alone makes me feel like I've come home. I've loved this movie ever since it came out in 1991 and in some odd way I feel that my writing about it is longer overdue than it's age - it turns 20 years old this coming December. I should've written about it so many years ago, but I've never felt the need to because what I garner from it - the inner personal strength and self-determination of its main characters - is something that is so much a part of my life that it's something I've never had to think about twice, let alone second-guess. However, because I am so damn grateful to Fannie Flagg for writing it, I want to write about it now, I wanna give Idgie Threadgoode and Ruth Jamison the recognition they have so justly deserved from me after all these years.
It's funny, but when we look back on our lives, sometimes we think about all the people who have made sucha positive impact in our lives, yet most of us rarely think about the world of writing and how certain stories that have reached through to our real life existences affect us. In other words, yes, this is one of those extremely rare times in my life where I actually need (and justifiably so I might add) to give both creedence and reverences to two fictional characters that have literally given me the inspiration to pick myself up by the bootstraps and give life a major kick in the ass whenever it has needed it most. I dont always dedicate my blog entries to other individuals, whether living or deceased, whether real or fictional but this piece is definitely written in honor of two of the heroines of the film "Fried Green Tomatoes"(1991), Idgie Threadgoode (Mary Stuart Masterson) and Ruth Jamison (Mary Louise Parker). I know, I know, some of my readers may think "Uhm, Spice? We need to get you some help Baby!" but as Idgie once said to Ruth in the film "You gotta stop worrying about what others think." In the film, Idgie not only hit the nail on the head when she said that to Ruth but I cant tell you how many times in my life what she said applied to me as well. It doesnt matter where you have obtained your inner sustenance towards life from, if it works for you and it makes a difference for the betterment of your life, then that's all that matters.
I have so many different reactions to so many different scenes in this film, so many thoughts, ponderings, questions and the like that I truly dont know where to begin. I guess the best way to put it is that I'm going to write about the reactions and responses that it has caused within myself and take it from there. So if I jump from angle to angle on all of this, just take it with a grain of salt, which is also yet another message from several of the characters in this film - take life as it is, with a grain of salt, but learn from it, appreciate it and always, always treasure it.
Whenever any of us watches any film we sometimes find ourselves perennially questioning one or more aspects of it; but, for myself, the only question I have ever had about this film is simply this - whatever happened to the character of Ruth's son, Buddy Threadgoode, Jr.? Nothing is ever mentioned about him after his mother Ruth dies and I found that his absence from the remainder of the film's storyline gave it a certain degree of mystique because you would think as important as his character was he woulda naturally played some centrol role in Idgie Threadgoode's life after Ruth passed away, you know? With that one exception I totally adore the great tradition of Southern storytelling that was infused into this film via the wonderful writing talents of Fannie Flagg.
Movie soundtrack. Why "Fried Green Tomatoes"(1991) is missing a soundtrack is beyond me for I personally thought that a great deal of the music within the film was quite good, not just the songs performed by Patti LaBelle but also the one church scene where the character of Evelyn Couch (Kathy Bates) accompanies Ninnie Threadgoode (Jessica Tandy) to one of those legendary black gospel services - whoever that gosepel singer was in the film, she was fantastic! I know, I should know who the woman is and her name by heart for as many times as I've watched the movie! Regardless, no matter how many times I have gone to Amazon.com or BestBuy.com, as well as a few other online music sites, to my knowledge, no one has ever ever released any type of soundtrack for this film and I think it's a shame, especially because I thought the movie theme music, as short as it was, was quite good too. If you love soulful R& B music, the Blues and a bit of Jazz thrown in, it woulda made an extremely profitable soundtrack, both music-wise and money-wise. Plus, I've always loved movie soundtracks because they always provide a mixture of any film's songs, which also is much more economical than going out and trying to purchase an album here-n-there all for the sake of just this-or-that song, even with folks downloading songs the way they do nowadays.
The film also made quite an impact with the LGBT community due to its obvious lesbian content (which it won a GLAAD Media Award for, by the way) which focused on the close interpersonal relationship between the characters of Idgie Threadgoode and Ruth Jamison, especially atta time in history when lesbian relationships were just as tabu, if not moreso, as any form of friendships/relationships between blacks and whites. This film really does cover some of the most tumultous aspects of life in the Deep South during the 1920's and 1930's when blacks were horrendously and inexcusably treated as subservient human beings because of the mere color of their skin; yet, it also demonstates that there were people who treated all their fellow men as equals, as both Idgie and Ruth, as well as several other characters in the film did. Issues of sexual orientation, race, religion, government and triumph of the human spirit, this film includes all those things and although this blog entry is not a formal critique of the film "Fried Green Tomatoes"(1991) itself, I must in all honesty state that it is one of the most powerfully, emotionally riveting films I have ever seen in my entire life. Even those words themselves cannot give it the endless amount of merit it so justly deserves, at least in my opinion.
Viewing this film in all its original content ranges everywhere from extremely difficult to almost impossible. I'm serious. In most versions that one can view on TCM, TNT or even the various cable channels the film is almost always missing 2 scenes which I feel are extremely relevant to the film as a whole piece - the scene where Evelyn Couch attends the gospel church service with Ninnie Threadgoode and the scene where Idgie and Ruth are having a little chat on the porch swing at their home. Without those 2 scenes the film not only does not flow as nicely as it should, but by leaving those scenes out it's not emphasizing the close connections among those 4 characters as it should be doing. Again, just my opinion.
Every film out there literally has at least one or more major "fuck-up scenes" in it and as much as I love "Fried Green Tomatoes" (1991) it too is not immune from this unintentional (or at least one assumes) phenomena. For those of you who have viewed the film do you remember the scene where Idgie, Cleo (or was it brother Julian in that particular scene?) and Big George drive down to Valdosta, Georgia to rescue Ruth from her extremely abusive husband, Frank Bennett? As you're viewing that segment of the film, take an extremely quick yet thorough look of who is and isnt in the car before the group drives back to Alabama - you will notice right away that Big George, who accompanied Idgie and Cleo on the trip is NOT shown leaving in the car with them! You may instantly exclaim what I did when I first noticed this horrible discreptancy in the film, "Oh my gawd, they forgot to tell Big George to get into the car after he loaded that big trunk onto it!!" And afterwards you may even shake your head as I did and think "How could any director or producer of any film even miss a giant boo-boo such as that one!?!?!" Most likely due to the fact that the film has been around for quite some time, the majority of viewers have probaly never even noticed it and I will admit, Big George's abscence in that one particular scene does not affect the film either way, except for the sake of logical continuity. But still, after all these years it does blow my mind that anyone connected with the film could've let that something like that happen, you know?
Due to the fact that I fell in love with this film upon my initial viewing of it, I was inspired to check out Fannie Flagg's other works and I am ever so thankful to this day that I did. I love her style of writing because Flagg truly is an exceptional storyteller, not just with "Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe"(1987) but other of her works that I have read, such as "Welcome To The World, Baby Girl!" (1998) and "A Redbird Christmas"(2004). You know what else I love about all of Flagg's books? Get this - she actually includes the recipes to the food dishes described within her novels in the back of each book! I think that is so kewl! I've never known any author to ever do that with any of their writings, fictional or non-fictional, and I think what's so impressive about it is that it practically makes her characters appear even more human than they are to begin with; and, I've never known any author to do that other than Flagg herself. Perhaps other authors have indeed attempted this but if they have I am totally unaware of it. I like it. I like it a lot.
In specific reference to the book "Fried Green Tomatoes At The Whistle Stop Cafe"(1987), the sucess of it and the film which followed in 1991, gave birth to an actual "Fried Green Tomatoes At The Whistle Stop Cafe Coobook" (1995). I do not have a copy of this cookbook, nor have I actually tried the recipe for the dish Fried Green Tomatoes that is included in the back of the novel itself. However, I did try the Food Network version of the recipe several years ago and it was quite exceptional! The flavor of Fried Green Tomatoes is hard to describe, there really isnt any other dish that one can compare it to, though it is similiar in concept to Fried Zucchini Slices, in which you prepare the dish and then either eat it as is, by putting it into a dipping sauce or eating it as an actual sandwich. To some folks, the mere thought of eating Fried Green Tomatoes does not sound the least bit appetizing - and I'll admit, the very first time I made them I thought to myself "Damn, these things better taste good or I'm gonna be kinda p.o.'ed!" - but I kid you not, once you try them and if you truly enjoy them, you will find yourself making them every time tomato season is here. Granted, fried foods are something we all should avoid in today's health-conscious world but trust me, if you dont treat yourself to these goodies at least once in awhile, you are definitely missing out on something good!
The film "Fried Green Tomatoes" (1991) will forever be a part of my life not only because I always find something new to gleam from it every time I watch it, but also because it always gives me the reassurance that no matter what you encounter in life, you can rise above it, you can survive it and most of all, you can be a better person to yourself, as well as those around you, if you allow yourself the common sense to do so. I think yet another underlying message within this film is that shows whatta integral and vital role that friendship plays in our lives. What Ninnie Threadgoode says towards the final moments of the film is something that I think is extremely true - friends truly are one of the best things in life.
There's yet another thing I learned from this film when I most recently viewed it during my Christmas vacation this past year, in conjunction with something that happened during my trip. Every time I go back for one of my holiday trips, I set aside time to pay my respects to those who are no longer alive, such as my Dad, my Grandpa, my little brother and other relatives. I realize that there are people who find visiting cemeteries morbid but I was raised to treat something like that as a means of showing respect and somehow reminding those who have gone on before us that they are not forgotten, that their lives did indeed matter. But during sucha outting as I was talking with my Grandma, I asked her something I've wondered about in the past. I turned to her and said "But what happens when we are no longer here? What happens when the stories of the past can no longer be told? Does that mean that peoples lives really didnt matter after all?" She thought for a minute or two and responded in a way that made me feel much better about such questions. Her answer: "Heavens no, all life matters, whether it's here-n-now or whether it was 100 years ago, regardless of whether anyone is left to tell the stories of or not. Hopefully they will, but remember, we all make our own imprints on life, that kinda thing doesnt go away just because we are dead." And I think she's right. I know she's right.
And I noticed that to be true even in a film about fictional characters in a fictional story. More than several of the characters in "Fried Green Tomatoes"(1991) did indeed do what I've always done, what I was raised to believe was the right thing to do - paying reverence and respect to those who have gone on before us because all life is precious, and because each and every one of us does make a profound impact in the lives of others by just our mere existence. We really are more connected with each other on every level as human beings than we care to admit. We really are all in the same boat just as was portrayed in that film, and just as we all live our daily lives. Granted, all of this is just one of the random parallels (or perhaps coincidences to an extent) between such a film as this one and real life but the similarities are irrefutable.
Usually when people hear of others who can watch the same film over and over again without ever tiring of it usually results with the comment that such folks are behaving in a ludicrous manner, that they are generally two-sandwiches-shy-of-a-picnic-basket, but I disagree with that rationale. I think if there is a film (perhaps even more than one, of that I think is certain) out there that one identifies with on so many levels, whether it's on a personal human level or not, and one can gleam a gem of wisdom from more than one viewing of it, I think it's perfectly acceptable to watch it as often as you damn well please. I dont think it's the age-old idiom that Hollywood allegedly designed every film it has presented to the world to maintain some form of immortal prescence. I think it really is the human connection angle, if you ask me. As a matter of fact, for me personally, the characters of Idgie Threadgoode and Ruth Jamison will remain forever eternal; but, then again, so will what they've taught viewers such as myself regarding the human experience - that no matter what happens in our lifetimes, we really arent as alone as we think we are. We really are never truly alone because we really do always have each other. Thank you for reading.
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