Guess Who Saw a Great Movie?

About 2 years ago, a couple I'm friends with decided to start a movie club. A whole bunch of us agreed that there were a lot of great classic, cult, and/or cult classic movies that we'd never seen and wanted to find a reason to watch them. So, for the last 2 years, the group has been getting together once a month to expand our film knowledge, eat some pizza, and have a little MST-style fun. Through this movie club, I've seen such fantastic films as Network, the original Manchurian Candidate, On the Waterfront, Metropolis, and North by Northwest.

Tonight's movie was one I've wanted to see for a long time - Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? I've heard so much about this movie over the years, both about its cutting-edge subject matter and the amazing performances of the 3 titans in the cast.

Well, it did not disappoint. This is a great movie. The story is a familiar one (and hopefully not just because of that Bernia Mac-Ashton Kushter "reimagining" in Guess Who); young Joanna Dreyton surprises her liberal parents Matt and Christina with an unexpected visit home, with an unexpected visitor in tow. She has fallen in love and is engaged to a black man. The couple's determination forces her parents, and his as well, to confront their own principles and decide if they can actually live their lives according to the liberal philosophy they have so famously espoused for years. The parents are played by those old lions, Spencer Tracey and Katharine Hepburn, and the young gentlemen was played by the ever-dignified and noble Mr. Sidney Poitier. (A bit of trivia - the daughter is played by Hepburn's actual niece, Katharine Houghton. Hence the resemblance.)

While the writing (and the costumes!) of this film clearly places it in its own present time, LBJ's late '60's, there is still a very modern resonance to the film. It's true that many of the objections raised by the parents as to why the couple shouldn't be together - including the fact that at the time it was illegal in many states - are no longer official roadblocks, I don't think anyone can argue that race as an issue has gone away. I admit I don't feel like the best qualified person to talk about this, but another blogger wrote about race, romance and the movies quite eloquently recently. For me, what hit home the most was the movie's confrontation of white liberalism, forcing more than just a "do as I say, not as I do" perspective. The movie makes the characters confront a real situation, right in their own living rooms, and forces them to live up to their own ideals.

This movie was both controversial and highly acclaimed when it came out. It won a slew of awards, including Best Actress for Ms. Hepburn. The performances of the 3 main actors were just astounding. I haven't seen a Spencer Tracey film in a very long time and I was amazed at how good he is. Even more so when I just looked up trivia on the film and learned he was gravely ill during the making of this movie and died just 17 days after production wrapped. Katharine Hepburn never saw the completed film because it was too painful. That's so sad, cuz they were both so poewrful. His final scene is mesmerizing. And Kate's firing of a snotty employee? One of the best written and acted "aw, snap!" scenes ever. We all lauded it as a "classic Hepburn moment." And what can I say about Sidney Poitier that hasn't already been said? He's a master, even at his relatively young age in this film.

5 stars, 2 thumbs up, 1 exhortation to go rent this movie! Overlook the cheesy 60's stuff like the groovy butcher's delivery guy, look for Weezie in her memorable role as Tillie the housekeeper, and just enjoy a classic film.