Friends Forever

Unappetizing images of raw tomatoes blackened a la Chef Paul Prudhomme come to mind, coupled with the optimistic hope that perhaps such a quirky, unsightly dish will surprise us with a new, entertaining taste sensation.

This movie of female bonding between self-assertive or soon-to-be-self-assertive women of the old and new South almost delivers on both expectations.

Scenes alternate between modern day and 1930s Alabama as the aged, lonely, yet very talkative Ninny Threadgood (Jessica Tandy) recounts the Interesting history of a friendship between two women she once knew to a neglected housewife, Evelyn, (Kathy Bates) whom she has randomly befriended in the waiting room of her nursing home.

As we follow the narratives of the two pairs of friends--tomboyish Idgy Thread-good (Mary Stuart Masterson) and noble, lady-like, Ruth (Mary Louise Parker) in the 1930's, and Ninny and Evelyn--one theme assaults our consciousnesses: the power, perfectness and wonderfulness of female friendship.

Idgy and Ruth, the proprietors of a restaurant (specialty: fried green tomatoes), support each other and survive through much trauma at the hands of evil men.

Minnie, by relating this story to Evelyn, inspires the dissatisfied, middle-aged housewife--"I'm too young to be old and too old to be young,"--to forget trying to please her clueless couchpotato husband, take charge of her life, and replace her boxes of doughnuts with celery sticks and Reebok step workouts. And the two become fast friends.

But despite the movie's heavy-handed and obvious themes, it has both unique twists--how Idgy disposes of the body of Ruth's husband--and hilarious scenes, such as when the transformed nineties-woman Evelyn impulsively rams the car of two sweet young thangs who have stolen her parking space at the shoppin' mall: "I may be slower, but I'm older and have more insurance," she yells triumphantly.

Fried Green Tomatoes is overdone, but nevertheless palatable.

Fried Green Tomatoes

Directed by Jon Avnet Starring Kathy Bates, Mary Stuart Masterson, Mary-Louise Parker & Jessica Tandy Universal Pictures