A young beautician, newly arrived in a small Louisiana town, finds work at the local salon, where a small group of women share a close bond of friendship, and welcome her into the fold.
Director:
Herbert Ross
Stars:
Shirley MacLaine,
Olympia Dukakis,
Sally Field
Two best friends set out on an adventure, but it soon turns around to a terrifying escape from being hunted by the police, as these two girls escape for the crimes they committed.
After a famous author is rescued from a car crash by a fan of his novels, he comes to realize that the care he is receiving is only the beginning of a nightmare of captivity and abuse.
Director:
Rob Reiner
Stars:
James Caan,
Kathy Bates,
Richard Farnsworth
An unemployed single mother becomes a legal assistant and almost single-handedly brings down a California power company accused of polluting a city's water supply.
Director:
Steven Soderbergh
Stars:
Julia Roberts,
Albert Finney,
David Brisbin
Evelyn Couch is having trouble in her marriage, and no one seems to take her seriously. While in a nursing home visiting relatives, she meets Ninny Threadgoode, an outgoing old woman, who tells her the story of Idgie Threadgoode, a young woman in 1920's Alabama. Through Idgie's inspiring life, Evelyn learns to be more assertive and builds a lasting friendship of her own with Ninny.Written by
Kevin <Kibble@vm.temple.edu>
The "Valdosta" courthouse in the movie (where the trial is held) is not actually Valdosta's courthouse. The real one is white brick, the movie courthouse has red brick. See more »
Goofs
In the scene where the young women are in the boxcar (from
which they pass out canned goods), the box cars were obviously built by the set decorators. And wrong. The cars have outside bracing, common enough in the period of the film. But all outside-braced boxcars had their wood planks running horizontally, not vertically as in the movie. See more »
In the TV/DVD version there is a scene, immediately before Idgie goes to visit Ruth, in which we learn that Idgie has been living in Sipsie's house Troutville, the colored annex of Whistle Stop. See more »
Fannie Flagg's novel of immense complexity (huge cast and innumerable separate stories) could have been impossible to film. However, it is made possible, in large part, by the performances of Mary Stuart Masterson and Mary Louise Parker in what should have been billed as the lead roles. They play the two southern women who's joint story this movie revolves around. Jessica Tandy's role is to relate the story to a lost and longing Kathy Bates (in modern times). Director Jon Avnet ties the two together nicely at times, awkwardly at times, but always (except the end) without doing damage to either. He (and the production crew) bring to life a 'peaceful' southern town very nicely.
The two Marys manage to convey the fullness of a complex relationship with apparent ease. There on-screen chemistry is nothing short of dazzling, and one is left wondering when and how these two actresses carved out such detailed characters without giving voice to their motivations and feelings. While it is rare that dialogue directly addresses the heart and nature of their relationship, what that is becomes clear quickly and transcends the plot of the story to become the real unifying element in this movie. That neither was recognized (in the conventional way) for their performances is unfortunate (which is an understatement).
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Fannie Flagg's novel of immense complexity (huge cast and innumerable separate stories) could have been impossible to film. However, it is made possible, in large part, by the performances of Mary Stuart Masterson and Mary Louise Parker in what should have been billed as the lead roles. They play the two southern women who's joint story this movie revolves around. Jessica Tandy's role is to relate the story to a lost and longing Kathy Bates (in modern times). Director Jon Avnet ties the two together nicely at times, awkwardly at times, but always (except the end) without doing damage to either. He (and the production crew) bring to life a 'peaceful' southern town very nicely.
The two Marys manage to convey the fullness of a complex relationship with apparent ease. There on-screen chemistry is nothing short of dazzling, and one is left wondering when and how these two actresses carved out such detailed characters without giving voice to their motivations and feelings. While it is rare that dialogue directly addresses the heart and nature of their relationship, what that is becomes clear quickly and transcends the plot of the story to become the real unifying element in this movie. That neither was recognized (in the conventional way) for their performances is unfortunate (which is an understatement).