Fried Green Tomatoes (1991)

A housewife who is unhappy with her life befriends an old lady in a nursing home and is enthralled by the tales she tells of people she used to know.

Director:

Jon Avnet

Writers:

Fannie Flagg (novel), Fannie Flagg (screenplay)

Stars:

Kathy Bates, Jessica Tandy, Mary Stuart Masterson

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 6 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kathy Bates	...	Evelyn Couch
Mary Stuart Masterson	...	Idgie Threadgoode
Mary-Louise Parker	...	Ruth Jamison
Jessica Tandy	...	Ninny Threadgoode
Cicely Tyson	...	Sipsey
Chris O'Donnell	...	Buddy Threadgoode
Stan Shaw	...	Big George
Gailard Sartain	...	Ed Couch
Timothy Scott	...	Smokey Lonesome (as Tim Scott)
Gary Basaraba	...	Grady Kilgore
Lois Smith	...	Mama Threadgoode
Jo Harvey Allen	...	Women's Awareness Teacher
Macon McCalman	...	Prosecutor Percy
Richard Riehle	...	Reverend Scroggins
Raynor Scheine	...	Sheriff Curtis Smoote

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

domestic violence | cannibalism | nursing home | friendship | alabama | 

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Taglines:

The secret of life? The secret's in the sauce.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 January 1992 (USA)

Also Known As:

Tomates verdes fritos

Filming Locations:

Agnes Scott College - 141 E. College Avenue, Decatur, Georgia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$11,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$82,418,501

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$119,418,501

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures,Act III Communications,Avnet/Kerner Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

130 min 137 min (extended)

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

It marks as one of the final screenplays written by Carol Sobieski, for which she received a posthumous Oscar nominations. She died in 1990, a year before the film's release.

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Goofs

Evelyn pauses with the wrapped fried green tomatoes in hand and looks down the hallway. There are several people in the hallway, one is an older woman with an orange flowered robe and a bandaged left foot. She is seated facing Evelyn as she begins her walk down the hallway, but as Evelyn passes the seated woman she suddenly has her back to the wall.

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Quotes

Grady Kilgore: You are absolutely, unconditionally, positively the most stubborn person I've ever known in my life!

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Alternate Versions

They also include additional footage in the final cafe sequence in which Sipsey refuses to give barbecue (with the special sauce) to two colored boys who come to the back door.

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Connections

Referenced in The Closer: Flashpoint (2005)

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Soundtracks

What Becomes of the Brokenhearted
Written by James Dean, Paul Riser, and William Weatherspoon
Produced by Arthur Baker
Co-Produced by Tommy Faragher
Performed by Paul Young
Mixed by Michael Brauer
Courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment (U.K.)

User Reviews

A Beautiful Film

This is truly a beautiful film.

Well written and superbly acted it tugs at the heartstrings harder than almost any other movie. The way it sets up an obvious story line and then like a gentle roller-coaster suddenly takes you in another direction is unequalled in this type of film.

There are so many points of genuine sadness and whenever you think you have guessed the story you suddenly turn to find an outcome more surprising than you thought.

Major characters die, major characters do not "fall in love" and major characters are not allowed to cop-out; it is as a film should be.

Remarkable well written, produced with care and acted with understatement and love - it is a beautiful film.

Watch it.