327. Fried Green Tomatoes directed by Jon Avnet

About this episode

The episode discusses the film 'Fried Green Tomatoes' and its themes of friendship, self-acceptance, and queerness through the performances of its lead actresses.

"Face it, girls, I'm older and I have more insurance." We watched "Fried Green Tomatoes" directed by Jon Avnet, and we would like to take a moment to talk about Towanda! As we meander through this mortal coil and start to see time marching on, right across our faces, we grow ever more aware of Evelyn Couch as portrayed by national treasure Kathy Bates. We too are too young to be old, and too old to be young! Evelyn's journey to become more in touch with herself and at home in her own body resonates more than ever, but the story of Idgie and Ruth as played by Mary Stuart Masterson and Mary-Louise Parker really hits close to home. The filmmakers may have shied away from the blatant queer overtones of the book, but movie watchers everywhere picked up what the actors were putting down. Idgie and Ruth were more than just friends, and we all know it to be true. The Marys are delivering fine performances in the flashbacks, but Kathy Bates and Jessica Tandy are keeping us in the seats. Two best actress Oscar winners are volleying off of each other, and it's a master class. Is Jessica Tandy's Ninny Threagoode really Idgie? Does it even matter in the long run? What matters is 4 fine…

People in this episode

Host: Scott Youngba

Topics covered

• friendship
• self-acceptance
• queerness
• film analysis
• female empowerment
• aging

Keywords

• Fried Green Tomatoes
• Kathy Bates
• queer cinema
• female friendship
• film review
• Idgie
• Ruth
• self-acceptance
• Jessica Tandy
• Mary Stuart Masterson

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: MTMUGPodcast

Books & works: Fried Green Tomatoes

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