Review of Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) by Andrew D — 24 Sep 2010

Back in 1967, interracial marriage was forbidden in many states. And that was the year in which that law was abolished. Coincidentially (yes, it was a coincidence apparently), that very year an interracial marriage comedy-drama was released to critical acclaim: Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. The movie is an interesting and entertaining critic on that subject, but it is as well a heartfelt story with protagonists we can care about.

Katherine Houghton and Sidney Poitier star as Joanna Drayton and Dr. John Prentice, a white female and a color man who met in Hawai during one of John's university conferences. Despite it was frowned upon at the time, the two fall in love and start a relationship, which, in ten days, develop into a marriage commitment. John feels that Joanna's parents won't accept him, but she assures him they will, therefore they decide to travel to their home so they can meet John. But when they arrive her parents, mostly her dad (played by Spencer Tracy), are against their marriage, though her mother (played by Katahrine Hepburn) later accepts them. But to complicate things, Joanna invites John's parents to dinner. The same case applies here: his mother (Beah Richards) accepts their marriage, but his father (Roy E. Glenn) refuses to give them their approval, even in a harsher way than Joanna's father did.

In the world of 2010 we are used to interracial marriages, but in the world of 1967 it was a very but very rare thing to happen, and I think that that is one of the things that makes this film work, the impact it had at the time. Even today I can see the controversy this theme caused, and it is clearly reflected in the character's of this film. It is an interesting subject to aboard, and I think that the makers of this film did it right.

The film received one nomination for each of the acting categories, and won for Best Actress for Katharine Hepburn. I think that the nominations are a clear sign that the performances in this film were outstanding, but I do think that maybe a couple of more players deserved to be mentioned: I am speaking of Sidney Poitier, who plays John, and Roy E. Glenn, who plays his father. Both of this actors played magnificently their roles, with the proper sentimental value they had to give to their characters. There is a dialogue between the two that I think it must be the most powerful scene in this film, and it was quite moving. For the other actors most of them played their roles wonderfully too. The only winner, Katharine Hepburn played her character with skills and she certainly shows her emotions, but I still think that the winner that year should have been Anne Bancroft from The Graduate. Spencer Tracy did a terrific job too, getting into his character. I think you can see he is believing all he is saying. Cecil Kellaway (who playes Monsignor Ryan, a friend of the family) and Beah Richards (who played John's mother), were nominated for the supporting roles, and I think they deserve their nominations. But there was one player I couldn't really stand and that was Katherine Houghton. Is not that she was utterly bad, but she was mediocre at best, and some of the dialogues she said sounded too forced and sometimes out of place, but not because of the screenplay but because of her (and I hope I am not being too harsh) making them sound annoying. She is like the central character, along with Sidney Poitier, but there were moments I couldn't stand her.

Another thing to be praised in this film is the screenplay, which won at the Oscars. The screenplay is very well written. The characters are nicely done so we can care about, but I think I would have appreciated some more look into the character's past. The situations in this film rank from funny to moving, and many were inspiring and powerful. The dialogues were smartly written, with some sounding out smart, others funny and others charming, and there were a couple which were memorable. Some of my favorites were "You see yourself as a color man... but I see myself... as a man" and "Joey, this might be the last time I have to tell you to do something, and I am doing it: shut up." The first one sounds quite inspiring and has alot to do with the film's main themes, and the second one has a charming and funny effect at the same time.

But I do have a couple of complains with this film. I already mentioned a couple, as Katherine Houghton and the lack of (or the little of sounds better) character's backgroung. But there are some that I should say. First I think that the themes of racism were taken too lightly, at least until the arrival of John's parents. Until then, I felt that this subject could have been approached in a way that could have had a higher impact, and that maybe this was a key thing for a film that racism is the main item. And then there is another thing. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I felt that the film was missing something. I don't know what it was, but it felt like a couple of issues had been left on the cutting room. But that aside, it is a greatly entertaining movie.

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner is a very enjoyable movie, with some great performances, smart writing, memorable quotes, moving moments and serious themes. It may have a couple of flaws, but in the end the film is very good.

My recommendation: this is a film you'll most likely enjoy, even if it is not perfect.

My score: 83%.