Review of Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) by Jennifer X — 04 Dec 2011

Many people have detracted Guess Who's Coming to Dinner for two main reasons: for being outdated, and for the inconsistency where Poitier's character confronts his own father in his potential in-laws' library. But this is merely a one-sided view at the whole picture. True, it does have its fallacies - a love story where the plot deviates to a Stoic discussion on masculinity and the duties of a father (in the aforementioned scene). However, right from the start, Kramer has cleverly mixed comedy and drama into one superb potion, and that potion is of course the film.

It has a genuine love song ("The Glory of Love"), though not an original; Oscar-worthy performances not only by Hepburn and Tracy (in his last role), but also by the leads Houghton and Poitier; and last but not least, a genuinely moving monologue delivered by Tracy's character (the last in his entire career), that puts to shame all the other so-called "heart-piercing" monologues in other sentimental films. What this film does not have in excess is sentimentality, and that, as experience should prove, is something that should be so in a tale like this. A liberal drama clashing against the ways of the times, and a love story that should be watched by those into the genre. With one major weakness - everything, including Prentice's record, is a clean bill. Everything seems too perfect. I give it a 4 out of 5 stars.