Review of Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) by Valerie C — 05 Mar 2009

This film is a deep popcorn flick, which is to say it's thought-provoking but slightly more of a show, and that supremely helps its longevity. Once you can get past the schmaltzy opening "Give a little / Take a little" hammer-over-the-head message song (I can't imagine it being very popular in 1967 either), away we go with obviously nervous and distinguished gentleman Sidney Poitier and his much younger, Caucasian, often forward, happy-as-a-clam fiance Katharine Houghton to spring some shocking news onto two unaware sets of parents. The first set: The soon-to-be bride's folks, played by one of Hollywood's finest married couples Katharine Hepburn and, in his final performance, the lung congestion-suffering Spencer Tracy.

The two iconic thespians bring the house down here in their own extraordinarily talented ways. In roughly half his scenes (especially during an outing for ice cream), Tracy is clearly fatally ill, but hardly anybody in film history was ever able to deliver sternness and politeness at the same time than this tree-trunk of a man. His final role is no exception.

We actors love Hepburn's Oscar-winning performance; she's opinionated, a touch hypocritical, and she demonstrates a terrific example of application when she sheds tears throughout her husband's baring declaration of love for her. For my money, it's one of the best moments ever captured in a motion picture.

Beah Richards and Roy Glenn turn out to be the "Who" of the title as the soon-to-be groom's parents that are abruptly invited to this quick gathering before a convenient but allowable fast-approaching deadline for the two lovebirds. They play the most believable characters of the film, but unfortunately have to shine in scenes drenched in some different and unexpected controversy. Poitier has a heated argument with his father that can come off as uncharacteristic and highly rude (I had no problem with it - it was good to see another dimension to Poitier's perfect catch), while Richards makes a rash judgment call on Tracy that radically helps him make his final decision... and brings up existential questions of the correlation between true love and manliness.

Some of the minor characters, like the drinking Irish priest and the outspoken racially sensitive maid who is mostly played for laughs, got under my skin a bit, and Houghton's daughter had some very puzzling instincts and reactions. The "problem" of GWCTD has more inconveniences that have to do with timing, an age gap, foreseeable outside interferences, and surprisingly incorrect predictions (sometimes with one's self) than the jump-out race difference. You could see this as a tactic of dodging hot-button taboos from the film's creators, but I see it as an illustration of how minuscule an issue it really is... that there will always be bigger concerns.

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner is a goldmine of talented stars giving us a story that prominently roots for love no matter what and stays head over shoulders about it. A nice, easy watch with meat to it and no doubt more pleasing than the characters' cold and soggy dinner when the credits roll.