Fried Green Tomatoes

In Alabama, Evelyn's life changes through the stories told by Ninny, an elderly woman she meets at a nursing home. What Ninny tells is the story of Idgie and Ruth, who ran a café in Whistle Stop in the 1920s. It comes from Fannie Flagg's 1987 novel, and the most argued-about change is here: the film does not make the lesbian relationship between Idgie and Ruth explicit and leaves it ambiguous. That softening drew objections at first. Even so, the film won the 1992 award from the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation for best feature with lesbian content. Kathy Bates, Jessica Tandy, Mary Stuart Masterson and Mary-Louise Parker star. It took two Oscar nominations, one for Tandy in support. It opened on 27 December 1991 and grossed 119.4 million dollars worldwide on an 11 million budget. The mark it left offscreen is worth noting: the town of Juliette, where it was shot, saw an influx of tourists, and with director Jon Avnet's encouragement locals opened a Whistle Stop Café rebuilt to match the film set. Who it is for: viewers who like female friendship and two-timeline storytelling. Who it is not for: readers of the novel. Blurring the relationship reads as a larger omission now than it did then.