BATES AND TANDY ARE A STRONG ACT IN `FRIED GREEN TOMATOES'

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, January 25, 1992                   TAG: 9201250330
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: EXTRA 2   EDITION: METRO  
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
BATES AND TANDY ARE A STRONG ACT IN `FRIED GREEN TOMATOES'
In "Fried Green Tomatoes," Miss Daisy goes driving with Thelma and Louise.
That's an oversimplification, but it's still an accurate capsule description of this tale of Southern womanhood triumphant. Overall, it's an effective and often moving film with some glaring flaws.
Set in Alabama and moving back and forth in time from the 1920s to the present, this is really two stories. One concerns Evelyn Couch (Kathy Bates), an unhappy middle-aged woman who happens to meet Ninny Threadgoode (Jessica Tandy) at a nursing home. The two become friends when Ninny begins to tell stories of her girlhood.
The biggest influences on her life were her sister Idgie (Mary Stuart Masterson) and Idgie's best friend Ruth Jamison (Mary-Louise Parker). Idgie was a tomboy who never outgrew her taste for men's clothes, poker and independence. Ruth is more passive. She can't even bring herself to escape a bad marriage without Idgie's help.
Defying the conventions of the Deep South in the 1930s, they open the Whistle Stop Cafe. Of course that brings them to the attention of the authorities, both legal and illegal. The sheriff (Gary Basarba) is in love with Idgie, and the Klan doesn't like the way the women serves black people outside the cafe.
In the present, Evelyn is inspired by Ninnie's stories. As she learns more about Idgie and Ruth, she vows to straighten out her own life - to cut down on the doughnuts and candy bars, to become less dependent on her husband Ed (Gailard Sartain) who pays more attention to the Atlanta Braves than to her, to take control of her life.
That sounds like a blurb for a self-help book, but the potentially cliched material is saved by Jessica Tandy and Kathy Bates. Their Oscars for "Driving Miss Daisy" and "Misery" were no flukes. These are two terrific actresses working with fine material. They're never less than believable and fascinating.
Unfortunately, the other half of the film doesn't fare so well. The script by novelist Fannie Flagg and director Jon Avnet tones down the original and tries to cram too much material into too little time. The action tends to lurch from event to event with little explanation or background. Characters who play key roles have no depth or personality, and the "mystery" element - who killed Ruth's husband - is a ham-fisted travesty that would embarrass a made-for-TV movie.
That's also where first-time director Avnet's inexperience shows through. Again, though, good performances from the two leads drag the story over the rough spots. Even if Mary-Louise Parker's Ruth is too wimpy for some tastes, Mary Stuart Masterton's Idgie fills up the screen.
On balance, the good far outweighs the bad here. Anyone who appreciates this multigenerational, larger-than-life and uniquely Southern kind of storytelling should take a look at "Fried Green Tomatoes."

`Fried Green Tomatoes': A Universal release playing at Tanglewood Mall (989-6165). Rated PG-13 for strong language, some violence.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB