Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

I saw this film before but I never watched it this closely. I am one of those people who never can sit still when I am watching TV, I am knitting or folding laundry or playing Angry Birds. But Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner is one of those movies that makes you sit up and take notice.
Kate’s best scene has to be when she tells off her business partner.  A stuffy, bigot of a woman, I couldn’t help watching it over again. Kate’s delivery is peppered with enough sarcasm to show the viewer she means business but also with just the right amount of wit to make it a pleasure to watch. After all who doesn’t like seeing a snide, prig get her comeuppance?

The plot and theme of the movie were incredibly courageous back in 67. A time in American History when interracial marriage  was a crime in 17 states. But the duo of Tracy and Hepburn committed from the start even when his failing health meant his death was looming on the horizon. This was his last film. Kate won for best actress in the film. Restrained, brave, and infinitely gracious, she shines in this film. But hers is not the only stand out performance.

Sidney Poitier (need I say more?) commands every scene he’s in with so much control and energy that the viewer can’t help but feel drawn to him like a magnet. His monologue admonishing his father’s intolerance is so believably captures a wide range of emotions he feels toward this disapproving parent.

Another unexpected but  beautiful performance comes from Beah Richards who plays Mrs. Prentice Poitier’s mother, who like Kate approves wholeheartedly of the marriage. Her speech to Tracy is absolutely incredible! It’s the real turning point of the movie and allows him to see the error of his ways. Her delivery brought me to tears. She is speaking such beautiful truisms like “I believe those two young people need each other like they need the air to breath in.” It’s hard to imagine that any viewer would not be touched by her performance.

The supportive Irish priest played by Cecil Kellaway performance also provides a much needed breath of fresh air, to otherwise emotionally heavy tone. The scene when he tries, unsuccessfully, to talk sense into his long time friend Matt (Tracy) is especially entertaining. But his openness, and his unblemished kindness and support is a wonderful representation of what I wish more catholic authority figures would embody.  A very nice surprise!

Of course I must mention the elements of the 60′s themselves, the music, the clothes, the cars, the art in Christina (Hepburn’s) gallery. On a darker note we also know it’s the 60′s because of the pervasive intolerance. Tilley the maid, the cab driver, and Hepburn’s business partner make no effort to hide their obvious disapproval this interracial couple. We also hear a litany of descriptors of African Americans which are blessedly no longer used in movies.

There is a reason this film is a classic. It’s smart, expertly written and  filled with remarkable performances. But more than any of these characteristics Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner is worth watching and re watching because it has a heart, and a poignant message that is relevant today. That love transcends  race, and that it is the most important part of life.