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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Spells &amp; Karma" data-source="post: 418826" data-attributes="member: 23">Guess Who's Coming To Dinner? (1967) <img src="https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.impawards.com%2F1967%2Fposters%2Fguess_whos_coming_to_dinner_xlg.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=19c669840c755a7377ad476fbdad09993356da28872445808a77104611653af5&ipo=images" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="width: 629px" /> For a film that, by its nature, is intended to be forward-thinking, it seems appropriate that this should be a film of firsts for me. This marks not just my first, long-overdue, viewing of the film, but also I believe is the first vehicle in which I've seen most of the actors, including Spencer Tracy and Sidney Poitier. Technically I've watched Katharine Hepburn before as I viewed Suddenly, Last Summer many years ago (not that I remember it at all). In short, this one ticked a lot of things off my viewing bucket list. While I knew the premise of this film, I had no idea where it would go, or what tone it would take. I felt strangely comforted by the breezy opening credits, accompanied by The Glory Of Love, and even more so upon seeing Stanley Kramer's name. The latter turned out to be a wrong association on my part: I'd confused his names with Stanley Ralph Ross and Doug Cramer, and so thought of numerous television vehicles watched throughout the Seventies and Eighties (from Columbo to Wonder Woman and Dynasty). Turns out that tonally I wasn't actually that far off base, since this was as charming and accessible as some of these shows were at times. The performances are all marvellous. Katharine Hepburn's eyes seemed to be almost permanently glistening, intermittently breaking out into gorgeous photogenic tears. But her tough side, too, was able to come through in the fantastic scene where she smilingly dismissed  her pushy and snobby assistant with lengthy and very clear directions for getting lost. Sidney Poitier was dashing and diplomatic and likeable, while being simultaneously strong and unapologetic. Hepburn's niece and namesake, Katharine Houghton is disarmingly bright-eyed, optimistic and forthright, giving her common ground with Cecil Kellaway's bumbling cleric. Roy Glenn and Beah Richards are both perfect as Poitier's character's parents, with Beah in particular giving a performance that's as understated as it is strong. It feels she says comparatively little, but every word she says has depth. Spencer Tracy stole the entire show with a lengthy monologue at film's end which was the icing on the cake after his various little vacillations between laid back acceptance and occasional outbursts throughout. Special mention goes to Isabel Sanford for her character's no-frills (and usually unsolicited) observations throughout. There's a great scene where she marches up to an amused, shirtless Poitier and reads him the riot act for getting above his station. It's notable for the film's sole use of the N-bomb, which is diffused on the spot by coming in the middle of a diatribe (I wasn't even sure at first if I'd heard what I heard) and for the undercurrent of humour to the scene. What I loved about this scene was the direction, which held one shot, but went into a Dutch angle as she got into his face. As soon as she'd said her bit again, it immediately returned to horizontal, leaving the viewer feeling as amused, shocked and disorientated as Poitier's character. There are lots of terrific little moments throughout that feel like ad-libs or throwaway background stuff, but that make this film so wonderful. The whole scene with Tracy's character fussing over ice cream flavours, for instance. My favourite little moment in the entire film was when Spencer grabbed a tie from a rail and, moments after he'd walked away, the entire row of ties began sliding to the floor, one by one,  in the background. The dialogue is all wonderful. It's full of quips and sideways observations and unexpected responses. While it's a film of its time (which would be a good enough reason to watch anyway), there's also something timelessly universal about its messages. It's interesting that the girl in particular seems on some level to enjoy shocking people with the dramatic reveals (something that's highlighted by her husband-to-be in dialogue) while at the same time being horrified by those shocked reactions. Notwithstanding the race and age divisions, of course anyone would be very surprised by someone returning home with a fiancé she'd met only days before and whom she plans to marry within a couple of weeks, emigrating into the bargain. And, by the way, they need the parents' approval within a couple of hours of dropping it on them. All of which creates the perfect storm of conflict... because who wouldn't have reservations in those circumstances.  It's all quite frothy and soapy. Ultimately, it's a sweet little film that, in the best kind of way, feels very much like watching a stage play. I'd definitely be up for a rewatch.</blockquote>

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