GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER?

GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER?-


I'm not sure how much of a stir this movie caused back in 1967, a lot of folks say it was a great drama with a powerful and provocative message. I've heard about this film for years but until I saw it for myself ....I had no idea what a funny movie this really is!!

Spencer Tracey and Katherine Hepburn plays the Mr. and Mrs. Drayton, an old couple of "Liberals", they are put to the test when their young beautiful white daughter wants to marry a black man. Tracey looks to be about 75 years old here, so it's hard to believe he has a daughter only about 20 years old. But since these two prehistoric hippy parents probably spent most of their earlier years protesting against slavery, prohibition and fighting for women's right to vote, it can be possible that starting a family came very late in life for the Draytons. Then they name their daughter Josephine but calls her Joey, how liberal and progressive of them.

The white daughter Joey Drayton played by Katherine Houghton is not too convincing as someone who is so in love with our black knight in shinning armour. At one point I thought she was doing this just to spite her parents, the way she kept insisiting on inviting parents of her fiance over and the "Oh my mom and dad would love this...and that...." I was expecting she wanted to prove a point that her left wing parents are just a couple of old fuddy duddies..


Anyway Isabell Sanford (Weezie from "The Jeffersons") plays Tillie the black maid, she was wonderful in this movie. She kept harrassing the future son in law; Dr. John Prentice (Sidney Poitier) the black man who came to dinner. Tillie thinks he's some gold diggin' N-word out for the Drayton's money and he's not even good looking! She's great! I love the scene when Joey has invited a whole slew of black dinner guests she adds another guest to the list, then she asks Tillie, "Guess who else is coming to dinner?"

Tillie: "The Dr. Martin Luther King jr.?"

Oh come on, it's refreshing to see liberals have to put their money where their mouth is! Probably a remake is in store with a same-sex couple coming to dinner....