DAY 10 – GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER
It is always quite unusual to watch a film so directly tied to the problems of its own generation, one that we can barely imagine existing today. This is such a film, which depicts the events of one day in 1967 San Francisco. Joanna “Joey” Drayton (Katharine Houghton) is bringing home Dr. John Prentice (Sidney Poitier), and is ready to tell her parents that they are set to be married – and quite soon. John comes across as an almost frustratingly ideal candidate for marriage – incredibly accomplished and well-respected in the medical world, charming, well-reasoned and gentle (dammit, he sets a high bar) – but the most notable trait of his may be one outside his control. Namely, he’s black. Despite leading a very progressive newspaper and art gallery, respectively, Matt and Christina Drayton (Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn) find themselves put to the ultimate test of tolerance right in their own home.
You could find every reason in the world for these parents to oppose the sudden marriage, and this film slowly brings out details that would bother many even if skin color was not the issue. He’s 37 (and already in a terribly tragic marriage before), and she’s 23. They only met about a week and a half earlier, while she was on vacation in Hawaii. And, oh, might I add that due to professional duties on Dr. Prentice’s part, the parents are essentially given one day to ultimately decide whether they can approve the marriage with “no reservations”? Make no mistake: unlike in many romance-based films, the film never, ever questions whether Joey and John truly care about each other. They are deeply in love, and its positive depiction of an interracial relationship was remarkable groundbreaking for its time. But fittingly (and almost frustratingly), the practical questions gradually become minute in comparison to the giant multi-colored elephant in the room, even as the titular dinner becomes increasingly complicated – and life-changing – to the futures of everyone involved.
In all honesty, I cannot imagine a situation where the age, speed and genuine feelings in a relationship would be dwarfed by skin color…and I suppose that is a sign of how different things are now. But in the context of this film, it is a question every single character must ask. In 1967, interracial marriage was still illegal in a number of states and would surely warrant ridicule and social separation of some kind anywhere…and the families of both lovers are well-aware of this. Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn are the true main characters in this film, for although they are merely two of the parents, the questions they must consider most correspond with what the audiences of the time felt, and they are exemplary in their efforts. They fit the role they should and their onscreen chemistry (this being their ninth pairing) is downright tangible, with Hepburn showing graceful resolution in her belief that love is what is most important and Tracy gradually revealing a more frustrated personality that is all-too-aware of the cruelty other people are capable of. I will probably say it a million times over the course of this year, but for some reason – maybe because there was less rush to get to the next scene in films of the past – actors in previous generations do appear to get more immersed in their character’s lives and emotions. And because they believe in it, so does the audience.
In fact, everyone comes across as believable, as decent people who want to do the right thing but are not sure how to do so in conjunction with the slow rate of social growth in mainstream society. The younger generation already feels prepared to take the next steps forward, to the point where one can identify himself as just “a man” instead of as “a colored man”. Poitier and Houghton are refreshingly forthright in this regard, with Houghton showing the resolute certainty in the future that heartfelt love produces at a young age and Poitier displaying the idealistic charm and yearning of a man simply longing to fall in that state once again. They present racism as a flawed mentality that is not permanent, something that feels like it will be around forever but is already in the process of fading away with the previous generation. And to the film’s noteworthy credit, through the critiques of the Drayton’s black house cook Tillie (Isabel Sanford) and John’s parents, they present racial bias as something that needs to be overcome on both sides of the aisle.
Maybe this review is a little shorter because, frankly, my assessment of the film should match how straightforward the film itself can be. Director Stanley Kramer and his cast must have truly felt a collective desire to tackle such a controversial topic, and in a way that said “Screw you!” to those willing to hide away from or condemn those standing against it. This is most poignantly emphasized in the final scene, which actually contained the final speech of Spencer Tracy’s illustrious career (he would die barely two weeks later, and they all knew he was dying at the time) and one where the tears of everyone in the room were real. And thus it moved audiences as well. Personally, I may have some issues with how sometimes the fixation on race relations feels a little…well, forced in occasional scenes. But considering the social context of the time, it was probably necessary and only feels dated now because it did its job then. And on top of its powerful message, fantastic acting and wonderfully subtle camerawork by Kramer, such passion by everyone involved makes it feel like a film you want to finish, with characters you want to see grow and eventually live happily…if not perfectly…ever after.
Score: 9/10
(must-see for anyone sick of romantic comedies, Kutcher or Aniston)
TOMORROW (DAY 11): THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (ORIGINAL)
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