Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (Stanley Kramer, 1967): USA

Reviewed by Ellia Rodriguez. Viewed at AFI Fest 2017.

I definitely believe that this is a film people should see, especially now that the issue regarding interracial couples hasn’t really changed much over the years. There are still various cultures that don’t approve of interracial relationships. It is an interesting movie for it’s time because it would of been such a controversial film during this time period. It was a time when some people still didn’t regard minorities as equals.

We are introduced to a interracial couple that found love in each other in Hawaii. This is within days of meeting each other. With only 10 days into their new love they are meeting with Joey’s parents in San Francisco. These liberal parents are not as liberal as they like to believe. Their daughter Joey brings a doctor of color to her parent’s house and they seem fine with this. When they find out the doctor is in a relationship with Joey. The race of their daughter’s betroth instead of doctor who is becomes a more pressing issue.

Most shots are medium to long. This could be the director implying that this issue does not just involve Joey and John, but is a collective issue for the whole family on both sides. The world view for this environment is that basically all characters are aware that their coupling will cause issues in their world, expect for Joey. This type of different view that Joey possesses is courtesy of her parents. Towards the end of the film it comes to the father to teach Joey yet one more life lesson.

I attended the viewing of this film at AFI Fest 2017. I was able to go to a talk with the writer Jordan Peele who did the recent film Get Out before we viewed this film.

The film festival itself decided to compare Get Out and Guess who’s coming to dinner. There are many parallels that can be drawn from both of these movies. One main one is that it is still somewhat of a taboo in dating others outside of your race. For some there still needs to be a forward word if someone is dating a black man. In both cases the white female doesn’t believe this would be any issue based on her previous interactions with her parents.  In these stories we assume that the parents will have no ill will. In both films the parents turn out to be completely different from where we would assume it to go by the end of the story.

Joey’s father is scared for the couple’s future, but in the end he does not want to stand in their way. It seems like the father fully understands and is fearful for Joey, John and their future children. He was reminded of the power of love by John’s mother. Through their talks he comes to realize and definitely understands that this type of love should not be let go of. Reflecting upon his own life knowing that he would of regretted losing the love he has had for his wife. A film which still rings true even today.

 

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Published:
11.20.17 / 3pm
Category:
AFI Filmfest 2017, Films