"FRIDAY MOVIE SUGGESTION NIGHT" PRESENTS: "DRIVING MISS DAISY"!

___

This week, I wanted to bring you a movie synonymous with the summer season, as I recall first seeing this wonderful and warm story in the summer when it was released. Viewing it now reminds me how much I miss seeing the late Jessica Tandy on the big screen. I guess, a summary of the film would be: "If this movie doesn't touch your heart, check immediately for a pulse!" Our pick for "Friday Movie Suggestion Night" --"DRIVING MISS DAISY" is more, much more than two separate paths that intertwine--between a black man (Morgan Freeman) who takes the job of a chauffeur and a stubborn and proud elderly Jewish woman. For each of these seasoned actors, I find this film to be among the best performances of their careers. The story is set in the early 1950's in Atlanta in the midst of the civil rights movement, and how the passing years lends itself to a lengthy friendship that eventually grows with the stubborn Miss Daisy (Tandy), and the patient if not amused character of Hoke (Freeman). When Daisy reaches the point where she can no longer drive safely, her son, Boolie (Dan Aykroyd) a successful textile mill owner, steps in to hire a professional driver for his gracefully aging mother. This role is beautifully carried off by Aykroyd, whom American audiences have for too long associated with merely comedy roles. The film is directed by Bruce Beresford. The story, written by Alfred Uhry actually had its humble beginnings in a small theatre, then onto a larger stage long before it was developed into a motion picture in 1989. The director allows us to see history literally through the lenses of the times, and to sense closely the prejudices and potentially incendiary attitudes of a nation on the brink of evolution and violent revolt from the 1950's through Vietnam and into the early 1970's. The late Esther Rolle (of TV's "Good Times" and "Maude") has a small role as Miss Daisy's maid. When this movie came out in late 1989 it was guaranteed many Oscar nominations. The sheer humanity of Love and Patience and Truth is borne out in a way very few scripts are capable of delivering. "Driving Miss Daisy" swept the Oscar's in February, 1990. WINNERS: Best Actress in a Leading Role: Jessica Tandy (Jessica became the oldest winner of a competitive Oscar, at nearly 81, surpassing the late George Burns); Best Makeup: Manilo Rocchetti, Lynn Barber and Kevin Haney, Best Picture: Richard Zanuck and Lili Fini Zanuck; Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium: Alfred Uhry. NOMINATIONS: Best Actor in a Leading Role: Morgan Freeman; Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Dan Aykroyd; Best Art Direction-Set Decoration: Bruno Rubeo and Crispin Sallis; Best Costume Design: Elizabeth McBride; Best Film Editing: Mark Warner. Many wondered in hushed tones why Bruce Beresford was overlooked as Best Director. Nevertheless, here's another film of the heart that will stick with you for some time, I would think!

_____

ENJOY!