Guess Who's Coming to Dinner 1967

It might be suspected that I rented this movie due to it's implications in the current political climate (Gay Marriages, for historical record, just began occuring in mass numbers as a sort of Civil Disobedience/Wonderful expression of love). However, a scan of my NetFlix shipping dates will confirm that I've had it sitting on my coffee table for weeks and just been too busy to drop it in the DVD player. However, you can't watch it right now without considering the similarities of the situation to that of a young closeted man bringing home his lover and announcing that they're off to be Wed. And one can only hope the priest who is the friend of the family would be as understanding as the Monsignor was.

One thing that struck me as I was watching this movie was how it straddled the line between modern cinema and classic cinema so carefully. As with many classic movies, there was a well defined series of "sets". I'm not entirely familiar with the movie's pedigree, but it wouldn't surprise me at all to find that it began its life as a stage play. The three or four well defined sets would lend themselves perfectly to a staged play, as well as the manner in which it was almost pefectly divided into three acts.

Despite these rigorous formalities which are very rarely seen in modern popular cinema, the acting had none of the stiff quality that is frequently associated with older movies. Putting aside the entirely believable foibles of the 1960's (who drinks scotch while they're shaving these days?) the characters were well constructed, believable, and acted the way we modern audiences have come to expect movie characters to act. That is to say, just over the top, but not entirely unbelievably. Also, there was the beginnings of the modern trend of "grey" characters. Older movies frequently have iconic or platonic ideals as characters. The rich white industrialist searching for love... The rich old socialite who can't live with what her friends would think. "Guess Who" challenges a lot of these Archetypes and exposes a deeper character. It is definitely a much better movie for it's decision to do so.

In all, I give it a good rating. Sidney Poitier's acting was amazing, as was Katherine Hepburn's. Probably a solid 4 out of 5. Not worth buying if you're not in to old movies, but definitely worth the view if you haven't seen it before, regardless of your view towards classic cinema.