Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Inter-racial couple deals with society's obstacles
Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy are terrific as the wealthy parents of a young woman who returns from a trip abroad with the announcement that she is engaged to be married to a young doctor. Oh, and the young doctor is a negro. As if that wasn't enough to "chew on for a while", the young couple will leave that same evening, to be married as soon as it can be arranged. Adding another twist, the young doctor's parents are arriving to meet their son's fiancee (unaware of her "pigmentation problem"), all in good time to have pleasant conversation with the assembled family over dinner. -- This film is a masterpiece and quite daring for 1967 standards. Seeing the reactions of the parents, especially the fathers, is a powerful statement about our society. The mothers are the ones who think of their children's happiness, and realize how deeply in love they are with each other. A series of "private conversations" culminates in one last speech by Spencer Tracy that makes everyone hearing it reach for a kleenex. Dinner is served! -- Since we will have copies of "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner" for generations to come, I wonder if one day a viewer will say "Was this really ever an issue?" It may not be in our lifetimes, but maybe one day someone will actually ask that question.
Rating: - 1967: The Year Of Sidney Poitier!
The year 1967 was one where three subjects were on the minds of many Americans: the hippie revolution, war and predjudicism/racism. The latter is very well documented in the Stanley Kramer directorial epic "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner", in that its subject, interracial relationships, somewhat examines the various types of prejudices people were casting out during that era. The movie begins with an elitist couple, Dr. John Prentice and Joey Drayton (both craftfully played by Oscar nominee Sidney Poitier and Katharine Houghton), who are experiencing a romantic high after meeting on vacation in Hawaii. Tired from the trip, Dr. Prentice wants a little r & r at a hotel, but Joey insists that The Good Doctor meet her upper class parents, so they imediately go to Joey's mother's place of employment, only to find her mother isn't there, then it's on to Joey's parents' home. Upon Mrs. Drayton's (played brilliantly to an Academy award nominated performance by Katharine Hepburn) first glance of Dr. Prentice, she is both shocked and amazed of the prospect that the doctor is black. Much the same is true about Mr. Drayton's postion on the situation (also played to an award-winning performance by Spencer Tracy), who's even more shocked and appalled over his daughter's relationship with Dr. Prentice than his wife is. The Drayton's maid Tillie (played wonderfully by Isabel Sanford [of "The Jeffersons"]) isn't all that crazy about Dr. Prentice, either, and sees him as nothing more than an arrogant, uppity man who enjoys getting what he wants, but that's further from the truth, as Joey sees Dr. Prentice as a kind, wonderful human being whom she wants to marry. As time progresses forward, Mrs. Drayton softens up in her stance concerning the relationship, while Mr. Drayton's stance gets even more firm with each passing moment. Note the painstakingly intense expression on Spencer Tracy's face during the many scenes of this picture. You can understand why he's been nominated for various awards throughout various points of his career. When Dr. Prentice's parents are invited to dinner, it seems that all hell will break loose, as both families continue to analyze the situation further. Even with some trite coddling and persuasion from Mrs. Drayton, she still is not able to sell the mixed marriage idea to her husband. At the same time, Dr. Prentice is having just as much difficulty in getting his father, and in certain instances his mother, to see the benefits of this relatinship. Notice the scene where Dr. Prentice stands up to his father. Sidney Poitier's remarkably intense, emotional acting style is unmistakable here, as he lets loose a temper with such fire and gusto. 1967 was perhaps Sidney Poitier's finest moment in theater, as he starred in three of the hottest movies that year: as the soft and stern scholteacher in "To Sir, With Love", as the convincing Virgil Tibbs in "In The Heat Of The Night" and in "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner", all fine performances, indeed.As tensions continue to surface between both John and Joey's paternal parents, it is up to the Drayton's pastoral advisor, Monsignor Ryan, to talk some sense into the disrupted parties. He finally succeeds in the end, as one of the most emotional scenes in the movie occurs, courtesy of Katharine Hepburn. While on the road to Mr. Drayton's changing his mind about the marriage proceedings, which he comes to accept, Mrs. Drayton lets out a tear filled display of emotion that only Ms. Hepburn can create, which explains her wealth of fandom, not to mention several Oscar and Academy awards on her mantle throughout her glorious career. As is expected, all's well that ends well, as John and Joey are off to Switzerland for their wedding, which tearfully, we never get to witness. It is because of this fine film's theme, including its stunning cast, that makes "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner" worthy of being in any motion picture connoisseur's video library. A must not miss!
Rating:  - Worth a watch
While this movie seems to drag a bit in the middle section, I still reccommend it. Why? I'll tell you.This movie above all else, means well. The filmmakers are simply trying to say what they believe. This film is plain and simple, a soapbox. Nothing wrong with that. The performances are another reason to watch this movie. Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn are worth watching in anything. Poiter doesn't give a performance quite up to par for him, but it is satisfactory. Poiter's parents are also great. There are some spectacular moments here. Great monologue by Tracy at the end makes the entire film worth watching. I don't cry about a film or book or tv show. I can count on one hand the number of times I have actually cried over a piece of mass media. Tears came to my eyes during this wonderful speech. They didn't break and run, but they were there. The film is sightly weighted down by a plodding midsection, but on retrospect I think it might have been made that way on purpose. Will there ever come a time when people of different color can live together in harmony? I think so. To get to that place, however, we will have to go through a process that parallels this film: long, arduous and drawn out periods, punctuated by moments of sheer genius and if we are lucky, at the end light will dawn.
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