Driving Miss Daisy

Driving Miss Daisy (1989)

62nd Academy Awards

*Recommended*

First thing's first...I hope that I look as good as Jessica Tandy did when I'm eigthy years old. 

The first few minutes into the movie, I thought, "Wow.  They're acting like they're in a play or something."  And, lo and behold, the movie was based on a play by Alfred Uhry.  He also wrote lyrics for a musical about Al Capone called "America's Sweatheart.  Suffice to say, that one wasn't really a hit.  Big surprise.  Interesting to note that Morgan Freeman starred in the play before acting in the movie.  Guess it was a given that the role would be perfect for him!  Jessica Tandy received the award for Best Actress for this film.   I agree, for this role and this movie, I don't think that anyone else could have done it better.  She had the right amount of spunk, pride, and naivety.

Summary:  Jessica Tandy plays Daisy Wethren, a civilized, but feisty Southern widow.  After driving her car through the neighbors' yard, her son (Dan Aykroyd) hires Hoke Colburn (Morgan Freeman) to help "Miss Daisy" as her chauffeur.   We all know the story, right?  She resists at first, and can be quite snotty about things, but then they become friends in the end.

After watching "Crash" the day before, it was interesting to have such a completely different feeling film dealing with similar subject matter.   After "Crash" it felt like I had been in a car-wreck emotionally, "Driving Miss Daisy" was a Sunday drive with an old lady.  The film was light-hearted  in many ways (sometimes tipping over from sweet to cheesy), but still touched upon discrimination in the South.  It's worth watching just to see Jessica Tandy and Morgan Freeman having such fun with their roles and the relationship between them.