Fried Green Tomatoes has no shame in being sappy and sentimental. But if you don't get hung up on that, it's really a sweet movie about reminiscing on the good and bad of life, where underneath everything the real story is about the people you love. Of course it helps that the movie is well-made and well-acted.

I have to admit, this has to be my favorite movie of all time. This one of the few movies where you feel really engaged in the story line, almost as if you were in the movie. It always leaves me in tears because it reminds me of a small town I used to visit when I was a young child and how over time they slowly disappear. Soundtrack is perfect as well. Overall very moving and encouraging with some added comedy, a movie that most could resonate with and enjoy!

Fried Green Tomatoes is one of those films that presents two narratives, simultaneously woven together and unbound by the laws of past and present. A character from the present tells tales of the past, and the film jumps ever back and forth between the two, until a connection emerges. You've seen it in stuff like The Notebook, where it works beautifully, and both stories support each other. That's the issue with this film: One of the narratives is lovely and works quite well. The other? Mmm…not so much. Kathy Bates plays a hospice worker in a retirement home who is charmed by stories of life, freedom, injustice and romance from long ago, all told with wit and passion by an excellent Jessica Tandy. She tells of life growing up during the early 1900's in the American southwest, of free spirited tomboy Idgie (a fierce and emotional Mary Stuart Masterson), the girl she loves (Mary Louise Parker, radiant) and the whirlwind of trouble and conflict going on around them. Idgie lost her brother and best friend (a short lived and very young looking Chris O 'Donnell) to a horrible accident, and sort of has a lost pup complex, holding on to Parker for dear life and trying her best to extricate her from an abusive relationship with her monster of a husband (Nick Searcy is evil incarnate). It's whimsical, touching and flavored with just the right touches of sadness and danger. Now, the story with Bates in the present just feels aloof and silly. The scenes with her and Tandy fare better than glimpses of her home life and attempts to empower and change her for the better. Don't get me wrong, I love that idea, the notion of inspiration transcending time and the ability to help others simply with the spoken word and the wisdom of the past, but it just didn't work in this case. As for the scenes in the past, I fell hard for them. Masterson is a terrific actress who usually gets saddled with light, fluffy roles, but here gets a chance to let some raw emotion out. Parker is more reigned in but every bit as soulful, as the girl in a situation no one should have to endure, her soul practically screaming out through those beautiful brown eyes. I suppose you could say that it's half of a great film, that couldn't quite pull off it's own narrative flow.

There are some movies that I may recommend to everybody, and that don't look outdated with time. That is for sure one nice example. The screenplay is a great adaptation of the novel, the actors are terrific, Jessica Tandy and Kathy Bates in their best (what is a very high level) and Chris O'Donnell in a surprising remarkable participation. Impossible to don't get touched by this film. After 23 years it is such a good job that it still express its value as a masterpiece. The development of the plot with the flashbacks and storytelling was very original and completely adequate. Considering so much trash we see being blockbusters in current theaters, I do emphasize that looking backward we can find some stories that no one should miss.