Guess Who's Coming to Dinner [PG]

Matt and Christina Drayton have always been strong liberals and have instilled their views of racial equality in their daughter, Joanna. But in the course of one afternoon and one dinner, their world is thrown into complete disarray when Joanna comes home unexpectedly with her fiancé. Naturally apprehensive about meeting their son-in-law-to-be, Christina and Matt are quite shocked to discover that they are not as broad-minded as they thought, as Joanna’s man John turns out to be a negro and they find it hard to give the two their blessing. 

Here again is another beautiful romantic comedy about two different worlds coming together and overcoming the odds that are stacked abundantly against them. Set in the 60s, a time where racial equality was still a tiptoeing territory and change was severely slow due to the high amounts of racial prejudice, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner is a wonderful movie that brings two subgenres of comedy together and proves that nothing is ever as simple as black and white. It’s a real classic! 

Matt and Christina Drayton have always been strong liberals and have instilled their views of racial equality in their daughter, Joanna. But in the course of one afternoon and one dinner, their world is thrown into complete disarray when Joanna comes home unexpectedly with her fiancé. Naturally apprehensive about meeting their son-in-law-to-be, Christina and Matt are quite shocked to discover that they are not as broad-minded as they thought, as Joanna’s man John turns out to be a negro and they find it hard to give the two their blessing. 

As I previously mentioned, what makes this movie really a gorgeous film is the fact that it bring two subgenres of comedy together. On the one hand, we have the romantic comedy, which supplies the film with much of its central conflicts and drama as well as conveying the film’s strong messages about racial equality, acceptance, and the evils of prejudice: not just racial prejudice but generational prejudice too. Then we have the comedic story of these two families trying to get through this dinner and finding it much harder than they thought. This is a comedy subgenre that we’ve seen in many films since including Death at a Funeral, The Birdcage, and Little Miss Sunshine, which still proves that it’s a classic comedic path that gets the audience every time. 

There is also no doubting the film’s credentials as it was the winner of two Academy Awards: Best Screenplay and Best Actress won by Katherine Hepburn, and it boats a fantastic cast which includes the legendary Hollywood pairing of Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy! 

Starring Sidney Portier, who is always beautiful, Katherine Houghton, Cecil Kellaway, Beah Richards, Roy E. Glenn Sr., and Isabel Sanford, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner is a wonderful movie armed with a great romance story, brilliant performances, and strong messages about equality. I really love it.