The most appealing aspect of this film is its overt, shameless portrayal of an issue that was completely and utterly taboo at the time of its release...interracial marriage; however, the film itself is only moderately entertaining.
Spencer Tracy's performance was very good, especially when considering the complexities of his character (a liberal journalist who finds himself resenting the fact that his own daughter plans to marry someone of another race), and there were a few other notable performances (I especially liked Monsignor Ryan, played by Cecil Kellaway). The writing was one of the stronger aspects of the film as well, mostly because of the utter straightforwardness about a topic that would make many Americans in 1967 cringe. By showing on screen the shock that each family member received when initially aware of the marriage allowed for an equally shocking effect on the audience, and the reactions seen on screen were probably similar to those of many Americans at the time (and, unfortunately today as well).
By having the Prentice family over for dinner at the end, the families are forced to look beyond whatever prejudices they might have and interact with people that are virtually foreign to them. In this sense, the movie carries a great message with it...and this message is still very applicable to today's society.
The biggest problem with this film was the believability of the issue. Due to Katharine Houghton's (Joey's) bubbly, overacted performance, it was impossible for me to believe that these two were actually as deeply in love as they said, especially when you consider the fact that they have only known each other for 2 weeks. In addition, I thought the "forced" nature of the necessity for approval from the parents was completely unrealistic. In essence, some of the major plot points and details are flawed, keeping a movie that could have been great just so-so. Nonetheless, it is worth watching at least once, especially if historic context of the film is considered.
Spencer Tracy's performance was very good, especially when considering the complexities of his character (a liberal journalist who finds himself resenting the fact that his own daughter plans to marry someone of another race), and there were a few other notable performances (I especially liked Monsignor Ryan, played by Cecil Kellaway). The writing was one of the stronger aspects of the film as well, mostly because of the utter straightforwardness about a topic that would make many Americans in 1967 cringe. By showing on screen the shock that each family member received when initially aware of the marriage allowed for an equally shocking effect on the audience, and the reactions seen on screen were probably similar to those of many Americans at the time (and, unfortunately today as well).
By having the Prentice family over for dinner at the end, the families are forced to look beyond whatever prejudices they might have and interact with people that are virtually foreign to them. In this sense, the movie carries a great message with it...and this message is still very applicable to today's society.
The biggest problem with this film was the believability of the issue. Due to Katharine Houghton's (Joey's) bubbly, overacted performance, it was impossible for me to believe that these two were actually as deeply in love as they said, especially when you consider the fact that they have only known each other for 2 weeks. In addition, I thought the "forced" nature of the necessity for approval from the parents was completely unrealistic. In essence, some of the major plot points and details are flawed, keeping a movie that could have been great just so-so. Nonetheless, it is worth watching at least once, especially if historic context of the film is considered.