I've watched the movie several times, and also wondered about their relationship.  Now, I think they were two women who were very close, who held a very strong bond of friendship, perhaps soul mates in a way.  But I am not convinced that they had a romantic or physically intimate relationship.

When you read the book teh relationship between the women is made much plainer (IMO).  I have absolutely no doubt that it is a lesbian relationship being portrayed.  I hunch that it was safer to make that less plain in the movie.

NOw about the special BBQ sauce......

LOL! GordW . . . that part made me feel a little queasy.

Do you recommend reading the book, GordW?

It has been almost 20 years since I read it (as part of a Pastoral Care course actually).  But from what I remember yes I do.  Mind you I have a bias that a book is pretty much always better than a movie based on the book.

Seeler,

You were now able to see in the movie what they tried to cloak so mainstream audiences would allow "it".

As a gay person it upset me how much had to be culled to make it "acceptable" or profitable. Yet, I was glad that the step was taken. Some read the book and were changed and some, like you, rewatch and say "wow".

As GordW says, in the book it does not avoid some things that may make someone see more than friendship.

In the book, Idgie and Ruth meet after Buddy dies. In the film, making Ruth Buddy's girlfriend makes one assume she is straight... they can be friends sharing greif and loss... etc In the book, they meet young and it is clear they are sharing love for each other not for Buddy. Sipsey teases Idgie about being in love.

In the book, the beecharmer scene is not just glances. It is tears of the I-do-not-know-how-I-would-live-without-you variety. There is a picnic with Idgie's head in Ruth's lap, Ruth holding Idgie's hand and whispering in her ear. Idgie is described as being as happy as anyone in love can be.

The main thing is that in the book Ruth struggles with feeling she must marry Bennett and things... and in the book Idgie's family knows and supports the relationship, the child is "theirs" meaning Idgie's and Ruth's to everyone.

Now, one can see what one wants... lesbianism existed but so too did close friendships and Boston marriages...

For me, they were in love.

The book is awesome!!!!!!!!

Yes! Read the book…

Um, what's a "Boston marriage"?

I saw the film years ago. I remember thinking the two women were very close - sort of like soulmates.

To me, it left open the option for the viewer to believe in a sexual relationship or not..........

It didn't matter to me, either way.

I was very intriqued with the title.......

In Oz we fry tomatoes when they're red.

To us, green means not ripe.

I agree.

Here green tomatoes are not ripe either, Pilgrims Progress, but they still make up some dishes.  I've never had fried green tomatoes myself, but I have had green tomato pickles.

Yes, SG, what is a Boston marriage?

Also, who is the author of the book?

The author is Fannie FLagg

http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/Fried-Green-Tomatoes-Whistle-Stop-Fa...

I wasw also unfamiliar (or forgetful, I may have once been familiar) with the term Boston Marriage.  But google is our friend:

http://womenshistory.about.com/od/bostonmarriage/a/boston_marriage.htm

or the full list of links:

https://www.google.ca/search?q=%22Boston+marriage%22&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&a...

Thank you GordW.

In the "What makes you ROTFL"  Fanny Flagg's books came up and then this thread surfaced.

I read, read and read.....

My nickname (StephenGordon) even comes from the main character in The Well of Loneliness by Radycliffe Hall.

Fanny Flagg, yes THAT Fanny Flagg of game shows, inspired me as a dyslexic. I did not expect to also love her writing.

One also should not be surprised about the possibility of female bonding in Flagg's books as she was once the partner of fellow author Rita Mae Brown (where my wife's Rita Mae nickname originated). Yes, Rita Mae Brown was once partnered with Martina Navratilova and is the Ruby Fruit Jungle author as well as the co-author of the Sneaky Pie Brown series.

Thanks GordW and SG - Wondercafe makes a great school for seniors!

The book wasn't at my local library, but they ordered it through an inter-library loan.  So I will read it!
 

PilgrimsProgress, I am glad it is about literature.
Abpenny used to make it about Sex Ed. LMAO

SG,

Your ability to educate on many, many subjects is here for us all to see..........

And as for sex,  my flagging hormones mean that I'd be more interested in attending a cookery class.

These days I get excited three times a day - breakfast, lunch and dinner.

PilgrimsProgress,

I will have you know, food is exactly how I seduced my wife. I once believed it was my inate sexiness or my quick wit, the devilment sparkling in my brown eyes or my sweet, romantic nature.... no... it turns out it was an ability to cook.

Darwin would have studied her adaptation of luring a cooking mate to avoid starvation.

Today was warm enough the door was open. She was at the top of the stairs smiling ear to ear when I caught her gaze... "Aww, she missed me", I thought.
Then she said through the screen, "is that a roast I smell?"

PPPPPPFFFFFFFTTTTTTTT (the wind coming out of me sails)

Firstly, Seeler, forgive me for derailing yet another thread. (Still can't colour in between the lines).

Cooking for others has always been a phobia of mine.......

I remember saying to my therapist when I was in my twenties, "I'll never be able to marry, because I can't cook."

He replied. "Not even a chop and five vegetables?. How do you survive?"

"Well, I can cook for myself -but it wouldn't be good enough for a man."..........

When I started going out with my husband he cooked me his one and only dish - a stew cooked in one of those old-fashioned pressure cookers. (Being an engineer, he loved the steam technology).

It wasn't good..........

I realised if we were to function as a couple I would have to be the one to cook.

I thought the best time to tell him about my culinary ineptitude was after sex - putting him in the right frame of mind to accept some bad news, I thought...........

It was then he told me that there were only two things he couldn't eat - a fish called mullet and a vegetable called chokoes. (apparently his Dad left the whiskers on the chokoes when he cooked them).

"Yes, I think I can manage that," I said.

He then told me that food to him was just fuel, nothing more.

I couldn't believe my luck!..................

I thought the book was unreadable. I only gave it a brief try thought. The problem was that the chapters were too short to get into, most were only a page or two. A lot of times the "chapter" was a letter or even a recipe or something. Anyway it made it was too staccato for me to read. I did like the movie and from that I would have said that the women had a female version of a 'bro-mance" but that's just my take.

Also, fried green tomatoes are a real southern dish. It's not my thing (I don't like tomatoes at all) but some people around here consider it a treat. I'm fairly sure the recipe is included in the book or you could probably find it online if anyone is adventurous.