Not sure if this should go in this forum, the general forum or the Oscars 2 forum---but i figure if it doesn't belong the mods can move it...

Anyway my question is this--having just watched half the movie i'm curious about one thing: maybe i missed it but i'm a bit confused about how exactly the character Ninny is related to Idgie... I don't recall them ever explaning who Ninny is in relation to the other characters---she seems to know a lot about them but they never mention who she is..

At first i thought she was the sister who was getting married at the start of the film but since she was reffered to as Idgie's sister and not as "I" it seemed unlikely.

Does anyone have any info that can clear this up for me?

She is Idgie's sister-in-law. She married her brother who teases her as she walks down the steps in her dress at the older sisters wedding.

Ninny and Idgie were sisters in law.

The movie left it open for interpretation,and led some people to believe they were the same person.

However, the book very clearly states that they are not the same person.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: DayTripper,

The film exists separately from the book.

If it isn't specified in the film (I don't recall myself), then what is clear in the book has no relevance, except as a curiousity.

Whether it was unclear by choice or oversight those who are more familiar can analyze.

Thanks. I just finished the movie and the last scene most definetly makes it seem like they might be the same person. But it's sort of unclear. that's for sure.

seanflynn is right, film & book differ in a few things. One is the Jessica Tandy character. The other is the Ruth/Idgie relationship. People that have only seen the movie can't believe that their relationship in the book was MUCH more than it was in the movie lol.

quote:

Originally posted by BamaEd:
seanflynn is right, film & book differ in a few things. One is the Jessica Tandy character. The other is the Ruth/Idgie relationship. People that have only seen the movie can't believe that their relationship in the book was MUCH more than it was in the movie lol.

Psst, BamaEd! This movie's about... lesbians! How d'ya like it now?

I know what it's about. I actually got that the first time I watched the movie and it was completely confirmed when I read the book. I'm talking about some folks I know that saw the movie didn't get that. lol

As for why I didn't just say it, I didn't know if that would be considered a spoiler. I know the movie is 18 years old, but some may not have seen it. I also wasn't explicit with what the difference was in Jessica Tandy's character in the book and the movie.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: BamaEd,

yeah i kind of figured out the lesbian overtures of the film pretty quickly and i figured being a Fannie Flagg book and movie that it probrally would make sense that the movie would have some gay undertones.

I think that playing it off as a best friend thing made the movie watchable by a broader audience but it would have been vastly more interesting to play the lesbian relationship on-screen. I just may have to go out and buy the book.

The book is very good. Has more emotional depth than the movie, which is to be expected. I also agree that the Idgie and Ruth characters were more interesting than the present day ones.

In the book, Idgie and Ruth were clear cut lesbians and Idgie was Idgie, not Mrs. Threadgoode.

The movie is great and I've always loved it but you have to throw out all logic and disbelief and go with the fact that the set-up, with Ninny married to Cleo Threadgoode, does not match the end, where it's intimated over a gushing score that Ninny is really Idgie, when clearly, she can't be.

Mary Stuart Masterson was so good in this!