Here’s a movie
that’s more than just a classic—it’s a shelf keeper, one for your archive that
you can watch time and time again. Driving Miss Daisy shows how
diversity and differences can be overcome when two people rely on each other
for support rather than viewing themselves as unequal.
Based on the
1987 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama of the same name by Alfred Uhry, which was
part of his Atlanta trilogy, this film had Morgan Freeman (who received an
Academy Award nomination but lost to Daniel Day-Lewis) reprise his role as Hoke
Colburn from the play. When released, the movie won Best Picture, Best Actress,
Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Makeup at the 62nd Academy Awards, while also
landing both leads (Freeman and Jessica Tandy) Best Performance by an Actor and
Actress at the 47th Golden Globe Awards.
Driving Miss
Daisy is a comedy-drama about an old lady and her chauffeur—a weird mix
and a totally mismatched pair of a white Jewish 65-year-old woman and a Black
man in the year 1948.
While watching, you’ll never believe how they grow from being employer and
employee to friends over the thirty-two-year period the movie spans.
Touching on many
sensitive subjects along the way, you’ll be amazed at how one character judges,
behaves, and outright tries not to like the other, while the other humbles
himself and ensures he remains well-behaved and cultured.
Driving Miss
Daisy starts with the introduction of Miss Daisy (Tandy) and her accident,
which marks her as unfit to drive. Her son, Boolie (Dan Aykroyd, who also
received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor), hires Hoke
(Freeman) to be his mother’s chauffeur. Miss Daisy hates the idea of relying on
someone to drive her around and does everything she can to make Hoke
uncomfortable and get her son to fire him.
After the
persistence of both Hoke and Boolie, Miss Daisy finally gives in and allows
Hoke to drive her around. Their days together make them grow fond of each
other, and Miss Daisy, a retired schoolteacher, takes an interest in Hoke’s
inability to read and teaches him how to.
They live
through anti-Semitism together, Dr. Martin Luther King’s movement to end
racism, and Miss Daisy’s battle with dementia as she grows older.
This is one movie that will touch you and make you appreciate the stand many Black people had to take to ensure others could be free. Made on a $7.5 million budget, this classic closed shop with over $145 million at the box office.
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