Hollywood, Hype, Reality

Many of you are probably familiar with the Jessica Tandy movie Fried Green Tomatoes, based on the book Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Café by Fannie Flagg. Returning home from vacation on I-75 near Macon, Georgia, Wendy and I decided to take a ten-mile sidetrip to Juliette, Georgia where some scenes from the movie were filmed.

Most notable among those filming locations was the Whistlestop Café itself. It still stands, serving locals and tourists alike. So Wendy and I stopped in there to sample the fried green tomatoes for ourselves (very tart).

Now the diner looked old inside and out, much like a place that had catered to the village back in the early twentieth century, the period where much of the movie took place. A picture at the cash register celebrated the moment when the diner finally accepted credit cards (they still don’t take Discover). Another sign boasted that it had been run by the same family for three generations. Wow.

Although the restaurant could definitely benefit from an expansion and renovation with all the tourist traffic now in Juliette, it has obviously stayed in character throughout the years: one bathroom, two long counters that form a U at the cash register, an old shoe shine station taking up space amongst the modest number of tables, and an expansive front porch.

It was easy to see how this little corner kitchen of southern cuisine had inspired a now famous book and movie.

Or did it?

Doing my internet research later, I discovered that Fannie Flagg did not even visit Juliette, Georgia. She was an Alabama gal and the Irondale Café near Birmingham was the inspiration for the Whistlestop Café in her book. In fact, the Whistlestop Café in Juliette did not even come into existence until Hollywood came calling, scouting for movie locations.

Only after movie crews had turned an old store into a movie set for the diner did some entrepreneur decide to keep the set, make the diner for real, and benefit from the tourist trade (we waited over an hour for a table for lunch). Now all the businesses in town benefit, with tourists shopping here and there for Fried Green Tomato souvenirs.

This makes me wonder. While waiting for our table I strolled around the tiny village. A lawman sat in a rocking chair watching his “prisoner,” a young man prominently wearing prison stripes, painting a tiny building with a sign that read “county courthouse.” This sheriff kept up a lively patter with passersby, mostly tourists. I took a (poor) picture where you can see what I’m talking about, if you look right and squint a bit.

Now I wonder. Was this really a prisoner? He WAS really painting. But sometimes the lawman would stroll down the street, even disappearing from view, usually to talk to more tourists and leaving his prisoner. So was this tourist hype, or reality? I don’t know.

BTW, I’m still working on putting together a couple BETTER pictures of my trip. But I’m more comfortable writing than photographing. You can tell that from the picture my wife took of me below, on vacation, writing in my trip journal.