Driving Miss Daisy

I've just seen Driving Miss Daisy as part of my New Years resolution to see every film on the AFI top 100 and also every best picture Academy Award winning film that I have not seen. Before I get into that movie, I want to go over the rules of my New Years project:

-The film has to have either been a Best Picture Academy Award winner or been on the AFI 100 years...100 Movies list.

-I am including both the original AFI list and the 2007 updated list.

-If I have not seen the film since I was at least 18, I will rewatch it (for example E.T., Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs)

-If I have only seen portions of the movie, I will rewatch it (e.g. Rear Window, Raging Bull)

-I have until December 31st, 2010 to watch them all.

Here are some facts about my project:

-No movie on the AFI or Best Picture list starts with the letters Q, X, or Z ( Sorry Xanadu)

-Out of the 169 films, I have seen 51 of them prior to New Years. Including the two I have already seen, that leaves me with 118 films to see this year.

I will post the full list of films shortly when I find the time, but as for now, Here are my thoughts on Driving Miss Daisy:

Overall, It was a good film. I didn't like it as much as 12 Angry Men though.

I thought Jessica Tandy and Morgan Freeman were amazing in the film. I loved their chemistry. I didn't cry watching it, but I came the closest during the scene were Miss Daisy tells Hoke he is her best friend.

I felt like the film fetishized flowers and landscape a bit too much. There was a lot of close ups of Flowers and floral prints in the film. Hoke works in Miss Daisy's garden as well as taking her flowers in the nursing home at the end of the film. I'm not sure if it was a period thing or if the flowers were representative of something, but I was kind of distracted by it.

Dan Akroyd was nominated for an Oscar for this film, but I was underwhelmed by his part. He didn't do any extraordinary acting in the film and I think he may have gotten nominated because it was his first major serious role.

I was really excited to see Esther Rolle in the film. She always seems like someone who would give a good hug. I wish she would have been in the movie more.

overall, I don't think the film would get nominated if it were released today, much less win. I think we are a lot more cynical now than we were in 1989, just a little over 20 years ago. Maybe that is why it was the last PG rated film to win Best Picture to date.