Jon Avnet is at his most persuasive when he takes friendship seriously, as he does in Fried Green Tomatoes. We value his warmth and his actors, but his wish to reassure can make difficult lives look too manageable.
Fi1m perspective
The women in Fried Green Tomatoes (1991) enjoy being together. Avnet takes their pleasure seriously, and Kathy Bates and Mary Stuart Masterson help make it convincing. We were moved by the strength the women draw from those friendships, which he treats as central to their lives. It is a good reason to spend an evening with the film, though his wish to be reassuring also keeps it from being as frank as it should be.
He came to feature directing after producing, with Risky Business (1983) among his earlier credits and Fried Green Tomatoes his debut. His preference for accessible, character-led drama gave the move a clear direction, with relationships and personal change at the centre. Up Close & Personal (1996) brought together Robert Redford and Michelle Pfeiffer. Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne wrote the script.
In Fried Green Tomatoes, the caution is a real limitation. Adapted from Fannie Flagg’s novel, the film moves between friendships in two periods of the American South, including the 1930s. Avnet values the women’s closeness, but softens the queer elements of the source material and makes their world feel easier than the story warrants. We like the film enough to wish it were less anxious to make everyone comfortable.
His later directing work took him through Red Corner (1997), 88 Minutes (2007) and Righteous Kill (2008), the last pairing Al Pacino and Robert De Niro in a crime thriller. These are a considerable distance from the Southern friendships of his debut. His interest in personal transformation also runs through The Last Rodeo (2025), a bull-riding drama about grief and redemption. We would still start with Fried Green Tomatoes, for Bates and Masterson and for the care Avnet gives its friendships. Allow for a director who sometimes reassures us before we have had enough time to be troubled.
Biography
Jon Avnet is an American director, producer and writer. Born in Brooklyn, New York, he studied at Sarah Lawrence College and the American Film Institute Conservatory.
He began his career as a producer, with early credits including Risky Business (1983). He made his feature directorial debut with Fried Green Tomatoes (1991), which he also produced. Other directing credits include The War (1994), Up Close & Personal (1996) and Righteous Kill (2008). As a producer his work includes the Mighty Ducks trilogy, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004) and executive producer on Black Swan (2010).
His productions and films have received Academy Award, Emmy and other nominations.
