DVD Reviews:  Driving Miss Daisy

'Driving Miss Daisy’ is the heartwarming tale of the aging Daisy Werthan and her struggle to keep her independence. After a slight altercation involving her car and the neighbour’s fence, Daisy’s son Boolie decides that for her safety, and everyone else’s, she must be put under driving restrictions.

Boolie, who is the CEO of the family’s cotton making empire, decides to hire a chauffeur, Hoke, to drive his mother from place to place. This move is to Daisy’s dissatisfaction but after some careful persuasion from both Boolie and Hoke, she agrees to some help. This film spans over 25 years and it is great to see how Hoke and Daisy become each other’s "best friend."

The director of this film has incorporated events that actually happened during these times, such as the bombing of a Jewish Temple in the 1950’s and the honoring of Martin Luther King. The film is also realistic in that there were still some laws that forced the segregation of white people from blacks. This is why the relationship between Daisy and Hoke is beautiful, she is wealthy and white and he is from the working class and black. They are both from minority groups yet they overcome these obstacles and form an amazing bond.

The menu of this film features the options of Play movie, Extra features and Chapter selection. The extra features that are included are; behind the scenes footage, a featurette, the film’s trailer and cast and crew notes.

Also featured are bios of all the main actors which include Jessica Tandy, who plays Daisy, Morgan Freeman, who plays Hoke, Dan Aykroyd, playing Boolie, and the film’s director, Bruce Beresford. The disc also features production notes and interviews with these actors. All these extras give a great insight into each character, the actors and the background to the making of this great film. There is a great soundtrack attached and great use of imagery. All of the props i.e.: outfits, food items and cars are all decade specific and realistic, which obviously took a lot of work from the production crew.

I really enjoyed this film. It is sure to make you laugh and cry. The actors could not have been more perfect for their roles. The late, and great, Jessica Tandy is superb as the misunderstood Daisy, as is Morgan Freeman, who also played the role of Hoke on Broadway. Events throughout 25 years are shown and this is a very effective way to show a movie. We, as the viewer, get to really see the growth of the characters; Daisy’s relationship with her son and daughter in law, Boolie’s relationship with Hoke and, Daisy’s relationship with Hoke and how they come to rely on each other. Their relationship is one that reduced me to tears, it is just so strong and loyal. This is a feel good movie that I believe everyone can enjoy. It is a true testament to the way love and friendships should be.