Underneath gazebos in the backyards of countless movie scenes is how we usually think of BBQs. No one thinks of the actual apparatus that grills the meat, just of the gathering of family and friends eating top-notch food. BBQs are perfect because they are so cheap, yet so much fun, especially on a lovely summer day. You can grill hot dogs and burgers and the other dishes can be made using cheap appliances in the kitchen. No one expects more than this. As your guide for classic BBQ ambiance, let’s take a look at three of the best movie scenes featuring BBQs.
In Giant, one of James Dean’s famously few films, the BBQ scene is set in dusty Texas on a ranch called Reata. The setting is barren and plain, but everyone is cheerful and having a jolly good time because they are celebrating the newlyweds, played by Elizabeth Taylor and Rock Hudson. Even though Taylor’s character faints when she is served a plate of barbequed calves’ heads (should’ve stuck to hot dogs), it is James Dean’s charisma that steals the scene.
In My Girl, the BBQ scene is celebrating the United States’ Independence Day and there are all the typical foods that you would expect to be there; they even eat on a backyard picnic table. And who could forget Shelley’s cheesy grace before the meal?
The BBQ turns a bit darker in Fried Green Tomatoes. Sipsey, a black cook, kills Frank Bennett by slamming a cast iron skillet down on his head and then her son, Big George, barbeques the body. Then Sipsey buries the head in her garden. Appetising stuff.
