CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Siflutter It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Kaelan Mccaffrey Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

lasttimeisaw Based on Robert Harling's play, which is inspired by his own life story, the film version of STEEL MAGNOLIAS is directed by the schmaltz-brewing old-timer Herbert Ross. Emboldened by a pronounced female-centred cast, its narrative gaily situates in a Louisiana parish, where a palsy- walsy clique of (all-white) residents builds up rapport and strong support during the twist of fate, befalls the central Eatenton family.The film starts from the perspective of an outsider, an gauche young woman Annelle Dupuy (an uglified Hannah) arrives in town on the wedding day of Shelby (Roberts), the eldest daughter of M'Lynn (Field) and Drum Eatenton (Skerritt, a delightful comic relief), to work for Truvy Jones (Parton) in her beauty salon. Soon it turns out that Shelby suffers from type 1 diabetes, which implies that pregnancy will subject her life into great danger. If the couple wants children, adoption might be a wiser option, but no, that never gonna happen, Shelby is opinionated in her regressive determination to have a child of her own with a side-note faintly insinuates that perhaps, it is also what her husband Jackson (McDermott) wants despite the huge risk, their marital undertow only alluded during the women folk's regular saloon gossip, and any slant from their opposite sex has been maximally sidestepped (the original play has no male characters in the plot), and Jackson evidently doesn't come off as a model husband, but what comes to fore is the relationship between M'Lynn and Shelby, a mother's completely-selfless affection to her daughter (including donating one of her kidneys) Vs. a young woman's death-defying conviction to become a mother on her own term (latently also to ameliorate her marriage snag), although in hindsight, the latter descends to borderline injudiciousness, but quite tallies with the ethos of its time.Thankfully there are more upbeat subplots, which include a coruscating widow-duo, a graceful Clairee (Dukakis), once was married to the late former mayor, and a cantankerous Ouiser (MacLaine, a salient transformation in her appearance to enhance her senility), they banter, change repartee, bicker, make up, both are sprightly and wonderfully larger-than-life; whereas Annelle also says goodbye to her own troubled past, and finds solace in religion and soon a new husband with a baby on the way; only the relation between a generically spirited Truvy and her offish hubby Spud (Shepard) doesn't pan out effectively in the final product.STEEL MAGNOLIAS is a springboard to leapfrog Julia Roberts into stardom, earns her the very first Oscar nomination at the age of 22 over the more prestigious distaff thespians, still, how can one not be petrified to watch Field's mind-blowing flare-up in the cemetery one-take and in the next second, not get wryly bemused by Dukakis' off-kilter humor to swerve the mood back from abysmal heartbreak? According to my book, a more Oscar-deserving supporting player is the consistently fiery MacLaine, a recalcitrant rebel and nothing can hold her back! By contrast, a dewy Robert only outshines others by design in her one-off diabetes attack sequence.In all fairness, this female-skewing small-town melodrama hits the right spot as a life-affirming motion picture which appeals to a much more overlooked demography, but it is also stalled by its morally provincial material and a slightly over-honed happy-clappy tone to some extent.

SnoopyStyle Shelby Eatenton (Julia Roberts) is getting married to Jackson (Dylan McDermott). Her parents M'Lynn (Sally Field) and Drum (Tom Skerritt) are getting ready. Things revolve around Truvy Jones (Dolly Parton)'s beauty parlor. Truvy takes pity on the bumbling Annelle Dupuy (Daryl Hannah) hiring her. Next door neighbor Ouiser Boudreaux (Shirley MacLaine) is angry at all the fuss. Clairee Belcher (Olympia Dukakis) loves to crack jokes at Ouiser's expense. Shelby is weak with diabetes. She suffers attacks. She shouldn't have children, but some time after the wedding, she announces that she's pregnant.Sure it's a chick flick. But it's not a frivolous chick flick. There are big emotional melodrama. It's overwrought at times. The impressive cast is able to tame this beast. The best part is that these chicks are good friends. It's a chick flick in the best sense. There are some cute fun moments, some big lines, and some down right sharp jabs. Then there are the big cry moments. It's all there.

Desertman84 Steel Magnolias is a comedy drama that stars Sally Field, Shirley MacLaine, Olympia Dukakis, Dolly Parton, Daryl Hannah and Julia Roberts. It is about the bond among a group of women from a parish in the Louisiana area. The film is based on a play Steel Magnolias which in turn dealt with the playwright's experience with the death of his sister.It was written by Robert Harling,who also is the playwright; and it is directed by Herbert Ross. The title refers to those seemingly frail Southern belles who survive any and all deprivations through whims of iron. This is about the story of an all-female cast of characters laughed, cried and compared menfolk.It expands the playing field by including scenes at picnics, hospitals and the like, and by visually depicting the males who never appeared in the stage version. Truvy Jones is the goodhearted beauty-shop owner, while Louisa "Ouiser" Boudreaux is the cantankerous town eccentric, decked out in grungy overalls and speaking fluent Trash. Well-to-do M'Lynn Eatenton bravely endures several assaults to her sensibilities, not the least of which is the illness and subsequent death of daughter Shelby Eatenton Latcherie. The movie is a prime example of ensemble film making and it is lovingly coordinated.The performances are first-rate, with the possible exception of Daryl Hannah's over emphatic portrayal of her character.It was a good character study plot which unfortunately had a clichéd and formulaic conclusion.Overall,it was an entertaining film that can make the viewer laugh and cry as he/she relates to the characters.

writers_reign Difficult to find fault with this feel good chick flick. Even Shirley MacLaine can't louse it up but it is a young Julia Roberts who crawls away with it despite strong competition from Olympia Dukakis and Sally Field. I was fortunate enough to see the play before I saw the movie, albeit an English production of an American play set in the Deep South which meant it had two strikes on it going in but the quality of the writing overcame that handicap and is evident in this fine adaptation. Friendship is the theme that runs through it and the fact that in this case it is female friendship is more or less irrelevant. There's a nice symmetry in that it begins with the wedding of the Roberts character and ends, to all intents and purposes, with her premature death following a kidney transplant. Films about the South tend to get it wrong as often as they get it right but when they do get it right, as in To Kill A Mockingbird and this one, they really get it right. A winner.