PLOT:
Pivoting around the lively Truvy Jones’ Louisiana beauty parlour, a tightly-knit band of friends, confront griefs, loss, life’s unforeseen tragedies and heartaches with what they do best: gossiping and sharing. The spirited diabetic and bride-to-be, Shelby; her always supportive mother, M’Lynn; Truvy’s gawky assistant, Annelle; the city’s curmudgeon, Ouiser; and the town’s former first lady, Clairee, are the warm Southern belles who know how to survive life’s challenges with their unwavering friendship. But when Shelby decides to conceive, things will turn upside down
REVIEW:
What did I like?
Sightseeing. Having attended college in the small town where this was filmed, I always enjoy seeing the familiar surroundings and marvel at how much they changed to make this fictional representation. For me, it is also a joy to see many professors and people from the city playing background roles. When this was made, I was still 5-6 years away from enrolling, so some of the folks were a bit younger than when I first met them. If you’ve ever had a movie filmed in your town, then you know the feeling, especially if you’re from a small town that never gets any publicity save for the occasional sports story or coverage of a festival.
You’ll laugh, you’ll cry. I am heartless and pretty much devoid of all emotion. However, I can see how people would run the gamut of the spectrum watching this picture. There are numerous quotable lines (its a battle between Dolly Parton and Olympia Dukakis for the true comic relief) and the heartbreak that goes down in latter half of the film is enough to melt even the iciest of hearts. Not many films are able to pull off this mixture of emotions as most veer heavily toward one and when they attempt to try the other it falls flat. I give mad props to this picture for being able to pull this feat off. I wonder if the ladies this was based on (the original play is based on a true story) were actually like this.
Cast. Julia Roberts. Shirley MacLaine. Sally Field. Olympia Dukakis. Dolly Parton. Daryl Hannah, What a cast! Now, when I say that, keep in mind this was made in 1989, so Roberts was still an up and comer (Pretty Woman would be released the following year), Daryl Hannah is a few years removed from Splash, Dolly is still known more for her music than anything else, and Sally Field is still in shock that people like her. Having said that, it is amazing how well these women gel. From what I heard from locals that were around, they were often times seen eating (and drinking) together, which explains the comradery. It was a natural thing. I wonder if the ladies in the remake even bothered to talk to each other off-screen.
What didn’t I like?
Cause of death. In the first scene with all the ladies in the beauty shop, Julia Roberts’ character has an attack, for lack of a better term, that lets the audience know she is diabetic. Sally Field’s character is quick to point out how severe her condition is every chance she gets (I’ll get to her shortly). In the film’s denouement moment, if you will, Roberts collapses on her back porch, leaving her baby crying. Eventually her husband comes home and finds her. We don’t know how long she was out there or how long the kid was crying, but the refrigerator was open and food was cooking on the stove, so it couldn’t have been that long. This is followed up with the gut wrenching montage and scene in the hospital. I’ll leave it at that. Now, to my knowledge, one cannot die from type I diabetes if they are doing what they need to do. As far as we can tell, she was doing what she needed to do, just a little more stressed than she should have been. If you were seeing this for the first time, you wouldn’t know that she rejected the kidney her mother donated to her and that was the cause. This is glossed over in the film, sadly.
(Not a) Man’s world. Obviously, this is a film focused on the women. However, I have to take issue with how the men are portrayed. Not a single one of them is in a shining light type of situation. Shelby’s dad is a bit of an eccentric. Truvy’s husband lays around the house feeling sorry for himself because he can’t get work. The bartender that Annelle hooks up with is just whipped, shall we say. Perhaps Shelby’s husband comes out the best, but he’s such a non-character. Other than the moment he comes home and finds her, you wouldn’t even know he was there, save for the wedding (and his aunt’s cake making skills). Should any of the men in the film been promoted to more of a principal role? No, but they could have been giving something more respectable. Imagine if this was made current year and the roles were reversed. People would be raising hell because of how these characters were written.
Mother knows best. Many ladies I know complain about how overbearing their mothers are. In some cases, I have seen this up close and personal. Sally Field’s character, while well-meaning, fits that mold to a ‘T’. Maybe it is because I am not a mother, but surely she could just let her daughter live her life, rather than criticize and hover over her. That being said, she did come through for her when it came to donating a kidney and being a grandmother, so there is that. I don’t know, I guess because my mom was more encouraging this characterization is foreign to me.
Final verdict:
What did I think of Steel Magnolias? First off, I am a little biased as this is a film/story/play you cannot get away from when you attend college in this town. I think the theater department did it twice during my time there, if I am not mistaken. The amount of love and care that was put into this film from the script, to the authentic hometown feel (yes, that Christmas festival is real…just WAY bigger now). I may be a little biased, but there are few major problems with this picture. Sure, it is a bit of a chick flick, but everything can’t be a super macho, pecs out, guns blazing, blood gushing action film. I very highly recommend this very well made entertaining film. After you finish, think about making a trek to Natchotiches, La and seeing the houses up close and personal. Much of it is unchanged!
5 out of 5 stars
Mystery Man's Musings 