The Sisterhood is portrayed in "now and then". The casting of the older sisterhood was Ellen Burstyn as Vivi, Fionnula Flanagan as Teensey, Shirley Knight as Necie and Maggie Smith as Caro, all brilliant. The problem was the casting of the four actresses who portrayed the sisterhood when they were younger. Ashley Judd does not resemble Ellen Burstyn as a younger woman and neither do the other three actresses portraying Teensey, Necie and Maggie, respectively. This made the film very confusing to watch. The film often reverted back and forth, from present day to the past. As the writers did not use the sisterhood names enough in the script, the viewer could not readily identify who they were.EXAMPLE (SPOILER ALERT): Ashley Judd is riding a bike with a friend (never identified, is it Carol or Necie or somebody else?) over a bridge. They are stopped by a young man. Who is he? (I had to look up his face on IMDb to find he is listed as Vivi's brother, Pete!) The young man says, "Vivi, we have to go to Teensey's house." He was sad. They leave to go to Teensey's house. I still do not know who is the other girl on the bike. If the writers had added to Pete's dialogue, "Caro (or Necie?), come with us" then it would have helped the viewer know who she is. When the three arrive at Teensey's house, you slowly realize that Teensey's brother is Jack, Vivi's fiancé, who was killed in the war. And the viewer was to know they were related, how? This happened so often in the film that I kept rewinding scenes to "get" the film.The film is a disturbing look at Vivi's life. She never recovered from Jack's death, married Shep (James Garner) on the rebound, had 4 children, and was completely unhappy, almost to the point of hating everyone around her. She heads on a downward spiral, ending up an alcoholic.(SPOILER ALERT) When Siddalee (excellently portrayed by Sandra Bullock, as Vivi's eldest daughter) was a young girl, Vivi had a total nervous breakdown. Vivi then disappeared, in Siddalee's eyes. Siddalee and her siblings thought their mother went away because they were bad. Siddalee remembers it wrongly because Vivi made Shep swear never to tell the children she had been committed. Because this tragic secret had never been revealed to Siddalee, she had been in and out of therapy her entire life.I am honestly not an Ashley Judd fan. Most of the film rested on her shoulders. We realize that Vivi is emotionally scarred due to a jealous, mentally unstable mother. I could've felt sorry for Vivi, but Judd did not make the character likable. In many scene, Judd either underacts or overacts. Later in the film, the modern-day Necie says to Siddalee, "I wish you could've known your mother when she was younger. She was so likable." And I said out loud, "no, she not."

Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood is a comedy drama or dramedy movie that stars Sandra Bullock and Ashley Judd together with Ellen Burstyn,Fionnula Flanagan,James Garner,Maggie Smith and Shirley Knight.Screenwriter Callie Khouri makes her directorial debut with this adaptation of a pair of popular novels by author Rebecca Wells namely:the novel with the same title and its prequel collection of short stories entitled,Little Altars Everywhere.Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood starts when Sidda Lee Walker,a New York playwright,opens a can of emotional worms with her estranged, alcoholic mother, Vivi.She discusses her painful childhood and particularly Vivi's less-than-enviable mothering skills in a Time magazine article. The eccentric Louisiana drama queen Vivi has already been barred from her daughter's wedding to her fiancé, Connor so the article sends her into a rage. Coming to the rescue of the relationship are Necie,Caro, and Teensy, a trio of bickering women, who, along with Vivi, formed a secret society of feminist empowerment and friendship 60 years earlier that they dubbed the "Ya-Ya Sisterhood." The Ya-Yas kidnap Sidda and bring her home to Louisiana, where they reveal to Sidda via a carefully maintained scrapbook her mother's painful past,which makes her get to know more about her mother which make an effect to the rapprochement between mother and daughter.Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood explores many tragedies in life such as alcoholism,parental conflict,intrusion to another person's life or privacy,and child abuse but it was handled in comical manner.I don't think that these serious and tragic issues does not need to be addressed in laughable manner.Instead of handling it through great character development and brilliant plot especially in female relationship,the film becomes an exercise of comedy with a few dramatic scenes thrown in.The cast are too talented but put into waste in it as the characters don't get our sympathy.Rather,we get annoyed with the silly actions they take in life.In summary,the film was a bad combination of drama and comedy.

My wife loves this film. This is a woman whose favorite films include any woman whose last name is Hepburn. Yes, she is a romanticist from the past — understandable since she has a Ph.D. in medieval history.Because she's played the film enough times, I've had the opportunity to watch it both in its entirety and in bits and pieces. And there's really a lot to it that most viewers are missing.Why?I think it's because it grows on you. The parts are all incredibly well played — certainly expected of mature actors like Maggie Smith, Fionnula Flanagan and Ellen Burstyn. But here even Sandra Bullock is enticing not just in her looks but in her expression of her character.Some films you like right out of the gate. We all know which ones they are. Others have to grow on you. And unfortunately too many films are never given a second chance. YA-YA SISTERHOOD is one.Watching it a second or third time is like sitting around a campfire and telling the same story over for the umpteenth time. We've all heard it before, but we still want to hear it again.For those who have dissed this film, give it another chance. Perhaps when you're older. Perhaps when you're in a romantic mood. Perhaps when you're tired of stupid comedies, disgusting horror films and over-the-top action thrillers. Then I'm sure you'll see it in a different light and think, "Well maybe YA-YA SISTERHOOD is indeed a little hidden gem."

I gave this movie 3 stars because I appreciate the portrayal of sassy old ladies who drink and curse and smoke; if not for that I would have given it a 1 or 2.I read the book last summer while I was in Louisiana, adored it, and read the two others in the series. I know that movies generally don't do justice to the books they're based on. I heard unenthusiastic reviews. I still rented this movie with the expectation--even determination--to enjoy it. Then I discovered Sandra Bullock was in it. Puke. Her southern accent is a travesty. I want to rant on a bit about how disgusting it is that her performance was allowed to taint the Ya-ya name but it's probably not her fault. Her persona is just completely wrong for this story. Whoever cast her should be taken behind the barn and shot. Ditto for the director.Like I said, I really, really wanted to like this movie in spite of potential supposed mediocrities... But it really, undeniably sucked.I BEG anyone who has seen or is considering seeing this movie to just go out and read the book instead. If you judge the thing based on the cinematic adaptation it will appear to be pure drivel, and you will have missed quite a bit of important and beautiful stuff from the writing.