The greatest thing about Steel Magnolias is how dominated the plot is by female characters. Granted that is one of the basic reasons for the title, but it's true. The plot line includes the death of a central character which is powerful but tricky. When deciding to remove a central character for a dramatic point in the plot, you first have to give the audience an opportunity to establish a relationship with that character. This movie successfully does that so that her death causes a major sense of tragedy for the audience. In the process, the film tells a story about the infamously tough southern women. It portrays women in a real-life superhero type of role which is something that doesn't happen nearly enough on screen.

I absolutely love this movie. The performances are superb and the emotional range of these women is incredible. I rarely laugh out loud when I'm watching a DVD alone at home but this movie had me laughing out loud and for so long my sides were sore and I had tears rolling down my face and this happens every time I see this film. And at the other extreme, Sally Field's performance throughout was wonderful but her portrayal of the insanity of such loss and grief in the scene at the cemetery is gut wrenching and explores the whole insane range of emotions that are experienced with such profound grief. I was sobbing and even after repeated viewings - I do watch movies that I really like several times over a period of weeks or months and even years - her portrayal of this grieving mother has me first crying and then laughing every time I watch it.The lifelong bonds between these women are wonderful in their depth and complexity and their acceptance of each others idiosyncrasies that are so well portrayed by these amazing actresses is heartwarming and funny and very real. These women portray friendship at its best.I highly recommend this film, chick flick or not, it's fun and funny and gut wrenching and heartwarming. I laughed until I cried until I laughed again.Why at least some of these women did not receive Academy Awards for their brilliant performances of this amazing script, I'll never understand.I must also give high praise to the use of silence in this film. So many moments are given such importance and impact by the use of silence especially those very long moments in the hospital around 'the decision' spoke volumes.I do hope it is not possible to wear out a DVD because I might just watch it enough to wear it out!

Steel Magnolias is a film that in my opinion is well worth watching. The story depicts a southern family living in a small town in Louisiana. The film has the viewer engrossed in the preparation of the daughter's wedding with the involvement of family and friends so typical of a southern community. Just as things are going wonderfully, life takes a terrible turn for this family. The movie has you laughing and crying as it is filled with humor and heartbreak and the story of the Eatenton family unfolds.Truvy's Beauty Parlor is the happening place where the women of Chiquapin Parish come to gather to share life's events. Truvy Jones (Dolly Parton), the owner of the parlor is the person who offers advice on dealing with life's problems. M 'Lynn Eatenton (Sally Fields) and her daughter Shelby (Julia Roberts) visit the parlor often in preparation for Shelby's wedding. Truvy has hired an assistant, Annelle Dupuy (Daryl Hannah) who is an interesting character who is very religious as well as very mixed up in her marriage as the viewer is unsure if she is married or not due to legal issues. Other women in the community also visit the parlor and give their input into the wedding and the gossip of the town. Ouiser Boudreaux (Shirley MacLaine) is a character that is ill tempered, negative and tells everyone exactly what she thinks; she is not well liked by some of the other characters in the movie, especially Drum Eatenton (Tom Skerritt) as they are constantly bickering and making cross remarks to each other. The only person who seems to like Ouiser is the character Clairee Belcher (Olympia Dukakis) who has been recently widowed; she is a friend to Ouiser but loves poking fun at her.Shelby's wedding occurs in the back yard of her home. Her father Drum is always into something from shooting birds out of the trees in preparation for the wedding to bickering with Ouiser. The wedding occurs and several months pass when Shelby announces that she is pregnant. The town is happy with the announcement except her mother who worries because Shelby is a diabetic with frequent episodes of illnesses and her body is showing signs of kidney failure. Shelby delivers her son Jackson but not long after, her body does go into kidney failure. M'lynn donates a kidney to her daughter but shortly after Jackson turns one, Shelby's body rejects her kidney and she falls into a coma. Shelby loses the battle and her family has to remove her from life support.The movie takes you through emotional ups and downs of all of these characters as their lives intertwine. The heartbreak of a family as they journey through the happiness of their daughter's wedding, the birth of her child and then the struggles of her disease as it takes her life and leaves young Jackson without a mother. By the end of the movie, you have laughed so hard at the bickering between Ouiser and Dunn with Clariee and her smart comments. M'lynn mourns the death of her daughter and the other characters support her with love and at the same time humor that takes the viewer from crying to immediate laughter.Steel Magnolias was released in 1989, written by Robert Harling and directed by Herbert Ross. The movie kept the viewer totally engrossed as they laughed and cried with the characters. It allowed the viewer to see life unfold through the good and the bad and showed how life goes on with the love and support of others and allowed the viewer to relate to different circumstances in life. The movie ended with M'lynn finally accepting her daughter's death with a new focus on life, her grandson Jackson. As the characters all gathered at an Easter egg hunt on Easter morning, Annelle goes into labor and is rushed to the hospital with the quick reality that life does go on and new life begins.

I can't praise this movie enough. I've seen it dozens of times, as a play on Broadway, and as a TV pilot with an excellent cast that sadly didn't sell. It is probably one of the most quotable films ever made. The movie was even a major plot device in one of the most popular episodes of "Designing Women", which is ironic considering that much later Delta Burke of "DW" appeared in "SM" on Broadway.This is an ensemble piece of the highest proportions. If you were to ask any person to name a movie where "ensemble" is the keyword, "Steel Magnolias" would probably rank in the top ten. The major character is Julia Roberts' Shelby, but she is really supporting. It is her life that is the glue that holds all of these people together. Shelby gets married, Shelby has a baby, Shelby gets ill, etc. But it is each of the other characters who put the outside pieces together of this beautifully written Southern poem. Mama M'Linn (Sally Field, whose presence indicates the lead) is a mother hen, gentle and loving in every way, but strong and resistant. (In other words, a Steel Magnolia). When tragedy hits her family, it is her friends who come flocking together to help M'Linn deal with it. They are grouchy Ouiser (Shirley MacLaine at her most eccentric), good-hearted Truvy (the wonderful Dolly Parton, whom "Designing Women" focused their hour long episode around), bashful Annelle (an understated Darryl Hannah) and most outrageously, the cheerfully wisecracking Eve Arden of the group, Clairee (Olympia Dukakis). Unlike the play, men are included, and amongst them are Dylan McDermott as Roberts' hubby to be, Tom Skerritt as Fields' rascal husband and Sam Shepard as Parton's distant spouse.The men are there, but it is the women that the film concentrates on. There are also a few other women around in smaller roles, most notably Ann Wedgeworth as McDermott's aunt and "Porkys" vet Nancy Parsons (Gym teacher Ms. Ballbricker) as the physically wounded Janice Van Meeter, a victim of a collision with a baseball. "Looks like two pigs fightin' under a blanket", Dukakis quips while watching Parsons dance at a wedding reception. (For the record, Parsons was a fine character actress who had only a few opportunities to shine in films; Like the equally stout Shirley Stoler, she could infuse even her nastiest characters with something memorable.) Everybody has great moments, but it seems that most people particularly remember Dukakis and MacLaine's teaming. Yes, they definitely steal every magnolia scene they are in. They are the Lucy/Ethel, Laverne/Shirley, Cybil/Mary Anne. At times they are also a Paul Lynde/Charles Nelson Reilly combo. (Yes, those two did work together.) For the TV pilot, it was Polly Bergen and Elaine Stritch, two "Follies" girls makin' with the cracks, and in the Broadway production I saw, it was Frances Sternhagen and Marsha Mason. (I must say that I originally thought of the actors cast in the opposite role in that production, but Ms. Sternhagen was a delightful Clairee who knew how to make each moment she was on stage count. It's ironic to see MacLaine supporting a mother in distress after being the mother in distress in 1983's brilliant "Terms of Endearment". After her triumph as Cher's wise mother in "Moonstruck" and a few years before her outstanding portrayal of Anna Madrigal in "Tales of the City", Dukakis scored this film role which became the final nail in the proof that she was indeed the best not-so-newcomer finding success in middle age even though she was already one of the most respected actresses in the theater. Like her "SM" successor Frances Sternhagen, Dukakis is capable of winning laughs and stealing scenes with just a rise of her eyebrow. Up against that, how can Parton and Hannah hold up? They do just fine, but I think they were probably resigned to the fact that opposite that pair, they'd be all but forgotten. Indeed, they are excellent. They have equally great lines: Parton's line about one relative not knowing whether to scratch their watch or wind their behind is a gem, as is Hannah's delivery of the simple line about not letting her personal tragedy get in the middle of her doing good hair. Field gets the real chance to bite into the acting apple as she continues to hold in her grief through each of her sadness's until like a volcano, she builds up and explodes. She is excellent and missed out on a third Oscar Nomination. Check out her physical reaction when, after emotionally blowing up, she witnesses Dukakis's response to the whole scene. It's so filled with spontaneity and realism, and it is priceless. That brings me to Julia Roberts, here a novice in a group full of vets. She scores wonderfully and probably is the least showy. That's probably why the Oscars gave her a nod for Supporting Actress. It's understated and simple, yet filled with humanity, strength, and a quiet acceptance of a fate she can't escape. Stage acting can be big, but successful film acting for the most part meshes all of those qualities together to really touch the heart. While I would choose Dukakis for Supporting Actress, I can see why they nominated Roberts and not the rest of the fine cast. Bill McCutcheon is amusing as MacLaine's old beau who pops up, and Skerritt is funny as M'Linn's scoundrel husband who loves harassing the grouchy Ouiser. But to wrap things up in this long review, I can state that you don't have to be female, Southern, or gay to really get into these women's passionate friendship. The film is sumptuously filmed and features a beautiful musical score that is as touching as the friendship these ladies share. It is obvious that the tales several of these stars have told about making this film (Parton, MacLaine and Dukakis) that they loved working with each other. They should again.