Rating: 
Summary: "Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion."
Review: In 1989, audiences were treated to an all-star cast in the film "Steel Magnolias", which follows the lives of several women who are all friends in a small Louisiana town. The film was directed by Herbert Ross (1927-2001), who directed "The Goodbye Girl" (1977) and "The Turning Point" (1977, for which he received an Oscar nomination for Best Director). It was written by Robert Harding, who had originally written "Steel Magnolias" as a play and also adapted Olivia Goldsmith's novel into the screenplay for "The First Wives Club" (1996).The story begins with a young woman, Annelle Dupuy (Daryl Hannah), who is new to the Lousiana town and planning to work as a beautician for Truvy Jones (Dolly Parton), whose husband Spud Jones (Sam Shepard) is an often out-of-work contractor. Impressed with her abilities, Truvy hires Annelle and they receive their first customers of the day: the wealthy widow Clairee Belcher (Olympia Dukakis), the responsible mother M'Lynn Eatenton (Sally Field), her engaged daughter Shelby (Julia Roberts) and the eccentric/antisocial divorcee Ouiser Boudreaux (Shirley MacLaine). Since one of the activities that most of the ladies enjoy doing is gossiping, when Ouiser begins to interrogate Annelle about her life, everyone is all ears as Annelle explains her troubled marriage and vanished husband. Shelby then invites Annelle to come to her wedding, which Annelle does and meets a man who becomes very interested in her: Sammy Desoto (Kevin J. O'Connor). Shelby's new husband is Jackson Latcherie (Dylan McDermott), and her outspoken father, Drum Eatenton (Tom Skerritt), often enjoys teasing Ouiser about her aging dog. Shelby suffers from diabetes, but is determined to live as much of a normal life as possible, even when it comes into conflict with M'Lynn's concerns for her health. With its witty script, wonderful story and engaging characters, "Steel Magnolias" is a very entertaining and emotional film. Julia Roberts received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress, but disappointingly, Sally Field was not nominated for Best Actress for her exceptional performance, especially during the very emotional funeral scene. Olympia Dukakis, Shirley MacLaine and Daryl Hannah performed superbly in their roles, and Dolly Parton was very well casted for her role as Truvy and did an excellent job. Memorable scenes in the film include the opening scenes at Truvy's beauty salon, Shelby's wedding, the Christmas fair, Shelby revealing her pregnancy, other scenes at Truvy's, Annelle's wedding shower, M'Lynn at the hospital, the funeral scene and the closing Easter scenes. Overall, I rate "Steel Magnolias" with 5 out of 5 stars and highly recommend it on widescreen DVD.
Rating:
Summary: 80% CREDIBLE, BUT FUNNY. YOU'LL WATCH THIS MORE THAN ONCE.
Review: As already mentioned here a number of times, yes, it reeks of a chick flick. But on the simple metric of number of one-liners per minute, I simply cannot think of a better comical powerhouse! The script to this movie is an example for screenwriters. The hilarious star-studden ensemble is set in southern US, a small Louisiana town. The camaraderie is contagious and nostalgic, and the life of the characters so identifiable you'll be involved with the film immediately. There's almost several subthemes, each character has a peccadillo to share. But the main focus of the film is the relationship between Sally Field and Julia Roberts, a domineering mother and her strong-willed but physically weak daughter respectively, the latter also plagued with diabetes. And there is a lot of time spent on Daryl Hannah's strange character development as well as the film covers a year or two via holidays. To me, that is what most undermines the film -- I would much rather have seen more time spent on Parton and MacLaine, and even Dukakis, whose lives, in the brief glimpses we are given, seem much more interesting, and whose characters are by far much more alive and vibrant. Their barbs and quips are a compelling reason alone to watch this movie again and again! At any rate, this is a movie you should definitely watch if you haven't already, and if you have, watch it again. What a wonderful slice of life, drama and delectable humor!
Rating: 
Summary: Friendship Most Women Dream About
Review: This is a story based on the lives of six women that revolves around a beauty salon, Truvy's Beauty Shop. The title of this film is Steel Magnolias; it was released in 1989 and has a running time of 119 minutes. This film has many great award winning actresses including Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Shirley MacLaine, Daryl Hannah, Olympia Dukakis and Julia Roberts. The setting for this movie starts with a young woman walking down the street and running into a house that is preparing for a wedding and then wandering farther to find the beauty shop, Truvy's, where she will be employed. Suddenly the beauty shop is filled with people getting ready for the wedding that she witnessed earlier that wedding is Shelby's, Julia Roberts and then Shelby has in insulin attack. She has severe diabetes and her doctor has told her some very sad news right before she gets married. Her mother M'lynn, Sally Field, is taking the news better than most would think. There are many twists and turns once the wedding has taken place, some of them are sad and some are joyous. This is the type of friendship that most women dream about. Each woman is affected in different ways by each storyline. This film is one of the better films I have seen in recent years it has really touched me.
Rating:
Summary: Funny, sad, and totally entertaining
Review: This is the story of five women who basically socialize at Truvy's Beauty shop. The actresses are Dolly Parton (Truvy) Sally Field (M'Linn -- if that's how you spell it) Olympia Dukakis (Clairee) Shirley MacLaine (Ouizer) and Daryl Hannah (Anelle)and of course, the one and only Julia Roberts as Shelby. Basically, the story revolves around Shelby who is an active person but who also has a serious case of diabetes. Shelby marries in the movie and wants very much to have a baby which, of course, would not be good for her health. Around this bittersweet main theme are a lot of other sub-themes, many of which are funny, some of them very touching, and all of them adding to the overall good quality of this movie. What I appreciated was the realism in the depiction of women's friendships. At a time when the sneakiness and manipulativeness of girls' (and sometimes women's) friendships is being discussed, cussed, and dissected, this movie shows what friendship between basically good hearted women is really like. To be sure, the gals get on each other's nerves and not all is sweetness and light, but for the most part they care a lot about each other's welfare, and at the toughest times, they band together and support each other big time. I would recommend this movie to anyone -- including men -- in fact, I have been pleasantly surprised to find out that a lot of men enjoy the movie. But yes -- you do need to have an ample supply of tissues handy! I cry every time I see certain parts of the movie, and I've lost track of how many times I've watched it.
Rating:
Summary: Masterpeice
Review: I just love Steel Magnolias! It is a film that just touches me everytime I watch it. Watch it and decide for yourself but don't forget the tissues!
Rating:
Summary: Steeled into my heart
Review: I never tire of this film. I have a well-worn VHS copy and I frequently watch it a few times a year or more. You ever feel like you NEED a good cry, but you really have nothing special to cry about? Well, this movie can always provoke a good cry. All of the actresses give outstanding performances. This movie creates a magical place with characters you WISH lived next door so you could go over and have coffee with them. Touching movie; leaves a lasting impression.
Rating:
Summary: dolly stole the show
Review: i like this movie alot except for julia roberts. i don't understand why they chose her to star in a movie called "pretty woman". they should have called it "ugly horseface". anyway, steel magnolia's made me laugh alot and then it's sad sometimes - kinda like drinking everyday! shirley mccaline was really good too but i don't think the role was much of a stretch. olympia dukakis scares me. sally field looks mean. and that girl from splash is always a hoot. but let's not forget dolly. remember the dollymo!
Rating:
Summary: Just Wonderful
Review: This is truly a wonderful movie. I loved the everything about this movie. We should all have friends like these women. Weezer is my favorite.
Rating:
Summary: Not just a chick-flick!
Review: Well, I must admit when I was forced to sit down and watch this movie with my wife I was suffering some trepidation. After all this was a chick-flick and I doubted I would be able to stay awake, or keep my lunch down for all the treacle. I was so very wrong! This movie has a great cast with delightful characters. Their love for one another is self-evident and that love will warm the proverbial cockles of the viewer's heart. Yes! There are moments of great sadness but they are carried off well, and avoid the saccharine sweetness of so many of this genre. In conclusion I highly recommend this movie. It just darn well makes you feel good.......guy or gal!
Rating: 
Summary: POIGNANT WEEPY THAT HAS DATED SOME
Review: Some pretty big talent (Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Julia Roberts, Darryl Hannah, Shirley MaClaine) and a good story lead me to recommend this film. Shelby (Julia Roberts)is a head-strong diabetic who, against doctor's orders, decides to get pregnant and have a child. Based on a true story, "Steel Magnolias" concerns itself with the group of strong Southern women who become Shelby's insulated comfort zone during her time of need. Some of the aspects of the film, including dialogue references, costume design and overall set design, has pegged the movie as a product of the 80's. That isn't to say that it's not a good film. But it just doesn't hold up quite as well as say, "Fried Green Tomatoes".
Columbia has given us a rather worn looking print of this movie. Colors are slightly faded or off balance and there is some smearing of background details that comes from the overuse of noise reduction equipment in the DVD mastering process. No pixelization, some slight edge enhancement and a bit of fine detail shimmering also present. The sound is amply presented but exhibits an equally dated characteristic. The documentary that accompanies this feature is rather disappointing. Although we learn why the film was written, there are virtually NO INTERVIEWS with principle cast members and very little in the way of background on how the film was made. Also incl. theatrical trailer. BOTTOM LINE: Still a good reason to stay home on a rainy night. Just remember to bring Kleenex.
| 
