Rating: 
Summary: The southern woman is revealed
Review: This could be a story about any Southern woman in any decade. We all, to this day, have our little girl friends and clubs and nicknames and mamas who "dropped their basket" at least once.
I aksed my daughter if she saw her grandmother in this story and she said " No mama, I saw you!".
Rating: 
Summary: Ya Ya Sisterhood: Great movie
Review: This is one of the best movies I have seen in years. Trust me when I say this because I have seen it 9 times. It is funny, heartwarming, touching, dramatic and charming. I thought Ellen Burstyn was amazing in this,(Did anyone see her in "Requiem for a Dream"). She pulls out all the stops in her portrayal of manipulative, dramatic, intelligent, and vulnerable. I especially liked the Ya Ya friends too, especially Maggie Smith. I don't believe this is just a chick flick. The men in the movie are supportive and funny.
This is a great mother daughter movie but it is the friendships that really make this movie wonderful. These are lifetime friends that epitomize the true meaning of the word family. For anyone who has ever had arguments with their mother, for anyone who has friends do not fail to see this movie.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best Chick Flicks-EVER!
Review: This film has it all-Laughs, Tears, and Heart. Siddalee Walker(Sandra Bullock)is a famous playwrite who spills to "Time" every bad detail of her mother, Vivi(played by Ellen Burstyn as older Vivi and beautifly by Ashley Judd, in one of her best films, I might add, as younger Vivi). Naturally, when Vivi reads it, she is furious. She inslists the help of two:1)The Ya-Ya's, her long-time childhood best friends 2)Alchohol. Since Vivi does not want to talk to Sidda and work it out(or when she does, she just slams the phone down on the counter, like in the trailor), the Ya-Ya's take matters into their own hands. After a visit to Sidda's and a night at a club,the Ya-Ya's put the date-rape drug into her drink and take her to their summer house or home(I'm guessing in Louisanna). They decide it's time to mend the anger between Vivi and Sidda. They drag out their old scrapbook, "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood", and make her look through it. She finds out more about her mother and her adventures in life through the scrapbook, memories,and the Ya-Ya's, like the "Gone with the Wind" premire, the Ya-Ya's arrest, Jack, Jack's death, and the most dark point of the film, when Vivi goes on a pill that was suppossed to cure alcoholism but instead makes her go crazy and beats up her children. But through the drama, there is a happy ending, like all movies, and Sidda goes from a Petite Ya-Ya(The Ya-Ya's children)to a Ya-Ya. I would have loved to have given this movie a 5-star rating, but Sandra Bullock didn't pull off the tear-jerking scenes(no wonder this movie didn't make me cry). Usually she is very good and is my one of my favorite actresses, but she was miscast in this drama/comedy. She can do action(SPEED), she can do thriller(MURDER BY NUMBERS), she can do comedy(MISS CONGENIALITY), she can do romance(WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING), but she never has enough emotions to do drama. In PRACTICAL MAGIC she was decent, but her other dramas(see HOPE FLOATS and 28 DAYS) were not her best. I admit I can't think of anybody else to take her role off the top of my head, but most of this movie was a drama, and that is her weak link. Don't be suprised if Ashley Judd gets an Oscar nomination and Sandra Bullock doesn't. Ashley Judd, on the other hand, as young Vivi Walker, pulls off her part, no sweat. I think that dramas are Judd's best quality. She does best playing women who are in complicated predicaments. In WHERE THE HEART IS, she is a single mom with, in the end, 8 kids.In DOUBLE JEAPORDY, she is a mom falsely accused of murdering her husband and then sets out on an adventure to kill her sleazebag husband and get her son back. In EYE OF THE BEHOLDER, she is a serial killer. Now, in DIVINE SECRETS OF THE YA-YA SISTERHOOD, she is an alchoholic mom struggling to live a happy life. And the Ya-Ya's aren't bad, either, Maggie Smith, as old Caro, is a scene-stealer(classic line:(the Ya-Ya's cut their hands then join hands as a part of the binding cermony)SIDDA:Uh, guys, this is how diseases spread. CARO:Oh, honey.The only disease that can
survive our bloodstream is alchoholism.)Ellen Burstyn delivers as young Vivi. The rest of the Ya-Ya's(I'm not trying to be mean)don't really stand out because they don't have big parts. Overall, great movie. I loved Ashley Judd and Maggie Smith, but Sandra Bullock didn't act at her best. The best mother/daughter movie to see. It's the best movie of the summer and I saw it 3 times. NOTE:Remember in the beginning, when we see Sidda getting interviewed, and the lights fail? The same "LIQUIR" sign we see there on stage is the same as when Vivi and the kids go to the hotel in the car. You also may have noticed that the movie got poor reviews. Ignore them unless they are from women. Guys never understood chick flicks.
Rating:
Summary: Bring Your Daughter Movie !!
Review: What a wonderful, heart warming movie. A true classic. Bring your daughter, make it a dinner and movie night, girls only. Enjoy your child and enjoy a great movie..
Rating: 
Summary: Another Hollywood Glorification of Addicts
Review: The poignant and hilarious performances from Judd, Burstyn, Smith and Bullock were wonderful. The movie, however, which glorifies the addictive personality and presents excuses for child abuse and neglect when from drugs or alcohol, takes the easy way out. The entire plot turned out to be nothing more than a journey whereby Sidda (played by Sandra Bullock) learns to excuse (if not forgive) her mother for child abuse as she finds out about her mother's past. The consequential glorification of addiction as a disease refuses to acknowledge the character issues involved in a woman guilty of child abuse and neglect - whether one is an addict, an enabler, or any other part of the Codependent family model, one must take responsibility for one's own growth. Unfortunately, no one in this movie does. Having lived in a childhood involving addiction, abuse and neglect, and having also worked with many others with the same issues, I found this movie to be unrealistic, at best. While the mother goes insane from heartbreak, alcoholism, then prescribed medication (that turns out to be worse than alcohol) to help cure alcoholism, everyone cares for her and puts up with her in highly implausible ways. For instance, when she beats the kids, they run and say "stop it, mommy" and the oldest child shields the younger ones. In real life, children that young don't react like that -- they usually think they deserve it, and take the abuse. (The oldest child usually teaches the younger ones how to comply.) When she constantly fights with her husband, he still kisses her when she's angry, and holds her and kisses her and tries to feed her, after she's beaten the kids, ran away, and then come back, and is on tranquilizers. Since when does a husband that kind have a woman that mean? In real life, he's part of the problem. What is the author leaving out about him? The only redeeming part of all this is the movie does not ask anyone to forgive the mother for her actions. The rest of it is a typically unrealistic portrayal of abuse, addiction, and insanity.
Rating:
Summary: YA-YA BABY
Review: This is definately a DEVINE movie. Great story and one of those that you can declare a "keeper". It's on my future purchase list. The South shall rise again.
Rating:
Summary: one of the summer's most promising treats
Review: when i looked at the summer's agenda for films, i figured i'd be better off working overtime or taking frequent trips to the beach as the majority of the films would be animated or based upon comic books...having said that, it was nice to see a film like divine make it's way into the big multiplex. in the heartwarming and often touching tradition of films like fried green tomatoes and/or how to make an american quilt, we are once again drawn into the world of wise women passing down grand experiences from one generation to another. sandra bullock is ok as the role is pretty much a walk through part but ellen burstyn and ashley judd shine like gold so i hope the oscars are paying attention to thse fine actresses. divine secrets shows us how the things in life that we experience and share with family or friends can hold us together or tear us apart. i am reminded and touched of how lucky one is when they have wonderful friends and family to help them through those trying times. call this a chick flick if you must but i simply call this film the feel good movie of summer 2002. now i have placed divine secrets on my list for summer reading.
Rating:
Summary: Worthy of ten stars. Sandra Bullock gets an A+
Review: I loved this movie. I know it isn't a kid's movie, but it was really amazing. The acting was the best I've seen in years in a movie, and it was really emotional. Ashley Judd was also amazing, as was the rest of the top notch cast. This is a story about four woman are life time friends, and call themselves the Ya Yas. When Sidda (Bullock) gets interviewed about her mom, and offends her, the rest of the Ya Yas take her to one of their houses. They tell her all about Vivian's childhood, and adult hood, and Sidda finds out a lot of things that explain her mother. There was just enough comedy to make it perfect, but not too silly.
CAST
Siddy; Sandra Bullock
Young Vivian: Ashley Judd
Old Vivian: Ellen Bursyn
Her Husband: James Garner
Main Friend: Maggie Smith
Rating:
Summary: Not Just a Chick Flick
Review: I read the book when it first came out and loved it, so I couldn't wait for the movie--and I was not disappointed. My husband went with me, and even HE cried at a certain point! He was one of three men in the theater that night, but that didn't bother him. I/we thought all the actors were perfect for their parts; and I have now actually seen the movie twice and wouldn't mind seeing it again. It reminds me of "Forrest Gump" in that each time you watch it, you catch another phrase/nuance that you missed the other times. I recommend it very highly--and remember, real men don't mind seeing this movie with their wives!
Rating:
Summary: Too close for comfort
Review: I've not seen this point of view mentioned so at the risk of annoying those who love this movie, I have to throw out a little caution. I am the oldest daughter of an alcoholic who had not read the book first. Parts of this were very hard to watch and still prey on my mind. Given that perspective, I guess it's not surprising that I did not enjoy this movie and could not feel any affection for its characters or satisfaction at its ending. What I AM left with though is admiration for Ashley Judd, Ellen Burstyn and the actress who played the young Siddalee, they were amazing. Sorry to be a wet blanket, maybe I need a visit from some Ya-Yas.
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