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.
Rating: 
Summary: really different from the book.. but an awesome movie
Review: this movie is awesome.. but there are a few flaws.. they skipped out a lot of things.. like the shirly temple look alike contest and when vivi gets sent off to bording school.. the ya-ya's weren't as close in the movie as they were in the book.. but ashley judd was amazing as vivi.. and sandra bullok shines! she was the perfect person to play sidda.. some of the parts were better in the movie, like when they were talking about jack, and teensy had to leave becayse she felt upset.. that was really well put in.. all in all.. a pretty good movie!
Rating: 
Summary: Timeless theme
Review: Having seen the previews for this movie, I decided to invite two friends to accompany me for an afternoon of laughs. Instead, we found a movie with much more depth and seriousness than we had anticipated. Vivi (Ellen Burstyn) is furious with her daughter for saying some unkind things about her in an interview with Time Magazine. This precipitates a kidnapping by Vivi's best friends (the Ya-Ya's) who take Sida to an isolated cabin where they can tell her a few secrets about her mother which have been kept from her. Their hope is that through their intervention they can effect a reconciliation between mother and daughter. We see a number of flashbacks into Sida's childhood which demonstrate the best and worst of Vivi and of her relationship with her daughter. This movie touches on universal themes of interactions between mothers and daughters and best friends, and is at once funny, touching and thought-provoking.
Rating:
Summary: HOW TO MAKE AN AMERICAN QUILT WITHOUT THE QUILTS...
Review: DURING MY PLEASANT VIEWING OF THIS PICTURE ANOTHER FILM CAME TO MIND "HOW TO MAKE AN AMERICAN QUILT". ALTHOUGH SOME HAVE COMPARED IT TO "FRIED GREEN TOMATOES", "THE JOY LUCK CLUB" AND EVEN "STEEL MAGNOLIAS". "YA YA" & "QUILT" ALMOST COULD HAVE BEEN ADAPTED FROM THE SAME BOOK. SANDRA BULLOCK REPLACES WINONA RYDER, ELLEN BURSTYN REPLACES ELLEN BURSTYN, AND SO ON... IS ANY OF THIS A PROBLEM? NO. "DIVINE SECRETS OF THE YA YA SISTERHOOD" IS AN EXQUISITE ADDITION TO THE "ELDERLY WOMEN TELL THEIR LIFE STORIES" GENRE. WITH FINE PERFORMANCES THROUGH OUT, ITS HARD TO SAY WHO MAY OR MAY NOT SNAG A NOMINATION.
Rating: 
Summary: How did you get there from here?
Review: My sister and I read the book when it came out several years ago. I believe it was one of the best books I've ever read. It shows the relationships that only women can have. I don't think the movie can betray those true feelings. They may have touched the surface, but it never touched the heart. I spent the first half the night trying to remember if I was losing my mind or had they changed so many parts of the movie, the other half I spent trying to figure out if I had not read the book, would I have any idea what was going on. Maybe I was thinking too hard. I did see in (the bookstore), the cliff notes (mini book about alters?). At first, I thought Ms. Wells had written another book. They should stipulate that in order to understand the movie, read the cliff notes first. I will say, the actresses that were chosen were perfect for the each character.
Rating:
Summary: a highly touted disappointment
Review: This much-touted and long-awaited movie is a major disappointment to women looking for a good chick-flick and a satisfying bout of tears. Although Ashley Judd shines as the young, troubled Vivi, Sandra Bullock's lines come across as lame and predictable. The scenes of rituals of the Sisterhood come across as campy and laughable. Maggie Smith soldiers through with a strong outing, and her British accent seems to adapt easily to a Louisiana drawl. Taken as a whole, the movie fails to satisfy.
Rating:
Summary: Callie Khouri did a great job...
Review: with a treasured women's book. Casting was inspired, the cinematography and sets were beautifully filmed and the soundtrack was perfectly in keeping with the story, and a creative mix of artists. There is one major glitch in a film that is surprisingly well adapted from the book, and that is the focus on the present. With less about Siddalee and her fiance, one or two more flashback gems of the Ya-yas as girls and as young mothers would have added greatly to the understanding of the ties that bind women together. Most of the best moments are in the flashback sequences, although Ellen Burstyn, Maggie Smith and the rest of the older Ya Yas make for a strong and funny ensemble in the current day, and James Garner is completely believable as a Shep, worn down by years of living with the quicksilver Vivi. There is one scene from the past - a yard party before young Jack goes to war, where Ashley Judd as the young Vivi is so beautifully luminous in a yellow dress, that the whole novel comes alive again, and you can really believe in the power of her life force. Sandra Bullock, on the other hand, is just adequate as Siddalee, with little of her usual sparkle, and not really believable as a product of a southern upbringing. So, I guess I really mean that I enjoyed the novel much more, which is usually the case, but that I was pleasantly surprised to
enjoy this film as "somewhat Divine". The DVD will have a place in my collection. Go see it!
Rating:
Summary: Yeah-Yeah for Ya-Ya
Review: Although I tend to avoid so-labled "chick flicks" like the plague, I was more than pleasently surprised with "The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood". The film follows the lifelong friendship of 4 Louisiana girls from prepubescence to old age and the effects that love, addiciton and growing up southern has on them and those around them. Sidda (Sandra Bullock) is at odds with her mother (Ellen Burstyn) over a magazine interview and the fray escalates to heartwrenching and comic levels. Enter the mother's three friends -- the Ya-Ya preistesses -- in an attempt to mend the rift and place the relationship into perspective. Seen through a series of flashbacks, the lives of the Sisterhood girls is a revalation in love and nonconformity that is sure to stike a chord with everyone. The characters (appart from Sidda's fiance) is well developed and superbly acted. Though disturbing and painful at times, the story has a authenticity about it as well as a broad appeal. A great date film.
Rating:
Summary: Don't Expect the Book
Review: I don't know how I would have reacted to this movie if I had not read and loved the book when it first came out. All I can say to potential viewers is: If you haven't read the book, you might like the movie, although it is terribly frustrating in all its loose ends that are never explained. If you HAVE read the book, pretend this is another story entirely. I agree with another reviewer here who said that the makeshift southern accents were pitiful in some cases. So was much of the rest of the movie. What we have here is the story of a daughter who has held her impossibly sexy and gorgeous lover in an emasculated state of suspension for 7 years because she is afraid to marry him. Why? Because Mommy Dearest was a really bad mommy. But then...she was a good mommy too, and we see both bad and good in a series of disjointed flashbacks. This device worked beautifully in the book. All the humanity of the mother, Vivi, as well as her madness and sadness, came through. In the movie, she seems merely self-indulgent and more than a little nuts. No charm to speak of. As far as the much-touted Ya-Ya Sisterhood, not much is left of it but the name and some really silly ceremonies. None of the depth comes through as it did in the book. On the other hand, this is a fairly interesting "chick flick" if you have nothing else to do on a too-hot weekend afternoon. Just do not expect anything beyond tele-movie status.
Rating:
Summary: Blown Away!
Review: Oh, golly, gee, wow;YA YA!
This film is INCREDIBLY good. The first time it may be a little hard to follow, but you'll love it so much, you'll be seeing it again & again!! When my friend said she wasn't going with us to see it because she thought it was too "depressing", that got me a little nervous. Now i think shes postively insane!
"Bebay"(watch for this line-i love it- :-D), this is an awesome film!
My only complaint is that it should have been released on mother's day, because its a perfect chick flick!
PS-Enjoy this one? Then try "Now & Then"
...It's AWESOME!
Sincerely,
Marchioness Pounding War Drum
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