Rating: Summary: Not worth the money Review: I rented this movie, hoping it would be kinda Steel Magnolia's all over, but I was sorely disappointed. All the older actresses had these horrible southern accents, and Sandra Bullock couldn't remember if she was from Louisiana or the Midwest, and kept bouncing back and forth between the two accents. All in all, a waste of my time and money.
Rating: Summary: An awesome movie Review: The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood is an extreme movie. What I mean by that is that it is extremely funny and extremely sad. The movie, starring a very loveable Sandra Bullock as Sidda, starts when Sidda is interviewed. Without meaning to insult her mother, Sidda says a lot of things about Vivi, her mother. When Vivi reads the article, she is so infuriated she won't speak to Sidda. This part of the movie is simply hilarious. The mother and daughter cut up all their pictures of each other and send them to each other. It culminates when Sidda invites her parents to her wedding. The invitation has the time, date, and place blocked out. Finally, the Ya-Ya Sisterhood take things into their own wrinkled old hands. They take Sidda out to dinner and drug her. Then they adult-nap her. The rest of the film is about Vivi's life at about Sidda's age. Although the movie seems like it would be about Sidda, I would have to say that the main character is Vivi. This is the part that will make you sob. Vivi is depressed. She often leaves her home and stays away for weeks on end. She beats her multiple children outside in the rain when she cracks after a harrowing day with them. Then Vivi overdoses on drugs. She is taken to the hospital, where she is unable to even eat or drink herself. The movie focuses on mother-daughter relationships. I love it, but be ready for a VERY emotional movie.
Rating: Summary: Another POS Review: "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" is one of those movies you'll see and wonder why did I rent this? Hopefully you didn't take the extra step and buy it before viewing it. Buyer's remorse to the tenth power! The movie is about a mother (Ellen Burstyn) and daughter (Sandra Bullock) who have disowned each other and a group of older women's attempts to bring the two together. The movie goes back-and-forth with flashbacks from the 60's and present day. Hitting the phone has never been so much fun! Blast those things for being so loud! The movie tries to make you cry and it works! I was crying so much because I had wasted three dollars for the rental! A terrible movie and one of the worst of 2002.
Rating: Summary: Forgiveness, Rapprochement Review: Humility and apology, the psychological emblems of loving relations with parents, children, spouses, friends, are tied to the grace of forgiveness in this laugh out loud dance of 1920s Cajun and jazz. The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood allows that we are all ill-equipped to deal with life, yet our unique craziness is acknowledged and accepted by those who genuinely love us. The chat between James Garner and Sandra Bullock represents every good thing in father-daughter relationships; the love scene with James Garner and Ellen Burstyn affrims that sexual interest does not have to die unless we want it to. And the friendship of the Ya-Ya recreates the magic of long term relationship: yelling, laughing, trouble and joy shared. The movie charts a psychological destination we might all hope to achieve someday with good fortune, and good friends.
Rating: Summary: Run men! Run! Review: I watched this movie because I am a big fan of Sandra Bullock and this is just about the only movie of her's I haven't seen. The Ya Ya Sisterhood is just WAY too much of a chick-flick for me. All the women in this movie are nuts. You're left wondering why in the world the two guys in the movie stick around. The guys even look like they hate being in this movie. It's not even funny. The flashbacks are often boring and depressing. Women will love this but if you're a guy just stay away. The worst part of the movie is the use of the "Ya Ya"s. That alone was incredibly annoying.
Rating: Summary: Poster Girls for Bad Behavior Review: The problem with Shepp is that he wasn't Rhett Butler. Men, if you encounter self-indulgent, self-centered women like these, run for your life. These five women are the personification of the ...vortex entities that will drain the life force out of anybody....the story was contrived and the Southern accents were terrible.
Rating: Summary: A waste of good talent. Forget about it. Read the book. Review: Because I had read and enjoyed the book several years ago, I was curious as to the kind of film it would make. It was billed as a comedy but turned out to be a bad soap opera. And any real similarity to the book were just on the surface. It seemed to follow the plot outline, but jumped around in time much too much. And the characters all came out as caricatures. Basically it's a mother-daughter story, with Sandra Bullock cast as the daughter, Sidda, and Ellen Burstyn as the mother, Vivienne. What a waste of good talent! Ashley Judd is the younger Vivienne and does a pretty good job. But the audience hasn't a clue as to why she abuses her children and has a mental breakdown. It all seemed staged and not a bit plausible. As for my recommendation: forget about it. Read the book instead.
Rating: Summary: Touchy-Feely Film More Popular With Women Than Men Review: The 2002 film "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" is based upon the similarly titled novel written by Rebecca Wells. Directed by Callie Khouri, the film focuses primarily upon the troubled relationship of Viviane Abbott 'Vivi' Walker (Ellen Burstyn) and her daughter Siddalee 'Sidda' Walker (Sandra Bullock). Having grown up in Louisiana, Sidda moved to New York City where she is a successful playwright. An interview that Sidda gives to a magazine includes descriptions of her troubled Louisiana childhood that infuriates her mother. In an attempt to reconcile mother and daughter, Vivi's three lifelong friends decide to intervene: Teensy Melissa Whitman (Fionnula Flanagan), Caro Eliza Bennett (Maggie Smith) and Necie Rose Kelleher (Shirley Knight). Unknown to Vivi, they kidnap Sidda and return her to Louisiana where they explain Vivi's troubled past through a scrapbook containing the secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. The four created the sisterhood when they were children, but continued it into adulthood. Hence, the film is filled with copious flashbacks to the foursome's childhoods in Louisiana during the Great Depression, events that occurred during World War II and events that occurred in the 1950's. As young adults, the four friends are played by Ashley Judd (Vivi), Jacqueline McKenzie (Teensy), Katy Selverstone (Caro) and Kiersten Warren (Necie). Sidda as a child in the 1950's is played by Allison Bertolino. (As children during the Great Depression, the four friends are played by four child actresses.) As the above description demonstrates, the film focuses primarily upon female characters and was intended to appeal to female viewers more than male viewers. The few male characters (all rather minor in the story) are Sidda's fiancée Connor McGill (Angus MacFadyen), her father Shepherd 'Shep' Walker (James Garner in the present and David Lee Smith in the 1950's), and Jack (Matthew Settle). The many flashbacks to the past in the film are edited well with the events that occur in the present, but the film's portrayal of mental illness could have been better. The film could also have had much better male character development, especially with Shep, who comes across as being nothing more than a completely henpecked and domineered husband. Overall, I rate "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" with 4 out of 5 stars.
Rating: Summary: Not recommended Review: If you like melodramatic, over-the top, ... depressing, poorly written, directed, acted, edited, and a two thumbs down film, I have just the one. Although I bought some of the junk about the father not being there and the mom almost going crazy, it got bad after a while. The climax (the car scene with "I don't think so!") was like a worse My Big Fat Greek Wedding. I understand that this is a film for women, but come on! I liked the subplot about the slaves and going to see Gone With The Wind but everything was laced with stareotypes, and over the top dialogue. Rosie O'Donell named her kid after a Ya-Ya character, so some people must like this movie, as the same goes for her. Thank you for taking the time to read my review and feel free to leave me a helpful/not helpful feedback. God Bless America!
Rating: Summary: The magic of nostalgia did not work Review: I enjoyed the conversation among ya-ya sisters and, off course; Maggie Smith gives us laugh here and there. Somehow, the magic of nostalgia did not work for me with this movie when they try to describe how the mother has reconciled with her daughter over the tough time they had in the past due to her alcoholism. May be it was beacause I just didn't see the connection between the mother in 40's that Ashley Judd played and the current one.
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