Robert Harling's off Broadway play based on the death of his real life sister had the good fortune of having him do the screen adaption. In expanding it for the big screen and shooting it in his native Louisiana, Steel Magnolias lost nothing of what he was trying to convey in his one set drama which only involved the six women who are the leads. In fact seeing them interact with other family and friends added well to Steel Magnolias.
Still the root of the play is the conversations among six friends in Dolly Parton's Beauty Parlor in a small Louisiana bayou town. The friends are friendly enemies Olympia Dukakis and Shirley MacLaine and Sally Field and her daughter Julia Roberts. A new hairdresser is hired by Parton as it turns out on the day that Roberts is to be married and that is Darryl Hannah.
Roberts is a diabetic and she takes some very big health risks when she gets pregnant and has a baby boy. These women despite a lot differences and some occasional cattiness are really tight and the health problems of Roberts unites them all.
Steel Magnolias should have received a bit more recognition from the Academy than the nomination Julia Roberts got for Best Supporting Actress. If Steel Magnolias is nothing else it's an ensemble piece and recognizing Roberts over the others was unfair. For this story to work, all of the six females have to be good and all of them are.
This story has everything, laughter, sadness, great joy, and great pathos. Sometimes the six women are putting out several of these emotions at one time.
The best thing I can say about Steel Magnolias is that it is the kind of film you can watch over and over and be moved by it and maybe pick up an emotion you should have felt before in a particular scene. A rare and extraordinary work can do that and Steel Magnolias is a film for the ages.
Still the root of the play is the conversations among six friends in Dolly Parton's Beauty Parlor in a small Louisiana bayou town. The friends are friendly enemies Olympia Dukakis and Shirley MacLaine and Sally Field and her daughter Julia Roberts. A new hairdresser is hired by Parton as it turns out on the day that Roberts is to be married and that is Darryl Hannah.
Roberts is a diabetic and she takes some very big health risks when she gets pregnant and has a baby boy. These women despite a lot differences and some occasional cattiness are really tight and the health problems of Roberts unites them all.
Steel Magnolias should have received a bit more recognition from the Academy than the nomination Julia Roberts got for Best Supporting Actress. If Steel Magnolias is nothing else it's an ensemble piece and recognizing Roberts over the others was unfair. For this story to work, all of the six females have to be good and all of them are.
This story has everything, laughter, sadness, great joy, and great pathos. Sometimes the six women are putting out several of these emotions at one time.
The best thing I can say about Steel Magnolias is that it is the kind of film you can watch over and over and be moved by it and maybe pick up an emotion you should have felt before in a particular scene. A rare and extraordinary work can do that and Steel Magnolias is a film for the ages.