6. [Movie Review]: Steel Magnolias (1989)- If you can't say anything nice about anybody, come sit by me!
Okay, phew. Let's talk about something sad.
When it comes to movies, I cry whenever I see something so moving. I recently watched Steel Magnolias (1989) the other day and at the very end of the movie, I completely lost it. That ending was so tragic and compassionate, I cried like a baby. I literally had to check my menstruation cycle app on my phone to really see if the hormones were messing with my emotions. Yea, I'm approaching d-day.
Some !spoilers! ahead. I don't want to ruin the ending for you (if you really want to watch it) but :/
If you can't say anything nice about anybody, come sit by me!
God, Steel Magnolias (1989) such a vibes movie. An amazing cast of women:
- Sally Field as M'Lynn
- Julia Roberts as Shelby
- Dolly Parton as Truvy
- Shirley MacLaine as Ouiser
- Olympia Dukakis as Clairee
- Daryl Hannah as Annelle
The movie begins with a chaotic wedding preparation scene. You watch the frantic scene unfolds as a stressed mom, M'Lynn (Sally Field) tries to put the finishing touches together for her daughter, Shelby's (Julia Roberts), big day. The movie involves a tightly knit group of female friends whose husbands (absent, depressed, boring, or dead) leave them plenty of time to gossip at a beauty parlor run by Truvy (Dolly Parton), the beating heart of the group. Truvy hires a new girl, Annelle (Daryl Hannah) who has a mysterious past and is still trying to figure herself out in the world since she's so young. The usual bickering women are besties, the sarcastic troll Clairee (Olympia Dukakis) and grumpy Ouiser (Shirley MacLaine).
I didn't watch this before at all. I came in knowing nothing about this movie, just knowing that Dolly Parton was one of the main characters. The whole movie takes place in Louisiana and starts at Easter (Shelby’s wedding), then skips to that year's Christmas, then ahead a year and a half to the baby's first birthday. Shelby goes into her coma that Halloween, and the movie ends in spring (so 3 years total).
I have something to say about Julia Roberts in the movie. She looks so young here... In the beginning, I was like- what a brat. She was fussing about her nails or something! "Mama, this nail polish is drying way too dark." while her mother was running around doing EVERYTHING for her wedding.
The parents were probably like "Shelby don't worry your pretty little head we'll take care of everything"
but girlie was like- ew my nails </3 while her mom looked so exhausted the entire time. But... I understand. She was thinking about having a kid and she literally could not do that, like it was so risky for her to do that. She knew it in her mind. She had that whole breakdown in the salon (SHELBY THE JUICE).
Julia Roberts' character really grew on me though. She really did.
This is a feminist movie. The star-studded female cast literally drove the entire plot. The men in the story are like I said - absent, depressed, boring, or dead - do not run this show at all. It's a story which is completely at odds with itself. The film is ridiculously funny (every single line is an epigram) yet painfully tragic. It's energetic yet it also meanders.
Ultimately, it's a story about love. The love is there even when the ladies taunt each other or when they're annoyed. Love is there when you can see them trying to battle their sorrows with the magic of friendship and laughter. When tragedy strikes, you can see the love holding the whole group together, even when you see the characters absolutely lose it. It will break your heart.
The big scene of the entire movie is the monologue by Sally Field. She already had two Oscars at this point and she was still like,
"oh don't you worry, I'm going to bring the fucking thunder"
It literally killed me when she started to break down. That woman is a force of nature. She acted the hell out of that entire scene. I felt her grief, her frustration, her maternal pain in all of that. I literally had to talk a walk for an hour just to clear my head. That was so tragic, yet it was cute and unexpected when the two older ladies lightened the mood right after the mom had a whole breakdown.
For Dolly and her character (some historical context)- According 'Dolly Parton' profile in the website, AllMusic Between 1974 and 1980 Parton had a series of country hits, with eight singles reaching number one. This woman was putting in work and busting her ass. Dolly was at the height of her career when she was working on Steel Magnolias.
The beauty of Steel Magnolias is that they were okay with nothing happening. Sure, there's a plot and serious things happen, but we also get to have conversations about recipes and neighbors. None of it adds to the plot and all of it is perfect. I think every time I watch this movie, I will probably cry for different reasons. Cry for the funeral, cry for their friendship, cry for their compassion, cry for how brief and heartbreaking life is, cry for how long and sweet life is.
I rated it as 4.5/5 stars on Letterboxd. A beautifully tragic film that literally gives you a roller-coaster of emotions. Cinematic embodiments of the power of women. 😭👌
~not crazy, just been in a very bad mood for 40 years,
<3 K