Steel Magnolias is Wholesome

Overview:

A beautician finds a job at a local salon. While working she becomes friends with a group of women.

Initial Thoughts:

Steel Magnolias is a very sweet film. The relationships here are very endearing. Every interaction feels natural. This film takes place in the south. So we have people talking with deep southern accents. Some of the accents are distractingly bad. The brother’s accents are doo doo. The dialogue feels exaggerated. Every sentence ends with some type of idiom or metaphor. Southern people don’t talk like that, dude. You know what bothers me? People come to the south and try to “fit in” by wearing cowboy hats and boots and stuff like that but, it just looks goofy. I went to New York and met my girlfriend’s mother and stepdad. I thought it would be funny to say “howdy” when I shook hands with her stepdad. When I did that he looked at me and said “wow, you guys actually say that?” I tried to laugh it off but on the inside I just wanted to get back on a plane and leave. Good job Bryan. ANYWAYS, Steel Magnolias also looks weird at times. Mostly when something takes place outside. It’s hard to describe but I feel like I’m watching Days of Our Lives or something. Everything is so saturated. Alright let’s look at the characters.

Characters/Performances:

Sally Field as M’Lynn Eatenton: What kind of name is M’Lynn? How do you come up with something like that? M’Lynn is the mother of Shelby, Julia Roberts' character. She just plays a mom. Sally Field’s performance is great. She can deliver emotion when it’s needed. Especially when Shelby dies. There’s not much to this character. Again, she’s just a mom and that’s pretty much it

Dolly Parton as Truvy Jones: Truvy is a hairdresser. Remember what I said earlier about every sentence ending with an idiom? Yeah, Truvy embodies that. Most of her dialogue is gossip. Dolly Parton is a stale actress. She basically plays herself, I never see a character when I look at her. Despite these problems Truvy is entertaining to watch. She has a weird name too.

Shirley MacLaine as Ousiser: Ousiser is my favorite character. She has this big dog and she’s always grumpy. I feel that except I don’t have a dog. She’s like the punching bag of the group because she’s the butt of every joke. Even though she’s scowling most of the time she can be nice if she has to be. She has a cool name. MacLaine’s acting is perfect. She really sold this role, I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s like this in real life. Ousiser is outspoken but she has good intentions. I had a friend like that once but she was mean. We’re not friends anymore.

Daryl Hannah as Annelle Dupuy Desoto: What’s with this movie and weird names? Try to say Dupuy Desoto five times as fast as you can. The film opens with Annelle and she’s the outsider who eventually becomes welcomed into the group. At first she’s shy and clumsy. Eventually she opens up and even finds love. I liked seeing her grow. That’s something we can all relate to. Her growth felt natural. There isn’t a clear main character in this film but, I would like to think that Desoto is. Daryl Hannah is good in this role. She has a weird name.

Julia Roberts as Shelby Latcherie: Last but not least, Shelby is M’Lynn’s daughter and she has a lot of medical issues throughout the film. Julia Roberts got her first Oscar nomination from this film and she totally deserved it. Roberts’ acting feels so genuine. Her southern accent made my ears bleed, though. Shelby is a diabetic and develops kidney failure. Some scenes were hard to watch because Shelby is a young woman but her body is breaking down. This is something I can relate to personally. When you’re young you can do things that older people can’t do, obviously. It’s really tough to have to come to terms with the fact that your body has limits and sometimes you just can’t do the same thing that your peers are doing. The scene where Shelby and her mother are arguing about Shelby being pregnant was my favorite. You want to be happy for Shelby but, you also understand why M’Lynn is nervous about the potential complications that can come with birth. In the end, Shelby just wanted to be a good mother and it was sad that she passed away. RIP

Final Thoughts:

Steel Magnolias was pretty good. It’s really wholesome. I could see this being a Disney movie. There’s a part in the beginning where Shelby’s dad is trying to scare some birds out of a tree with a gun. Is that legal? Everyone is like “Drum is shooting at the birds again” This is a normal thing in the neighborhood? Someone call the cops? Imagine moving next door and you’re awakened by the sound of gunshots. You go outside and your neighbor is shooting at a tree. I would move out that same day. Another thing, where’s the black people? I swear I only saw like 5 black folk. This is in the south, right? Yall don’t have any soul food restaurants or something? M’Lynn gives Shelby one of her kidneys and then Shelby dies. Does that mean that M’Lynn can get her kidney back? Can someone please answer this? I wanna google it but I feel like I’m gonna get put on some kind of FBI watchlist. Guys, go watch Steel Magnolias. It’s a nice feel-good movie.

Rate:

B+