Steel Magnolias (1989)

Los Angeles Times
"...Parton has a sweet, lilting presence..." 11/15/1989 p.C1

Chicago Sun-Times 9 of 10
Steel Magnolias is essentially a series of comic one-liners leading up to a teary tragedy, but let it be said that the one-liners are mostly funny and the tragedy deserves most, but not all, of the tears. The movie takes place in Louisiana during what is said to be the 1980s and involves a tightly knit group of women friends whose husbands (being absent, depressed or dead) leave them lots of time to gossip at the beauty parlor. Gossip is what they do best, and one of the characters even appropriates Alice Roosevelt Longworth's immortal line, "If you have something bad to say about somebody...sit down right here beside me!" ...The beauty shop is operated by Dolly Parton in still another reminder that she is one of the sunniest and most natural of actresses. Into her hands, at the beginning of the movie, comes a young bride-to-be (Julia Roberts), who almost faints when she sees herself in the mirror. It's not shock, it's diabetes, and a glass of orange juice brings her around. Parton has just hired a new girl (Daryl Hannah), who does her best with the mother of the bride (Sally Field). Dropping in to exchange insights are Shirley MacLaine, as the richest and meanest woman in town, and Olympia Dukakis, whose character has lost her husband but has a pot-bellied suitor on the horizon. These six women are the steel magnolias of the title, Southern belles who are dippy on the outside but strong enough inside to survive any challenge, of which in this film there are many. At first we are not aware of impending tragedy, however, because the movie sticks so successfully to its comic dialogue. I doubt if any six real women could be funny and sarcastic so consistently (every line is an epigram), but I love the way these women talk, especially when Parton observes: "What separates us from the animals is our ability to accessorize." ...this is a woman's picture. And the women in it cook and sew and mend and drive each other around town. They fight and make up and hug each other and cry. They get their hair done. And when tragedy strikes and there is a death in their little group, they have the strength to grieve and the character to smile through their tears... The movie was written by Robert Harling, based on his own play, and directed by Herbert Ross, who choreographs wonderfully entertaining performances from all of the women in his cast - especially MacLaine as the town nut case who lurches around in overalls, towed by a big, ugly dog. The principal pleasure of the movie is in the ensemble work of the actresses, as they trade one-liners and zingers and stick together and dish the dirt. Steel Magnolias is willing to sacrifice its over-all impact for individual moments of humor, and while that leaves us without much to take home, you've got to hand it to them: The moments work. - Roger Ebert