[8]

The film adaptation of Robert Harling’s play is unabashedly melodramatic, nostalgic, and sentimental. Some of those qualities usually annoy the hell out of me, but the ensemble of great actresses and the slew of memorable one-liners make Steel Magnolias hard to resist. I care less about the dramatic Sally Field/Julia Roberts center story (mother, daughter, wedding, pregnancy, illness, blah) and more about the group scenes inside the beauty salon. Dolly Parton’s natural charisma is put to excellent use and Daryl Hannah gets to play against type as a mousy woman with a troubled past. Shirley MacLaine and Olympia Dukakis steal the show as the older, wiser, and snarkier of the group. Steel Magnolias takes a cue from Terms of Endearment, proving that the best dramas can also be the best comedies. Georges Delerue’s rich string-and-harmonica-driven score would seem overwrought in any other movie, but fits this picturesque film about family and community to a tee. With Sam Shepard and Tom Skerritt.

Oscar Nomination: Best Supporting Actress (Julia Roberts)