The Reel Review
A group of women in Northwest Louisiana rely on their long-lasting friendship to overcome adversity, personal tragedies and unimaginable grief, their delicate appearances a façade for their incredible strength and resilience. Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Shirley MacLaine, Olympia Dukakis, Daryl Hannah and Julia Roberts star in this 1989 tearjerker based on a true story.
With a laundry list of quotable one-liners, Steel Magnolias is a classic, despite an at times corny and over-the-top first half. Most of the ensemble cast give impressive, iconic performances – the exceptions being Julia Roberts with a cringey Southern accent as Shelby and Tom Skerritt as her silly, cartoonish father. The clever one-upmanship and gossip in Truvy’s beauty shop is a fun glimpse inside these women’s worlds.
A beautiful, stirring score and equally beautiful visuals capture life in 1980s Northwest Louisiana, culminating with Sally Field’s big emotional moment in the now-iconic, gravesite scene. Bring tissues. Steel Magnolias is a crowd-pleasing classic.
REEL FACTS
• Robert Harling wrote his 1987 stage play in honor of his sister Susan, who, after the birth of her son and an unsuccessful kidney transplant from their mother, died in 1983 at the age of 33 from complications from diabetes. In the film, Harling plays the pastor who performs both Shelby’s wedding and her funeral.
• Herbert Ross, whose wife died a year before filming, was notoriously hard on his cast, in particular acting newcomers Julia Roberts and Dolly Parton, which led to all of the women bonding during filming. Shirley MacLaine, who along with Tom Skerritt, starred in Ross’s 1977 drama The Turning Point, scolded Ross, saying his behavior was diminishing the memory of his late wife.
• Steel Magnolias was filmed in historic Natchitoches, which to this day features tours of film locations and where its famous cast stayed in town during filming.
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