Annelle Dupuy, a shy beauty school graduate, moves to Chinquapin Parish in northwestern Louisiana, where Truvy Jones hires her to work in her home-based beauty salon.
Meanwhile, M'Lynn Eatenton and her daughter, Shelby, busily prepare for Shelby's wedding that is being held later that day. M'Lynn's insufferable husband, Drum Eatenton, uses a gun to drive birds out of the trees so they do not interfere with Shelby's reception. Along with Clairee Belcher, the former mayor's cheerful widow, they arrive at Truvy's to have their hair done. While there, Shelby, who has type 1 diabetes, suffers a hypoglycemic attack, but recovers quickly with the women's help. M'Lynn reveals that due to Shelby's medical condition, her doctor advises against her having children. Shelby considered ending her engagement to her fiancé, Jackson, so he would not be deprived of children.
Grouchy and sarcastic Louisa "Ouiser" Boudreaux arrives at the salon and immediately begins interrogating Annelle about her background. Annelle tearfully reveals that her husband, who is evading the police, has disappeared after stealing her money, belongings, and car. Annelle further admits she is unsure her marriage is legal. Shelby, sympathetic, invites Annelle to the wedding reception, where she meets bartender Sammy DeSoto. At the Christmas festival later that year, Annelle, following a short-lived wild streak, has become a devout Christian, much to Sammy's annoyance, while Clairee has bought local radio station KPPD.
During the Christmas holidays, Shelby announces she is pregnant. Everyone is thrilled except M'Lynn, who knows the risks. Truvy encourages M'Lynn to instead focus on the joy a new baby brings.
Shelby has a baby boy and names him Jackson Latcherie Jr., but soon develops kidney failure requiring regular dialysis. Around Jackson Jr.'s first birthday, Shelby undergoes a successful transplant with M'Lynn's donated kidney. Shelby recovers, but four months later, Jackson arrives home to find her unconscious. Shelby is comatose, having contracted an infection in her central nervous system due to the suppressive therapy that keeps her body from rejecting the kidney. After doctors determine Shelby's condition is irreversible, the family jointly decide to remove her from life support, with Jackson signing the papers to consent. Shortly after Shelby's death, M'Lynn leaves the hospital and goes to Jackson's aunt Fern's house to pick up her grandson.
After the funeral, M'Lynn breaks down in tears, and the other women comfort her. M'Lynn gradually accepts her daughter's decision to have risked her life in return for a few special years of motherhood and decides to focus her energy on helping Jackson with raising her grandson. Annelle, who married Sammy and is now pregnant, tells M'Lynn she wants to name her own baby after Shelby, even if the baby turns out to be a boy, as she was the reason Annelle and Sammy met. M'Lynn approves, stating, "Life goes on."
At the town's Easter egg hunt, Annelle goes into labor and is rushed to the hospital by Truvy and her husband Spud in their truck, followed by Sammy in an Easter Bunny costume and Truvy and Spud's son Louie on Louie's motorcycle.
Former town first lady; sister to Drew Marmillion; sister-in-law to Belle Marmillion; aunt to Marshall and Nancy Beth Marmillion; best friend and confidant of Ouiser Boudreaux; friend of the Eatentons and Joneses
Eldest child and only daughter of Drum and M'Lynn; sister to Tommy and Jonathan; marries Jackson and gives birth to Jackson Jr.; suffers from type 1 diabetes
Jackson and Shelby's son; Drum and M'Lynn's grandson; Tommy and Jonathan's nephew
Daniel Camp
Jackson Latcherie Jr. (3 years old)
Norman Fletcher
Mr. Latcherie Sr.
Husband of Mrs. Latcherie Sr.; father of Jackson Sr.; father-in-law of Shelby; paternal grandfather of Jackson Jr.
Background
The original play dramatized experiences of the family and friends of the playwright following the 1985 death of his sister from diabetic complications after the birth of his namesake nephew and the failure of a family member's donated kidney. A writer friend continuously encouraged him to write it down in order to come to terms with the experience. He did but originally as a short story for his nephew then later to get an understanding of the deceased mother. It evolved in ten days into the play.[4][5]
Production
Harling's first produced screenplay, he adapted the original film script which was then heavily rewritten beyond the on-stage one-set scenario (which had taken place entirely in Truvy's beauty salon) of the stage production: the scenes increased and the sequence was more tightly linked with major holidays than the play; the increased characters beyond the original, all-female play cast caused dialogue changes between on-screen characters (among them, Harling plays the preacher and Truvy has one son instead of two).
Steel Magnolias grossed $84.6 million in the United States and Canada, and $12.1 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $96.8 million.[2]
In the United States and Canada, the film debuted at number four in its opening weekend, grossing $5.4 million from 480 theaters. The following weekend, it expanded to 720 theaters and grossed $7 million.[9]
Critical response
Steel Magnolias received mixed reviews from critics upon release, although Roberts's performance was praised.[10]On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 73% of 81 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.5/10.The website's consensus reads: "Steel Magnolias has jokes and characters to spare, which makes it more dangerous (and effective) when it goes for the full melodrama by the end."[11]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 56 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[12]
In a less enthusiastic review, Hal Hinson of The Washington Post said that the film felt "more Hollywood than the South."[13] More enthusiastic was Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times, who said that the film was "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".[14]
The film was released on VHS on June 19, 1990, and on DVD July 25, 2000, allowing the film to gross a further $40million.[18][19] The film's overall gross was $135,904,091. The film was released on Blu-ray through the boutique label Twilight Time, on September 11, 2012. A 30th anniversary Blu-ray was released on May 28, 2019. On April 23, 2024, the film was released on 4K Ultra-HD in honor of the 35th Anniversary.
CBS aired a half-hour television pilot sitcom on August 17, 1990. The pilot, set after the events of the film, featured the same characters, except for Shelby. The cast included Cindy Williams as M'Lynn, Sally Kirkland as Truvy, Elaine Stritch as Ouiser, Polly Bergen as Clairee and Sheila McCarthy as Annelle.[3] The show was not picked up to series.
↑ Forsberg, Myra (March 18, 1990). "Julia Roberts Faces a Test of Character". The New York Times. Retrieved June 25, 2024. While her fervent portrayal of a doomed diabetic impressed many academy members and critics, the film itself ... earned decidedly mixed reviews.
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