Steel Magnolias (1989)

Revolving around Truvy's Beauty Parlor in a small parish in modern-day Louisiana, STEEL MAGNOLIAS is the story of a close-knit circle of friends whose lives come together there. As the ... See full summary »

Director:

Herbert Ross

Writers:

Robert Harling (screenplay), Robert Harling (play)

Stars:

Sally Field, Shirley MacLaine, Olympia Dukakis

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sally Field	...	M'Lynn Eatenton
Dolly Parton	...	Truvy Jones
Shirley MacLaine	...	Ouiser Boudreaux
Daryl Hannah	...	Annelle Dupuy Desoto
Olympia Dukakis	...	Clairee Belcher
Julia Roberts	...	Shelby Eatenton Latcherie
Tom Skerritt	...	Drum Eatenton
Sam Shepard	...	Spud Jones
Dylan McDermott	...	Jackson Latcherie
Kevin J. O'Connor	...	Sammy Desoto
Bill McCutcheon	...	Owen Jenkins
Ann Wedgeworth	...	Aunt Fern
Knowl Johnson	...	Tommy Eatenton
Jonathan Ward	...	Jonathan Eatenton
Bibi Besch	...	Belle Marmillion

Storyline

Revolving around Truvy's Beauty Parlor in a small parish in modern-day Louisiana, STEEL MAGNOLIAS is the story of a close-knit circle of friends whose lives come together there. As the picture opens, we find Drum Eatenton shooting birds in the trees of his back yard in preparation for his daughter's wedding reception that afternoon. Shortly thereafter, M'Lynn and Shelby (Drum's wife and daughter) depart for Truvy's to get their hair done for the wedding. "Just the sweetest thing," Annelle Depuy Desoto (who may or may not be married because her marriage may not be legal) is introduced to Truvy's customers as her new "glamour technician." While in the chairs, the sour-tempered Ouiser Boudreaux shows up and entertains the assemblage with her barbs. It seems that the only one of the group who truly understands Ouiser is Clairee who is recently widowed and looking for a diversion. As she says, later in the picture, "If you can't find anything good to say about anybody, come sit by me." ...

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Plot Keywords:

wedding | louisiana | beauty parlor | bird | armadillo | 

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Taglines:

The funniest movie ever to make you cry.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 November 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Magnolias de acero

Filming Locations:

Natchitoches, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$83,759,091 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

TriStar Pictures, Rastar Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby (as Dolby Stereo)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Dolly Parton and Daryl Hannah studied hair stylists so their scenes where they are doing hair would be real and authentic.

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Goofs

In Truvy's salon after Shelby gets done telling the ladies about her upcoming kidney transplant, Shelby gives her right hand to Truvy twice to finish her manicure.

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Quotes

Clairee: Why do you give all these to me?
Ouiser Boudreaux: Somebody's gotta take em, I hate em, I try not to eat healthy food if I can possibly help it.

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Connections

Referenced in Married with Children: Just Shoe It (1992)

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Soundtracks

"JAMBALAYA"
Written by Hank Williams
Performed by Tommy Funderburk

User Reviews

Inside a small circle of friends.

"Steel magnolias" is a chronicle of a small circle of friends .The actresses get the lion's share ,which has become unusual ;that alone is cause for celebration,mainly when the cast includes a grumpy sullen Shirley McLaine who overplays as hell,Sally -never without my daughter-Field,A holier-than- thou but good -hearted Daryl Hannah wearing horrible glasses ,a very young Julia Roberts who was more endearing than she is now in such parts as "Brockovich" and of course Dolly Parton -too bad she does not sing-.

The dramatic plot -Shelby's illness- is kept to the minimum,at least in the first hour.Then when the tragedy strikes,Herbert Ross avoids pathos and melodrama (it's not the return of Douglas Sirk).And the last scene is wonderful,Easter meaning a renaissance .As usual,Georges Delerue's score superbly enhances the film :he's so good a musician that even when the movie bores you (Godard's "le mépris" for instance,as far as I'm concerned),his tuneful work survives.