Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002)

After years of mother-daughter tension, Siddalee receives a scrapbook detailing the wild adventures of the "Ya-Yas", her mother's girlhood friends.

Director:

Callie Khouri

Writers:

Rebecca Wells (novels), Mark Andrus (adaptation),

Stars:

Sandra Bullock, Ellen Burstyn, Fionnula Flanagan

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sandra Bullock	...	Siddalee 'Sidda' Walker
Ellen Burstyn	...	Viviane Joan 'Vivi' Abbott Walker
Fionnula Flanagan	...	'Teensy' Melissa Whitman
James Garner	...	Shepard James 'Shep' Walker
Cherry Jones	...	Grandma 'Buggy' Abbott
Ashley Judd	...	Younger Vivi Abbott Walker
Shirley Knight	...	Necie Rose Kelleher
Angus Macfadyen	...	Connor McGill
Maggie Smith	...	Caro Eliza Bennett
Jacqueline McKenzie	...	Younger Teensy Whitman
Katy Selverstone	...	Younger Caro Bennett
Kiersten Warren	...	Younger Necie Kelleher
David Lee Smith	...	Younger Shep Walker
Gina McKee	...	Genevieve Whitman
Matthew Settle	...	Lt. Jack Whitman

Storyline

Siddalee, a famous New York playwright, is quoted in Time magazine and infuriates her dramatic, Southern mother. A long-distant fight wages until her mother's friends (and members of the Yaya Sisterhood) kidnap Siddalee and take her "home" to the South, where they hope to explain her mother's history and to patch up the rift between mother and daughter.

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Plot Keywords:

playwright | louisiana | interview | secret society | flashback | 

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Taglines:

The Secret Is Out

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic elements, language, and brief sensuality

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros. [United States]with trailer

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 June 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Divinos secretos

Filming Locations:

Burgaw, North Carolina, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$27,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$65,100 (South Africa) (4 October 2002)

Gross:

$199,958 (South Africa) (1 November 2002)

Company Credits

Production Co:

All Girl Productions, Gaylord Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Filmed in Wilmington, North Carolina at the same time as A Walk to Remember.

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Goofs

When old Vivi knocks on old Shep's door and subsequently they hug, their positions change between shots.

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Quotes

Vivi: I tried to be the best momma I could.
Connor: How did that go?
Vivi: Not so hot.

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Connections

Features Dough Ray Me-ow (1948)

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Soundtracks

"Keepin' Out of Mischief Now"
(1932)
Music by Fats Waller (as Thomas "Fats" Waller)
Lyrics by Andy Razaf
Produced by T-Bone Burnett (as T Bone Burnett)
Performed by Taj Mahal

User Reviews

A Profoundly Serious Movie

Despite its silly title, which just refers to a childhood game, this is a profoundly serious movie about reconciliation.

It spans three generations of women, tormented by religion and mental breakdown. It explores three generations of mother-daughter relationships.

This would be a great movie for any child of an abusive mother.

Siddalee, the Sandra Bullock character, gradually comes to understand her grandmother and mother and is thus gradually able to forgive them.

It is a frustrating movie. I found myself demanding the plot bound along with series of Hollywood contrivances, but it meanders and backtracks, tantalising then not delivering, much like real life.

The unbearably aching mood of reconciliation and nostalgia gradually develops, partly due to the long suffering, ever-loving Shep Walker (James Garner in a low-profile role quite unlike the ones he normally plays), and Connor (Angus Macfadyen), Siddalee's ever-patient Irish boyfriend.

Maggie Smith is in it, reason enough to watch it.

The movie recreates the south in lush Technicolor over three generations, a visual feast.

If you are embarrassed to cry in public, make sure to watch this alone.