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:

Mothers. Daughters. The never-ending story of good vs. evil.

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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. [us]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 Vivi, Caro, and Teensy are in the tub, Vivi's hair is in/out of the tub between shots.

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Quotes

Caro: Get comfortable, baby. I've got a full tank.

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Connections

References Gone with the Wind (1939)

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Soundtracks

"Assi Dans La Fenetre De Ma Chambre"
Performed by Blind Uncle Gaspard
Courtesy of Yazoo, a division of Shanachie Entertainment Corp.

User Reviews

Wise, Witty, and Wonderful!

After all the hype and comparisons to 'Steel Magnolias', 'Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood', sadly, did not do much box office, which was a shame, as it is a more intimate, realistic vision of women and life-long friendships than the glossier 'Magnolias'.

Four girl friends in Louisiana create a secret sisterhood in 1937, swearing eternal devotion to each other, and they remain best friends through all the triumphs and tragedies in their lives. When the daughter of one of them (Sandra Bullock), a successful playright, has an interview with Time magazine in which she condemns her mother's impact on her life, the mother (Ellen Burstyn, who is superb!) goes ballistic, cutting the daughter out of her life, totally. In charges the other members of the Sisterhood, kidnapping Bullock, and attempting to make things right!

The film then jumps back and forth in time, with Ashley Judd playing the younger Burstyn. She has a lot of happy adventures with her Ya-Ya sisters, but also has to deal with racism, a jealous religious zealot of a mother, an overly loving father (David Rasche, breaking free of his usual comic roles), a true love who dies in WWII, and a family with a guy she 'settles' for (played, in present day, by the wonderful James Garner). There is also a dark secret that is the core of the mother/daughter alienation, which must be dealt with in order for the rift between Bullock and Burstyn to heal (No, I will NOT give it away!)

If you do the math about the years covered, you realize the present-day story SHOULD be taking place in the seventies, at the latest, but this doesn't hurt the overall effectiveness of the picture. As the other present-day sisters, Fionnula Flanagan, Shirley Knight, and (especially) Maggie Smith are WONDERFUL, as is Angus MacFadyen, as Bullock's sympathetic and likable fiance.

While this is unabashedly a 'chick flick', something I really liked was that they DIDN'T fall back on that old chestnut of somebody dying to serve as a convenient catalyst for change and the healing process. And the dialog is full of wickedly hilarious one-liners about men, alcohol, friendship, and growing old!

Don't miss this gem!