"Six extraordinary friends. They share each other's laughter. They dry each other's tears."
A young beautician, newly arrived in a small Louisiana town, finds work at the local salon, where a small group of women share a close bond of friendship and welcome her into the fold.
Sally Field
M'Lynn Eatenton
Dolly Parton
Truvy Jones
Shirley MacLaine
Ouiser Boudreaux
Daryl Hannah
Annelle Dupuy
Olympia Dukakis
Clairee Belcher
Julia Roberts
Shelby Eatenton Latcherie
Tom Skerritt
Drum Eatenton
Sam Shepard
Spud Jones
Dylan McDermott
Jackson Latcherie
A young beautician, newly arrived in a small Louisiana town, finds work at the local salon, where a small group of women share a close bond of friendship and welcome her into the fold.
You can tell from the start that this was adapted from the stage. The dialogue--for the most part--has the same earnest theatrics as your average play, and honestly it works fairly well in a knock-off Tennessee Williams kind of way. And the stage adaptation becomes even more evident when it shows itself to be a comedy tear-jerker. And, as I said, that's fine. It has pro-talent and it's always nice to bring the stage into your living room from time to time.
"Steel Magnolias" is an emotionally barren experience throughout as it attempts to emulate the feeble "Beaches" (1988) and it largely accomplishes the same startling underachievement as that memorably lacklustre film. This time around we are introduced (or perhaps that should be we are subjected) to an assortment of constantly wittering women warbling on about a wealth of risible nonsense we are supposed to care about (or perhaps that should be find entertaining and funny), but in the main it is none of these things which is hardly surprising since much of it is aimed squarely at what will probably be a more appreciative female audience while the rest of us merely endure it - while wishing we were watching "Die Hard" instead - and we are never rewarded with anything of thought provoking consequence which might make any of it seem worthwhile.
For a grieving fiancée, learning to love again requires the help of her late love's three best friends.
Cheated on, mistreated and stepped on, the women are holding their breath, waiting for the elusive "good man" to break a string of less-than-stellar lovers. Friends and confidants Vannah, Bernie, Glo and Robin talk it all out, determined to find a better way to breathe.
Womanising, right-wing Dan Hanson and quiet, liberal Lorie Bryer work for the Baltimore Sun. Rivals for the job of new writer of a vacant column, the paper ends up instead printing their very different opinions alongside each other, which leads to a similarly combative local TV show. At the same time their initial indifference to each other looks like it may evolve into something more romantic.
Poppy's a free spirit. Alex loves a plan. After years of summer vacations, these polar-opposite pals wonder if they could be a perfect romantic match.
An unassuming high schooler finds himself inexplicably drawn to the free-spirited new girl, whose unconventional ways change how they see themselves…and their world.
After an accident at the hair salon, Violet realizes she's not living life to the fullest. A soulful barber helps her put the pieces back together.
Monica Wright and Quincy McCall grew up in the same neighborhood and have known each other since childhood. As they grow into adulthood, they fall in love, but they also share another all-consuming passion: basketball. As Quincy and Monica struggle to make their relationship work, they follow separate career paths though high school and college basketball and, they hope, into stardom in big-league professional ball.
Alcoholic former country singer Mac Sledge makes friends with a young widow and her son. The friendship enables him to find inspiration to resume his career.
Vada Sultenfuss is obsessed with death. Her mother is dead, and her father runs a funeral parlor. She is also in love with her English teacher, and joins a poetry class over the summer just to impress him. Thomas J., her best friend, is "allergic to everything", and sticks with Vada despite her hangups. When Vada's father hires Shelly, and begins to fall for her, things take a turn to the worse...
Graced with a velvet voice, 21-year-old Violet Sanford heads to New York to pursue her dream of becoming a songwriter only to find her aspirations sidelined by the accolades and notoriety she receives at her "day" job as a barmaid at Coyote Ugly. The "Coyotes" as they are affectionately called tantalize customers and the media alike with their outrageous antics, making Coyote Ugly the watering hole for guys on the prowl.