Synopsis
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.
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Cast
- Sally FieldM'Lynn Eatenton
- Dolly PartonTruvy Jones
- Shirley MacLaineOuiser Boudreaux
- Daryl HannahAnnelle Dupuy
- Olympia DukakisClairee Belcher
- Julia RobertsShelby Eatenton Latcherie
- Tom SkerrittDrum Eatenton
- Sam ShepardSpud Jones
- Dylan McDermottJackson Latcherie
- Kevin J. O'ConnorSammy Desoto
Recommendations
- 100
The Guardian
This film is a true story and a brilliant depiction of friendship that manages to be witty, warm, uplifting, and, just when you thought you were safe, utterly heartbreaking. It’s also frequently laugh-out-loud funny. - 90
Variety
Field does some spectacular underplaying through the bulk of the action, revealing layer after layer of the feelings of this kindly tempered, deeply worried mother. - 75
Chicago Sun-Times
The principal pleasure of the movie is in the ensemble work of the actresses, as they trade one-liners and zingers and stick together and dish the dirt. Steel Magnolias is 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. - 75
Rolling Stone
No use fighting it. this laugh-getting, tear-jerking, part-affecting, part-appalling display of audience manipulation is practically critic-proof...The result can best be described as shamelessly entertaining. - 60
Empire
It may be unfair to compare a film with its stage source, but the fact remains that the film, while retaining a great deal of both humour and pathos, is a less persuasive work and more obviously a vehicle for a starry ensemble. - 60
TV Guide Magazine
Steel Magnolias is an old-fashioned "klatsch" film, a prefeminist relic in which a group of women eschew the public world of men in favor of the community of the coffee table. Their world is shown as inferior to men's in terms of power but superior to it in emotion and insight into the things that "really matter." - 60
Time Out
Thanks to Field's no-nonsense performance, this potentially maudlin scenario is briskly handled...With all the male characters kept strictly functional, it makes a shameless bid for your heart, aiming to have you smiling one moment, sniffling the next. - 50
Washington Post
It's the feelings, the tears, the laughter, the stuff that makes Gene Shalit stand up and cheer. It's showboating time and if that's what you want, the "Magnolias" gangplank lies before you.
