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Steel Magnolias is a story of Southern women.  They may be delicate but they are strong.  Life is not easy but with the help of friends and family they can thrive.  Cory and Barb start the Movies That Make You Cry triple with this great movie.

Steel Magnolias:

This ensemble cast is wonderful.  Each actress seems to inhabit their parts. Drum & M’Lynn (Tom Skerritt & Sally Field) are working hard to provide a good and happy wedding day for their daughter Shelby (Julia Roberts) and her love Jackson (Dylan McDermott). We are introduced to the town through the eyes of an outsider Annelle (Daryl Hannah) as she walks to work at Truvy’s (Dolly Parton) Salon.

The salon and the women that frequent it are our Steel Magnolias.  Strong Southern women that face the challenges of life, love and loss together and support each other along the way. Clairee (Olympia Dukakis) and Ouiser (Shirley MacLeain) bicker and pick at  each other but, are best friends.  They are there to help and encourage Shelby and M’Lynn along the way.

Annelle comes in meek and timid, goes wild, becomes an stuck-up Christian lady and then finally settles in to a good woman. She and the other women grow and change for the better all though the movie.  Some of the changes are subtle and some more visible.  But life is about growing in the hard and the easy times.

Shelby is a diabetic and has major health issues.  The courts won’t let her and Jackson adopt.  So they decide to have a child and face the risks.  Shelby wants her mother’s support but, M’Lynn is hesitant.  Jack Jr. arrives just fine and the whole family is happy.  But the pregnancy killed Shelby’s kidneys and dialysis is hard.  M’Lynn donates hers to help her daughter have a fuller life.

There are complications later and Shelby collapses.  She is in a coma.  M’Lynn continues to fight for and love on Shelby but, they all have to let her go.  Shelby is gone but the women bear up under the pressures and help each other.  Laughter and tears comes with their love and loss.  Strength and beauty shine through because these are our steel magnolias.

Summary:

The title of this triple is Movies That Make You Cry.  This one is a great start.  We have tears of sadness, yes, but we have tears of laughter as well.  The dialogue in the movie is great and so is the acting. The movie deals with love in all of its’ many stages.  It shows how people grow and change.  It shows the sacrifices we make for the people we love.  Most of all it shows the importance of family.  A family is build by blood and family is built by friendship.  It is a great movie and shows the strength of Southern women.  These women are so like the many strong and beautiful women I (Geoff) know and love.  Have a good cry and have some good laughs with this movie.  Then hold your family tight!

Music:

The soundtrack is beautiful, take a listen.

I Got Mine by Ry Cooder

You can by the George Delerue’s soundtrack from Amazon.

Name That Movie:

The clue this week was:  Starting at Steel Magnolias and Julia Roberts. Julia also co-stared in this film about a robbery in Las Vegas.
Which lead us to the following movie: The movie is “Ocean’s Eleven.”

Feedback:

Send in your Triplecast ideas, thoughts, memories and feedback by calling 304-837-2278 or by visiting www.goldenspiralmedia.com/feedback

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