# Steel Magnolias

Steel Magnolias is a 1989 American comedy drama film directed by Herbert Ross and starring Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Shirley MacLaine, Daryl Hannah, Olympia Dukakis, and Julia Roberts. The screenplay by Robert Harling is based on his 1987 play of the same name about the bond a group of women share in a small-town Southern community, and how they cope with the death of one of their own. The supporting cast features Tom Skerritt, Dylan McDermott, Kevin J. O'Connor, and Sam Shepard. Harling based the story in part on his sister, Susan Harling Robinson, who died in 1985 of complications from type 1 diabetes. In the film, Roberts plays Shelby, the character based on Susan.
The film was released on November 15, 1989, and received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the humor and performances but criticised its portrayal of the South. Roberts, Field and MacLaine earned nominations for their performances; Roberts (who won Best Supporting Actress) and Field at the 47th Golden Globe Awards and MacLaine at the 44th British Academy Film Awards. At the 62nd Academy Awards, Roberts earned a nomination for Best Supporting Actress (her career-first nomination)

## Plot

Annelle Dupuy, a shy beauty school graduate, moves to Chinquapin Parish in northwestern Louisiana, where Truvy Jones hires her to work in her home-based beauty salon.
Meanwhile, M'Lynn Eatenton and her daughter, Shelby, busily prepare for Shelby's wedding that is being held later that day. M'Lynn's insufferable husband, Drum Eatenton, uses a gun to drive birds out of the trees so they do not interfere with Shelby's reception. Along with Clairee Belcher, the former mayor's cheerful widow, they arrive at Truvy's to have their hair done. While there, Shelby, who has type 1 diabetes, suffers a hypoglycemic attack, but recovers quickly with the women's help. M'Lynn reveals that due to Shelby's medical condition, her doctor advises against her having children. Shelby considered ending her engagement to her fiancé, Jackson, so he would not be deprived of children.
Grouchy and sarcastic Louisa "Ouiser" Boudreaux arrives at the salon and immediately begins interrogating Annelle about her background. Annelle tearfully reveals that her husband, who is evading the police, has disappeared after stealing her money, belongings, and car. Annelle further admits she is unsure her marriage is legal. Shelby, sympathetic, invites Annelle to the wedding reception, where she meets bartender Sammy DeSoto. At the Christmas festival later that year, Annelle, following a short-lived wild streak, has become a devout Christian, much to Sammy's annoyance, while Clairee has bought local radio station KPPD.
During the Christmas holidays, Shelby announces she is pregnant. Everyone is thrilled except M'Lynn, who knows the risks. Truvy encourages M'Lynn to instead focus on the joy a new baby brings.
Shelby has a baby boy and names him Jackson Latcherie Jr., but soon develops kidney failure requiring regular dialysis. Around Jackson Jr.'s first birthday, Shelby undergoes a successful transplant with M'Lynn's donated kidney. Shelby recovers, but four months later, Jackson arrives home to find her unconscious. Shelby is comatose, having contracted an infection in her central nervous system due to the suppressive therapy that keeps her body from rejecting the kidney. After doctors determine Shelby's condition is irreversible, the family jointly decide to remove her from life support, with Jackson signing the papers to consent. Shortly after Shelby's death, M'Lynn leaves the hospital and goes to Jackson's aunt Fern's house to pick up her grandson.
After the funeral, M'Lynn breaks down in tears, and the other women comfort her. M'Lynn gradually accepts her daughter's decision to have risked her life in return for a few special years of motherhood and decides to focus her energy on helping Jackson with raising her grandson. Annelle, who married Sammy and is now pregnant, tells M'Lynn she wants to name her own baby after Shelby, even if the baby turns out to be a boy, as she was the reason Annelle and Sammy met. M'Lynn approves, stating, "Life goes on."
At the town's Easter egg hunt, Annelle goes into labor and is rushed to the hospital by Truvy and her husband Spud in their truck, followed by Sammy in an Easter Bunny costume and Truvy and Spud's son Louie on Louie's motorcycle.

## Cast

| Actor | Character | Description |
| Sally Field | M'Lynn Eatenton | Social worker; wife to Drum; mother to Shelby, Jonathan and Tommy; Jackson's mother-in-law; Jack Jr.'s maternal grandmother |
| Dolly Parton | Truvy Jones | Glamour Technician; wife to Spud Jones; mother to Louie; town gossip |
| Shirley MacLaine | Louisa "Ouiser" Boudreaux | Clairee Belcher's best friend and confidante; Eatenton family's next-door neighbor; town grouch; Drum's nemesis |
| Daryl Hannah | Annelle Dupuy-DeSoto | Newcomer to town; apprentice beautician hired by Truvy Jones; first married to Bunkie Dupuy; later marries Sammy DeSoto |
| Olympia Dukakis | Clairee Belcher | Former town first lady; sister to Drew Marmillion; sister-in-law to Belle Marmillion; aunt to Marshall and Nancy Beth Marmillion; best friend and confidant of Ouiser Boudreaux; friend of the Eatentons and Joneses |
| Julia Roberts | Shelby Eatenton-Latcherie | Eldest child and only daughter of Drum and M'Lynn; sister to Jonathan and Tommy; marries Jackson and gives birth to Jack Jr.; suffers from type 1 diabetes |
| Tom Skerritt | Drum Eatenton | Husband of M'Lynn; father to Shelby, Jonathan, and Tommy; Jackson Latcherie's father-in-law; Jack Jr.'s maternal grandfather |
| Sam Shepard | Spud Jones | Sporadically employed laborer; Truvy's husband and Louie's father |
| Dylan McDermott | Jackson Latcherie | Lawyer; Shelby's husband; Jack Jr.'s father; Drum and M'Lynn's son-in-law and Jonathan and Tommy's brother-in-law |
| Kevin J. O'Connor | Sammy DeSoto | Annelle's eventual husband, who met her at Shelby and Jackson's wedding reception |
| Bill McCutcheon | Owen Jenkins | Ouiser's former boyfriend who recently returned to town |
| Ann Wedgeworth | Fern Thornton | Jackson's aunt; her specialty is baking animal-shaped cakes |
| Knowl Johnson | Tommy Eatenton | Drum and M'Lynn's first-born son and middle child; Shelby and Jonathan's brother; Jackson's brother-in-law; Jack Jr.'s maternal uncle |
| Jonathan Ward | Jonathan Eatenton | Drum and M'Lynn's second-born son and youngest child; Shelby and Tommy's brother; Jackson's brother-in-law; Jack Jr.'s maternal uncle |
| Bibi Besch | Belle Marmillion | Drew's wife; mother to Marshall and Nancy Beth; Clairee's sister-in-law |
| Janine Turner | Nancy Beth Marmillion | Drew and Belle's daughter; Marshall's sister; Clairee's niece; town's dethroned "Miss Merry Christmas" |
| James Wlcek | Marshall Marmillion | Drew and Belle's son; Nancy Beth's brother; Clairee's nephew; announces to his parents he is gay |
| Ronald Young | Drew Marmillion | Clairee Belcher's brother; husband to Belle Marmillion; father to Marshall and Nancy Beth |
| Tom Hodges | Louie Jones | Truvy and Spud's rebellious son |
| C. Houser | Jackson Latcherie Jr. (1 year old) | Jackson and Shelby's son; Drum and M'Lynn's grandson; Jonathan and Tommy's nephew |
| Daniel Camp | Jackson Latcherie Jr. (3 years old) | Jackson and Shelby's son; Drum and M'Lynn's grandson; Jonathan and Tommy's nephew |
| Norman Fletcher | Mr. Latcherie Sr. | Husband of Mrs. Latcherie Sr.; father of Jackson Sr.; father-in-law of Shelby; paternal grandfather of Jack Jr. |

## Background

The original play dramatized experiences of the family and friends of the playwright's following the 1985 death of his sister from diabetic complications after the birth of his namesake nephew and the failure of a family member's donated kidney. A writer friend continuously encouraged him to write it down in order to come to terms with the experience. He did but originally as a short story for his nephew then later to get an understanding of the deceased mother. It evolved in ten days into the play.

## Production

Harling's first produced screenplay, he adapted the original film script which was then heavily rewritten beyond the on-stage one-set scenario (which had taken place entirely in Truvy's beauty salon) of the stage production: the scenes increased and the sequence was more tightly linked with major holidays than the play; the increased characters beyond the original, all-female play cast caused dialogue changes between on-screen characters (among them, Harling plays the preacher and Truvy has one son instead of two).
Filming took place from July 12, 1988, to early September 1988 in Natchitoches, Louisiana, with historian Robert DeBlieux, a former Natchitoches mayor, as the local advisor. The house where much of the film was shot became a six-suite bed and breakfast, available for rent. The church used for a wedding scene is St. Augustine Catholic Church in Natchez on the historic Isle Brevelle.

## Reception
### Box office

Steel Magnolias grossed $84.6 million in the United States and Canada, and $12.1 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $96.8 million.
In the United States and Canada, the film debuted at number four in its opening weekend, grossing $5.4 million from 480 theaters. The following weekend, it expanded to 720 theaters and grossed $7 million.

### Critical response

Steel Magnolias received mixed reviews from critics upon release, although Roberts' performance was praised. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 73% of 81 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.5/10. The website's consensus reads: "Steel Magnolias has jokes and characters to spare, which makes it more dangerous (and effective) when it goes for the full melodrama by the end." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 56 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.
In a less enthusiastic review, Hal Hinson of The Washington Post said that the film felt "more Hollywood than the South." More enthusiastic was Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times, who said that the film was "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".

### Accolades

| Award | Year | Category | Recipient | Result |
| Academy Awards | 1989 | Best Supporting Actress | Julia Roberts | Nominated |
| Golden Globe Awards | 1989 | Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture | Julia Roberts | Won |
| Golden Globe Awards | 1989 | Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama | Sally Field | Nominated |
| British Academy Film Awards | 1991 | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | Shirley MacLaine | Nominated |
| Chicago Film Critics Association Awards | 1990 | Best Supporting Actress | Shirley MacLaine | Nominated |
| American Comedy Awards | 1990 | Funniest Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture | Shirley MacLaine | Nominated |
| American Comedy Awards | 1990 | Funniest Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture | Olympia Dukakis | Nominated |
| People's Choice Awards | 1990 | Favorite Dramatic Motion Picture | Steel Magnolias | Won |

## Home media

The film was released on VHS on June 19, 1990, and on DVD July 25, 2000, allowing the film to gross a further $40 million. The film's overall gross was $135,904,091. The film was released on Blu-ray through the boutique label Twilight Time, on September 11, 2012. A 30th anniversary Blu-ray was released on May 28, 2019. On April 23, 2024, the film was released on 4K Ultra-HD in honor of the 35th Anniversary.

## Other versions
### Lifetime remake

A remake of Steel Magnolias premiered on Lifetime on October 7, 2012, directed by Kenny Leon and featuring an all-black cast that includes Queen Latifah (M'Lynn), Jill Scott (Truvy), Alfre Woodard (Ouiser), Phylicia Rashād (Clairee), Adepero Oduye (Annelle), and Condola Rashād (Shelby).

### Television pilot

CBS aired a half-hour television pilot sitcom on August 17, 1990. The pilot, set after the events of the film, featured the same characters, except for Shelby. The cast included Cindy Williams as M'Lynn, Sally Kirkland as Truvy, Elaine Stritch as Ouiser, Polly Bergen as Clairee and Sheila McCarthy as Annelle. The show was not picked up to series.