All the characters in this storybook Southern town have storybook names like M'Lynn and Truvy and Shelby and Clairee. After awhile, it gets a little sickening--one longs for a female character named Margaret. "Steel Magnolias" is so smooth it's starchy. I admired some of the actresses (Dolly Parton and Daryl Hannah in particular), but the script is just stale bread soaked in soap suds. The movie does play better on television than it did in theaters simply because the material is more suited for the tube, but that doesn't excuse Herbert Ross's lethargic pacing and staging, the rat-rat-a-tat rhythm of the screenplay dialogue, nor the constant overacting by 80% of the women. You certainly can't expect monumental emotions from a picture set in a small town beauty parlor where gossip, romance and lives are played out, but, since this is aimed at "Terms Of Endearment" fans, some actual, heartfelt feelings might not be too much to ask. "Steel Magnolias" doesn't have them. It's got the frosting all right, but the cake is a fake. ** from ****
Review of Steel Magnolias
