everything you have heard about this movie is true.

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

First off, a lot of people say the play is much better. I've never read it, even though it probably is true. Yet, the movie is still worth watching. Everybody managed to fit into their personalities, and did a fine job with character development. There were scenes that were very memorable and easy to relate to, such as the scene with the chocolates that were each taken a bite of by Meg. Or the part where Lenny asks Meg why she always had a bunch of jingle bells sowed on her dress while her and Babe only got three each. There are questions that are answered, pretty decent dialogue, and some funny moments. While this movie isn't a masterpiece, it's fun to watch on a rainy day. If you have siblings, you'll also easily relate to some of the problems faced with the characters. Diane Keaton, Sissy Spacek, and Jessica Lange had performances that you don't see everyday. I was quite surprised at how they delivered them. Watch it when you want something new and original.

mrsjcc0312 decided that she would say this: ================================================================ (mrsjcc0312)GREAT little movie for somebody who will actually pay attention to it. Personally, I really enjoyed the story line of this movie. Kinda like "Steele Magnolias", "Bigger", "Rosewood", "The Color Purple" (just name a few) combined all into a certain type of setting. It just went to show the ignorance of our pasts. Each actress played an excellent role, and whoever chose them did a wonderful job of doing so. Got MY thumbs up!! ================================================================ (me) Now that was a great review. Then for some reason it went off on a weird tangent. For instance, she says "To those of you who rated it low, SHAME ON YOU!" Why exactly is it her job to change people's opinions? ========================================================== (mrsjcc0312)To those of you who rated it low, SHAME ON YOU! Too Bad this measly little housewife can give a better review that you can. TRADE ME jobs! You can come here to my house and make sure the kids are taken care of, the military husband is cared for and the bills are paid, and I'LL go to sit and watch movies and get paid for it. Even Siskel and Ebert sucked at what they did!! Why do we even listen to you? ========================================================== (me)Then suddenly she went off on a different tangent again. Talking about her home life. Maybe she was drunk. Maybe she is angry with her husband. Maybe she should get off the computer and take care of her family and her husband is a control freak and she doesn't keep the house clean like he likes it and she burns the mac and cheese and everyone is angry and she has no one to blame. I am not sure what mrsjcc0312 does in her life, but I just wanted to read the comments about this movie. I have never read any of these and was curious. Odd the first one I read happens to be hers. Good luck in your life mrsjcc0312, I hope you get your life together. I liked Siskel and Ebert btw. ================================================================

This is a black comedy and despite the famous cast, definitely not my cup of tea. The talents of the three famous actresses were wasted on this depressing bit of drivel. I prefer comedies of the heartwarming, romantic, light hearted, or zany school.The story revolves around three troubled sisters in a Southern town, who reunite when the youngest, Babe (rather a bizarre character), gets herself in a jam after shooting her husband. The oldest sister, Lenny, is an awkward spinster who has stayed home throughout the years caring for her father. The alcoholic, chain smoking middle sister, Meg, left home early in the hopes of making it as a singer & actress in Hollywood. There's also a jealous & snoopy cousin, Chick, who's basically the villain of the piece.It has a stellar cast, especially its three leading ladies in the roles of the neurotic sisters, who are all coping in their individual ways following the trauma of their mother's suicide by hanging. Diane Keaton plays the shy, insecure, stammering spinsterish Lenny, who feels herself inadequate to attract a man because of her inability to bear children (due to shrunken ovaries). Jessica Lange is cast as the wild sister, Meg, who hates her father and has had a string of failed relationships with men...including a current love interest, Doc Porter (played by Sam Shepherd). Sissy Spacek is the kooky younger sister, Babe, who married at a young age an abusive man. Presumably well crafted with great performances, but the tale of the personal demons troubling the three eccentric sisters simply doesn't make for humour, as I see it. When Babe shoots her husband, then goes into the kitchen to make a pitcher of lemonade, and offers him a glass...well, it's not something I find hilarious or entertaining to watch. It's set in the South, and for me the best part of the film is the wonderful old Victorian family home where the sisters reunite. Otherwise, I'll stick to the Steel Magnolias type when I feel like a movie interweaving the tales of a group of women.

Mississippi-born Beth Henley adapted her Pulitzer-prize winning play to the screen and, for that reason alone, is worth a look-see especially if you haven't seen the theatre production. Directed here by Bruce Beresford, this is quintessential Henley -- her first work to be produced professionally -- offering the story of the three quirky, maladjusted Magrath sisters, who reunite following family misfortune to reflect on their unstable past, present and futures.Lenny, the eldest sister, is the repressed 'plain Jane' self-imposed into early spinsterhood because of her barren condition. Considering herself damaged goods, she now conducts her life as such, tending to her garden and other non-romantic pursuits. Meg, in the middle, is the listless live wire, the capricious, hard-living beauty who fled the coop early to pursue an aimless career in Hollywood as a singer. The prodigal daughter finally returns, rather reluctantly, when serious trouble brews back home. Babe, the youngest and most susceptible to eccentric behavior, seems to take after their dead, self-destructive mother (a suicide) as she battles with manic depression and resorts to off-the-wall bits of craziness. In jail at the present for critically shooting her husband (she "didn't like his looks"), her bizarre action prompts this filial reunion. As served up by a triune of powerhouse, Oscar-winning ladies, the star performances should have really cooked. Instead they seems unoriginal and pat. Diane Keaton and Jessica Lange are overtly mannered as the two older sisters Lenny and Meg. Keaton especially, easily the "Sandy Dennis of the 70s and 80s", has her neurotic fireworks on full display. The snorting laughter, the flailing gestures, the quizzical eye-rolling, the stammering speeches. What seemed delightfully offbeat in Woody Allen comedies has become old hat and irksome as the years roll on. Lange, too, has her patented affectations on all four burners. The far-away gaze, the slow, reflective speech patterns, the whimsical, lackadaisical laugh and edgy stance. Both of the actresses have represented themselves much better in other vehicles. Ironically, Sissy Spacek, whose character lends itself to be the most neurotic of the three, comes off more inspired and assured -- a complete departure, by the way, from her typical "Coal Miner's Daughter" money-maker. Good for her.In support, rangy actor/writer Sam Shepard, Lange's long-time off-camera squeeze, has little to do here but look longingly as Lange's on-camera squeeze. But Tess Harper goes way overboard as the overly-opiniated Chick, the snippy, mullet-haired cousin and next-door neighbor, who stereotypes the vicious down-home chatterbox to the nth degree. While her villainy (which kept jogging my memory of wonderful Madeleine Sherwood's Sister Woman portrayal in "Cat On a Hot Tin Roof") certainly enlivens the action as chief foil to the sisters, they tear down the walls of believability as well.Despite some well-acted moments from this unarguably talented cast, the overbaked production cannot overcome its stagy origins, striving much too much to push the "black comedy" element down the viewer's throat. One wacky scene has Diane Keaton chasing Tess Harper out of her house and around the backyard with a broom, a bit that comes off just plain ridiculous even though it's meant to be a catalyst for liberating Keaton's Lenny character. I'm sorry, but broom-chasing went out with Marjorie Main's "Ma Kettle" character years ago. This and other eccentric scenes simply come off forced, as if the actors are playing the intention instead of the moment. Lange and Shepard's giddy dancing drunk scene, Spacek's over-sugared lemonade bit, and even Keaton's impromptu birthday cake segment are guilty of this felonious acting charge.While definitely Tennessee Williams-influenced, the rather thin Henley story and characters pale in comparison. Working much better on stage, this movie remains, however, a curiosity item that somehow ended up on simmer instead of boil, despite the obvious potential.