That was an excellent one.

Perfect cast and a good story

I was totally surprised at how great this film.You could feel your paranoia rise as the film went on and as you gradually learned the details of the real situation.

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

Spoiler alert. I just re-watched this and I'm wondering if I missed something? Was the big "secret" that mama had a breakdown and beat the kids that one time ? Is that supposed to be the big "trauma"? Yes it's terrible but some kids got that on a regular basis not just one time. Then mama goes away and comes back and it's all sunny again? Then what's soda holding a grudge for? Is there more to it in the book?

Divine secrets of the ya ya sisterhood is not as good as I thought it would be. It does feature good performances from Ellen Burstyn, Sandra bullock, Maggie smith, and Ashley Judd. Judd is particularly great here, her best performance If u ask me. The script is so so. That's the key with this film, the actor's performances are great, but the script is questionable. The storyline is sweet, with some mature and very heavy subject matters. It is handled nicely I think, but there are just soma kinda uneven places in the movie. I dint think it's a bad movie at all, I just personally believe it could have been better than it was. 6/10

I had postponed watching 'Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood' because I thought it would be just another melodramatic glossy film like 'Steel Magnolias'. I finally got myself to see it last night. After all how bad could a movie, with a cast that includes Ellen Burstyn, Sandra Bullock, Maggie Smith, Fionnula Flanagan, James Garner and Shirley Knight, be? Now I can say that 'Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood' did not disappoint.First of all, this is a performance oriented film. It is the acting by every single actor that makes this film stand above others. The movie has some great one-liners that are wonderfully delivered by the actors. Ellen Burstyn, Ashley Judd, Maggie Smith, Sandra Bullock, Fionnula Flanagan, Shirley Knight, Angus MacFadyen and James Garner are superb. Their line delivery and knack for comedy and/or subtle intensity is excellent.I found the timeline to be a bit inconsistent. The art direction in the 30s setting is brilliant. Detail is given to the costumes, makeup, gestures and language of the actors. However, the present day, which is supposed to be set in the 70s doesn't give that feel at all. I also would have liked to see more backstory on Teensy, Caro and Necie. After all, the story is about their sisterhood.Even though flawed, it's an interesting study on relationships. The balance of comedy and intensity is well done and it avoids being the 'tearjerker melodrama' that 'Steel Magnolias' is.

Ellyn Burstyn, Finnoula Flanagan, Shirley Knight and Maggie Smith hold "The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood," a girlhood pact made in childhood, in this 2002 film also starring Sandra Bullock, Ashley Judd and James Garner. Bullock plays Sidda, a successful writer and the daughter of the outrageous Vivi. Both mother and daughter are in crisis after Sidda's profile appears in Time Magazine, and the profile's author has emphasized Sidda's problems with her mother. Mother and daughter start sending hate notes, photos with their faces cut out, invitations with no address or date, etc. to one another as well as hanging up the phone upon hearing the other's voice. The other three ya-yas visit Sidda, slip her a date-rape drug and bring her to Louisiana, where they all live, so they can show her their Ya-ya secrets book and she can learn some things about her mother that she never knew.The somewhat contrived plot is saved by the wonderful acting of the entire cast. Burstyn has long been one of my favorite actresses, and she creates a powerful portrait of the alcoholic temperamental diva Vivi. She's backed up beautifully by another of my favorite actresses, Maggie Smith as well as Flanagan and Knight. Ashley Judd plays the young Vivi. She does an excellent job showing Vivi's progression from a fun-loving young woman rejected by her mother (Cherry Jones) but adored by her father to an unhappy, drunken and overwhelmed one with a husband she doesn't love and too many children. Bullock's angry Sidda is effective, and her scenes with Burstyn are very poignant. James Garner as Bullock's long- suffering but loving father gives a wonderful performance, showing a caring but resigned man who has somehow managed to live with this woman for years.This isn't Fried Green Tomatoes. It's a portrait of an abusive childhood, mental illness, misinformation about medications - and survival. Unfortunately some of the people reviewing this film don't have a clear understanding of mental illness and what the wrong medication can do to someone. The story is tempered with humor and vibrant characterizations and the old adage, we don't pick our parents; if we can make our peace with their lives and with them, it makes life a little easier.