Classic, star-studded movie Steel Magnolias will be your next comfort watch, but be warned: it’s a bittersweet one.
Starring Julia Roberts — she earned her first Oscar nomination for this role — as well as Sally Field, Dolly Parton and Shirley MacLaine, the 1989 movie revolves around a beauty salon in Louisiana.
Hailed as “tearjerker” that’s also an “irresistible” comedy on Rotten Tomatoes, the film is now available to watch on Prime Video in the UK.
Steel Magnolias is based on the play of the same name by Robert Harling, who also wrote the script for the film.
Directed by Herbert Ross, the movie, much like the play, follows a group of tight-knit women convening in Truvy Jones’s (Parton) beauty parlour.
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The salon becomes the centre of the town’s gossip as Shelby Eatenton (Roberts) prepares for her wedding, aided by her mother M’Lynne (Field).
Meanwhile, new, shy beautician Annelle Dupuy (Daryl Hannah) joins the circle when she’s hired by Truvy and immediately quizzed about her background by town grouch Louisa “Ouiser” Boudreaux (MacLaine).
Cast for the movie is rounded out by Olympia Dukakis as former town First Lady Clairee Belcher, Tom Skerritt as Shelby’s father and M’Lynne’s husband Drum, Sam Shepard as Truvy’s husband Spud, and Dylan McDermott as Shelby’s husband-to-be Jackson Latcherie.
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With mostly positive reviews, the film has a 73% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes and is one to catch up on if you wish to revisit Roberts’ earlier roles prior to her big break in Pretty Woman, released in 1990.
Also starring Roberts and currently available to stream on Prime Video are 1997 rom-com My Best Friend’s Wedding, 2011 drama Fireflies in the Garden and series Homecoming and Gaslit.
Steel Magnolias is available to stream on Prime Video in the UK.
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Stefania is a freelance writer specialising in TV and movies. After graduating from City University, London, she covered LGBTQ+ news and pursued a career in entertainment journalism, with her work appearing in outlets including Little White Lies, The Skinny, Radio Times and Digital Spy.
Her beats are horror films and period dramas, especially if fronted by queer women. She can argue why Scream is the best slasher in four languages (and a half).
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