Suddenly, the chatter turns to tense concern as Shelby has a serious diabetic reaction. Not long after Ouiser (pronounced Weezer) ties her neurotic dog to a tree outside Truvy’s and enters the chatter of the shop, Shelby begins to look pale and feverish. You wonder if Shelby’s fiancée Jackson (Dylan McDermott) has any idea what he’s getting into. All the noise riles up the grumpy, wealthy, eccentric, widow neighbor Ouiser’s (Shirley MacLaine) St. Shelby’s father, Drum Eatenton (Tom Skerritt who played Sally’s husband in the first few episodes of the current TV drama Brothers and Sisters), is working hard to scare a flock of birds out of the trees in the backyard for the reception with guns and fireworks. Written by Robert Harling, directed by Herbert Ross and produced by Ray Stark, it brings together a powerhouse cast of strong, beautiful, funny and passionate women who are all “steel magnolias” themselves.

Set in small town Louisiana, the story revolves around the lives and friendships of six women and Truvy’s Beauty Spot, a carport-turned-beauty-shop which serves as a great metaphor for the way these women bring beauty and depth to ordinary small town life. In its 20th anniversary year, the cast, story and soundtrack continue to embody the title: Steel Magnolias. Whenever I need a good cry and a good laugh, I reach for this one 9 times out of 10. Perhaps that’s why this movie is on the top of my “cry pile”. “Laughter through tears is one of my favorite emotions,” exclaims Dolly Parton’s character, Truvy in the 1989 film Steel Magnolias. The women in this movie are all those things and more, well, except for the thousands of years old part. Magnolias are an ancient flower that, though beautifully fragile and delicate looking, have stood the tests of time and the seasons of change over thousands of years.

Sweet magnolia soundtrack