Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood

There's death, domestic violence, alcoholism, racism, attempted suicide, and a mental breakdown. Naturally, it's a comedy about the eccentricities of Southern women.Read Full Review »

The only character we get to know fully as she evolves from child to older woman is Vivi. Too bad the movie didn't also trace the lives of her "sisters." That might have been divine.Read Full Review »

Less successful in exploring the long-term effects of mental breakdown than in dispensing short-term comic pick-me-ups, Ya-Ya wrings abundant laughter and tears.Read Full Review »

This is a work of excess and passion, an untidy sprawl of a motion picture that is sometimes ragged, occasionally uncertain, but -- and this is what's important -- always warm, accessible and rich in emotional life.Read Full Review »

Perhaps not since "Steel Magnolias" has Hollywood turned out a movie so resolutely for and about women.Read Full Review »

Isn't so much a movie as a tract, a parable in which the charred wisdom of its characters is much more significant than the intricacies of their lives.Read Full Review »

The tart, often jauntily profane dialogue and sharp interactions of the present-day relationships give Divine Secrets its occasional zip; when Khouri takes us back in time, especially to the Ya-Yas' early childhood, the movie flags.Read Full Review »

The movie doesn't have any undercurrents, psychological or cinematic. -- The Blessed Mother ends up looking like a drunken housewife.Read Full Review »

The magnolias in Callie Khouri's fried green movie look limp.Read Full Review »

Except for Ashley Judd, who shows true grit as Vivi in her babe days, the effect is like being buried in molasses. For guys whose pain threshold is way low when it comes to the bonding of Steel Magnolias, Ya-Ya is a definite no-no.Read Full Review »