Robert Harling based the story in part on his sister, Susan Harling Robinson. She died in 1985 of complications from Type 1 diabetes. In the film, Julia Roberts plays Shelby, the character based on Susan.[5]
Plot
Annelle Dupuy, a shy beauty school graduate, moves to Chinquapin Parish in northwestern Louisiana, where Truvy Jones hires her to work in her home-based beauty salon.
Meanwhile, M'Lynn Eatenton and her daughter, Shelby, busily prepare for Shelby's wedding that is being held later that day. M'Lynn's husband Drum Eatenton first uses a gun to get rid of the birds in the trees so they don't ruin Shelby's reception. M'Lynn hides the gun when Drum goes to the restroom, so he ends up using a few arrows and a bow with firecrackers attached to them to get rid of the birds. Along with Clairee Belcher—the former mayor's cheerful widow—they arrive at Truvy's to have their hair done. While there, Shelby, who has Type 1 diabetes, suffers a hypoglycemic attack, but recovers quickly with the women's help. M'Lynn reveals that due to Shelby's medical condition, her doctor advises against her having children. Shelby considered ending her engagement to her fiancé, Jackson, so he would not be deprived of children.
Grouchy and sarcastic Louisa "Ouiser" Boudreaux arrives at the salon and immediately begins interrogating Annelle about her background. Annelle tearfully reveals that her no-good husband, Bunkie, is evading the police and has taken all their money, her clothes and jewelry, and the car. Annelle further admits she is unsure her marriage is legal. Shelby, sympathetic, invites Annelle to the wedding reception where she meets bartender Sammy DeSoto. At the Christmas festival later that year, Annelle, following a short-lived wild streak, becomes deeply religious, annoying everyone, including Sammy. And Shelby finds out that Clairee bought the radio station KPPD.
During the Christmas holidays, Shelby announces she is pregnant. Everyone is thrilled except M’Lynn, who knows the risks. Truvy encourages M'Lynn to instead focus on the joy a new baby brings.
Shelby has a baby boy and names him Jackson Latcherie Jr., but soon develops kidney failure requiring regular dialysis. Around Jackson Jr.'s first birthday, Shelby undergoes a successful transplant with M'Lynn's donated kidney. Shelby recovers, but four months later, Jackson arrives home to find her unconscious. Shelby is comatose, having contracted an infection in her central nervous system due to the suppressive therapy that keeps her body from rejecting the kidney. After doctors determine Shelby's condition is irreversible, the family jointly decide to remove her from life support and Jackson is seen signing the papers to consent. Shortly after Shelby's death, M'Lynn leaves the hospital and goes to Jackson's aunt Fern's house to pick up her grandson.
After the funeral, Jackson is seen walking to the family car with his parents beside him and Shelby's brothers Tommy and Johnathan are seen walking to their car. Shortly after that, M'Lynn starts breaking down, but the other women comfort her. M'Lynn gradually accepts her daughter's decision to have risked her life in return for a few special years of motherhood and decides to focus her energy on helping Jackson with raising her grandson. Annelle who married Sammy and is now pregnant, tells M'Lynn she wants to name her own baby after Shelby, even if the baby turns out to be a boy as she was the reason Annelle and Sammy met. M'Lynn approves, stating, "Life goes on."
At the town's Easter egg hunt, Annelle goes into labor and is rushed to the hospital by Truvy and her husband Spud in their truck, followed by Sammy in an Easter Bunny costume and Truvy and Spud's son Louie on Louie's motorcycle, and another life begins.
Former town first lady; sister to Drew Marmillion; sister-in-law to Belle Marmillion; aunt to Marshall and Nancy Beth Marmillion; best friend and confidant of Ouiser Boudreaux; friend of the Eatentons and Joneses
Eldest child and only daughter of Drum and M'Lynn Eatenton; sister to Jonathan and Tommy; marries Jackson Latcherie and gives birth to Jack Latcherie Jr.; suffers from type one diabetes
Jackson and Shelby Latcherie's son; Drum and M'Lynn Eatenton's grandson; Jonathan and Tommy Eatenton's nephew
Daniel Camp
Jackson Latcherie Jr. (3 years old)
Norman Fletcher
Mr. Latcherie Sr.
Husband of Mrs. Latcherie Sr.; father of Jackson Latcherie Sr.; father-in-law of Shelby; paternal grandfather of Jack Jr.
Background
The original play dramatized experiences of the family and friends of the playwright's following the 1985 death of his sister from diabetic complications after the birth of his namesake nephew and the failure of a family member's donated kidney. A writer friend continuously encouraged him to write it down in order to come to terms with the experience. He did but originally as a short story for his nephew then later to get an understanding of the deceased mother. It evolved in ten days into the play.[6][7]
Production
Released by TriStar Pictures in the United States on November 15, 1989, it grossed more than $83.7 million at the box office. Harling's first produced screenplay, he adapted the original film script which was then heavily rewritten beyond the on-stage one-set scenario (which had taken place entirely in Truvy's beauty salon) of the stage production: the scenes increased and the sequence was more tightly linked with major holidays than the play; the increased characters beyond the original, all-female play cast caused dialogue changes between on-screen characters (among them, Harling plays the preacher and Truvy has one son instead of two). Natchitoches, Louisiana served as both the 1989 film location and scenario location[8] with historian Robert DeBlieux, a former Natchitoches mayor, as the local advisor.[9] The house where much of the film was shot is now a six-suite B&B, available for rent.[10] The church used for a wedding scene is St Augustine Catholic Church in Natchez on the historic Isle Brevelle.
Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 67% of 36 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6/10. The website's consensus reads: "Steel Magnolias has jokes and characters to spare, which makes it more dangerous (and effective) when it goes for the full melodrama by the end."[11] An example of a less enthusiastic critic was Hal Hinson of The Washington Post, who said that it felt "more Hollywood than the South."[12] More enthusiastic was Roger Ebert, who said that the film was "willing to sacrifice its over-all impact for individual moments of humor, and while that leaves us without much to take home, you've got to hand it to them: The moments work".[13][14] The film received a score of 56 based 13 critics on Metacritic with "mixed or average reviews".[15]
The movie received a limited release on November 15, 1989: it entered the U.S. box office at No. 4 with an opening weekend gross of $5,425,440; by the time of wider release two days later it grossed $15,643,935; stayed in the top 10 for 16 weeks, grossed $83,759,091 domestically with a further $12,145,000 with foreign markets, giving a worldwide gross of $95,904,091.[16]
Home media
The film was released on VHS on June 19, 1990, and on DVD July 25, 2000, allowing the film to gross a further $40 million.[17][18] The movie's overall gross was $135,904,091. The film was released on Blu-ray through the boutique label Twilight Time, on September 11, 2012. A 30th anniversary Blu-ray was released on May 28, 2019.
CBS broadcast on August 17, 1990, a half-hour television pilot sitcom. The pilot, set after the events of the movie, featured the same characters, except for Shelby.
