New version of "Steel Magnolias" coming in October!

[Hane]

And I'm thrilled! It will be on Lifetime, but I would have gone to the cineplex to see this new cast.

Not everyone shares my excitement. The interwebs are full of whining that "they're making an unnecessary remake of a CLASSIC!" and "What's next--Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman as Porgy and Bess?"

Here's what I posted:

Lighten up, everybody. I for one was excited to learn about this movie, and thrilled to see the phenomenal Alfre Woodard, Phylicia Rashad, Queen Latifah, and Jill Scott cast together.

I loved the original, and have attended and loved several stage versions of the play it was based on. I don't see it as "An All-Black Remake!!!" but as a new take on a classic. There's something iconic about a group of women congregating at a beauty shop and supporting each other through good and bad times--something that crosses lines of race and class. In the original movie, I didn't see Sally Field, Olympia Dukakis, Shirley Maclaine, and Dolly Parton as "white women"--I saw them as WOMEN. And I feel the same way about Alfre Woodard, Phylicia Rashad, Queen Latifah, and Jill Scott--not "black women," but WOMEN, plain and simple.

I see no "OMG PC movie--the black ladies are taking all our things!!!" about this. I like seeing how different producers and directors put their own take on iconic works. For example, I find modern-dress and cross-cultural productions of Shakespeare intriguing, and have no patience with critics who refuse to suspend their disbelief and insist on whining about how "they didn't have black/Asian/whatever actors at the Globe Theatre in 1600."

I am looking forward to the 2012 Steel Magnolias--and would have gone to see it on the big screen had it been available there.

[salsa]

I may have to buy the package that will show me this movie.

[Guest Anonymous]

This new version has an all-black cast, I'm fairly certain it's supposed to be an all-black remake. Saying that you don't see race, and just see 'WOMEN, plain and simple', seems a little... wishy-washy?

That said, I have no opinion about either film.

[Hane]

Sogba, maybe I do sound wishy-washy, but that's how I feel. I felt the same way about the movie "Waiting to Exhale." I could never wrap my mind around all the "OMG--white women are going to see it, too!!!1!!!11!!!" A movie is either good and entertaining, or it isn't.

[B5SnowDog]

In the original movie, I didn't see Sally Field, Olympia Dukakis, Shirley Maclaine, and Dolly Parton as "white women"--I saw them as WOMEN. And I feel the same way about Alfre Woodard, Phylicia Rashad, Queen Latifah, and Jill Scott--not "black women," but WOMEN, plain and simple.

I think it's dismissive to ignore their ethnicity. While women of all ethnicities share some experiences, there are some things that only women of one group will experience that women of another won't due to shared culture and privilege. The two movies won't be exactly the same because of those differences in experiences.

[Hane]

I didn't mean to imply that I'm ignoring their ethnicity--what I meant to say is that their ethnicity, in my opinion, isn't the most important thing about them--the universal experiences shared by women are. I am looking forward to seeing a really great story retold through a different lens.

[B5SnowDog]

Different lens! That's what I was thinking of but couldn't put into words.

[freejugar]

who is playing ouiser? that's all i need to know

[Sweetpea1]

who is playing ouiser? that's all i need to know

That was my first question, too. I looooove Ouiser (and plan on becoming her in about 10 years.)

[Hane]

I think Alfre Woodard is playing Ouiser, IIRC: Phylicia Rashad is Clairee, Queen Latifah is M'Lynn, and Jill Scott is Truvy. I love Jill Scott (did anyone else see her in #1 Ladies' Detective Agency?), but agree with one poster who said Loretta Devine would have been great in the role (but she's been busy doing The Client List and Grey's Anatomy).

[ElijahsMama807]

Love Steel Magnolias, and will probably watch the remake in October.

[darareaksmey]

Wow. Can I be the only person here who *loathed* the first one and for that reason cannot see a need for it to be remade, no matter what the ethnicity of the new cast?

:confusion-shrug:

[Sprocket]

who is playing ouiser? that's all i need to know

I quote Steel Magnolias all the time. My oldest and dearest friend always tells me that she loves me more than her luggage.

And my favorite: "I'm an old, southern woman and I'm supposed to wear funny looking hats and grow vegetables in the dirt. Don't ask me these questions, I don't make the rules!!!!"

[shesinsane]

I think Alfre Woodard is playing Ouiser, IIRC: Phylicia Rashad is Clairee, Queen Latifah is M'Lynn, and Jill Scott is Truvy. I love Jill Scott (did anyone else see her in #1 Ladies' Detective Agency?), but agree with one poster who said Loretta Devine would have been great in the role (but she's been busy doing The Client List and Grey's Anatomy).

I watched that show, I liked how it showed a side of Africa rarely portrayed in the media (no civil wars or militants walking around randomly shooting and raping). I remember reading that HBO picked it up for a second season, but it never got made.

As for Steel Magnolias, what I wonder is how will they handle Shelby's life threatening diabetes, considering how much medical treatment of diabetes has changed since the movie/play it was based on were written? I guess in the 80s many doctors felt pregnancy and childbirth should be left to women without diabetes, but it's 2012, diabetes makes a pregnancy high risk but not out of the question. When the movie was made, using Jackson's lawyer money to hire a surrogate wasn't an option, but in these modern times Shelby and Jackson could easily hire a woman to gestate a baby made up of their DNA.

Plus the original is so quoteable, the new movie has a cast of very talented actresses, but I'm not sure lines like "You were brought up right!" will sound the same coming from anyone but Olympia Dukakis.

[ADoyle90815]

I also quote the original movie all the time, most recently when my mom's youngest step granddaughter had her 3rd birthday party that was all pink, and I asked her if the place "looked like it had been hosed down with Pepto Bismol."

[lilwriter85]

I watched that show, I liked how it showed a side of Africa rarely portrayed in the media (no civil wars or militants walking around randomly shooting and raping). I remember reading that HBO picked it up for a second season, but it never got made.

As for Steel Magnolias, what I wonder is how will they handle Shelby's life threatening diabetes, considering how much medical treatment of diabetes has changed since the movie/play it was based on were written? I guess in the 80s many doctors felt pregnancy and childbirth should be left to women without diabetes, but it's 2012, diabetes makes a pregnancy high risk but not out of the question. When the movie was made, using Jackson's lawyer money to hire a surrogate wasn't an option, but in these modern times Shelby and Jackson could easily hire a woman to gestate a baby made up of their DNA.

Plus the original is so quoteable, the new movie has a cast of very talented actresses, but I'm not sure lines like "You were brought up right!" will sound the same coming from anyone but Olympia Dukakis.

I have wondered about that too. I do wonder if the remake is a complete word for word dialogue remake. In some remakes, dialogue or certain plot aspects are changed for time period settings. I'm willing to give the remake a chance. I like the cast members, but for some reason I can't see Queen Latifah as M'Lynn.

[bbtlover]

Sometimes I wish I had cable to see shows and movies that are out there. I guess I'll just have to wait for the DVD to come out,or for someone to put it on Youtube. I was surprised to find out my hubby liked the original movie and would actually be interested in seeing a remake. I don't if I could get him to see a stage production though.

[jokersshh]

I never like that movie

[lilwriter85]

Today I was watching The Insider and there was a clip from the remake. The dialogue has been changed a bit in the scene where Ouiser meets Anelle. The other day on Lifetime, I saw a promo in which there was a shot of M'Lynn holding her grandson. It seems they decided to show little Jackson as an infant rather do the two year jump like in the original.

[Hane]

I wonder whether the remake will have the way-less-happy ending that the original play had: {disturbing info in the spoiler0

The dialogue strongly implied that Shelby's baby was born with significant health issues--a fulfillment of the foreshadowing, earlier in the play, when Shelby described a micropreemie as "looking like a rat."

But, from the clip lilwriter85 mentioned above, I doubt it.

[StarrieEyedKat]

So...that sucked. I had really high hopes, but they basically regurgitated the exact same script and Queen Latifah sucked in her emotional scenes after Shelby dies.

[Ajaminor]

"I guess in the 80s many doctors felt pregnancy and childbirth should be left to women without diabetes, but it's 2012, diabetes makes a pregnancy high risk but not out of the question"

The way it was presented was not so much the dangers of a diabetic carrying a pregnancy but rather the damage already done to Shelby's kidneys due to her years of having diabetes. Being a diabetic with chronic kidney disease even today makes pregnancy very risky, especially for the mother. It was the added stress of her pregnancy that led to the character's kidney transplant (if I remember the story right).

[Guest Anonymous]

I adored the original movie and all the actresses in it but I just couldn't get into the new one. I watched about an hour and lost interest. It's hard for me to see anyone else other than Shirley MacLaine, Julia Roberts, Sally Field etc..playing these characters even though there was some good actresses in this new version.

[lilwriter85]

I watched the encore airing last night. The remake wasn't great, but it was terrible either. I like the women in the cast, but they didn't do that well in their roles. I did like the ending in the remake.

[Hane]

Yeah--I must admit that the new one didn't live up to my expectations. The whole thing was kind of draggy, scattershot, and bland, with insufficient emphasis on each of the female central characters. It spent even more time than the original did on making sure teh menz didn't get left out (the play it's based on didn't include male characters at all, just M'Lynn, Ouiser, Clairee, Truvy, Shelby, and Annelle). The filming looked cheap, and didn't give us much of a picture of the women, IMHO.

And what happened in Shelby's death scene directly contradicted the way M'Lynn described it to her friends later. She talked about sitting and holding Shelby's hand after the machines were turned off and all of the men had left, when we saw her running out of the room and going home to see her grandson.

A disappointment all around. Queen Latifah, Alfre Woodard, Phylicia Rashad, and Jill Scott are good actresses, and we didn't see them at their best here.