Sure she might be pigeonholed forever as the “chick flick” girl but she probably doesn’t care much. Oscar-winning screenwriter Callie Khouri ( Thelma & Louise) couldn’t have chosen a better film to make as her directorial debut.
The devoted Connor mirrors Shep but MacFadyen plays him with a lot more backbone. And not to leave out the men completely– James Garner plays Sidda’s father Shep with quiet patience having survived life with his lady love who never loved him quite the same in return. She never quite convinces us she grew up in such an eccentric and terribly Southern environment. Unfortunately the weakest member of this ensemble cast is Bullock as Sidda. Burstyn is all at once the highly dramatic Southern beauty who has come to terms with (or remained steeped in denial about however you look at it) her painful past while Judd gets to show us the nitty-gritty of what actually happened to Vivi to harden her. Her exchanges are some of the more memorable especially when after being told by an angry Vivi that she could knock Teensy into next week Teensy tells her friend “And I’ll kick your ass on Thursday.” Yet the film truly belongs to Burstyn and Judd as the different faces of Vivi. Flanagan the best of the three shines as the wealthy Teensy a recovering alcoholic who has faced demons herself. Smith plays the tough Caro a lifelong smoker now saddled with emphysema with all the biting wit the actress is best known for while Knight plays the sweet no-nonsense Necie with just a hint of sarcasm. In a cast of many the film is chock-full of wonderful performances but it’s the matured Ya-Yas who steal the show. The sad news for the novel’s fans however is that while the script manages to convey the true spirit of friendship it can’t quite capture the magic of the book. The bond between these four older women is unshakable and the most honest element to the film. They tell Sidda stories about the young Vivi ( Ashley Judd) who was full of promise and hope but how certain tragic events damaged her. To bring mother and daughter back together the women decide it’s time for Sidda to learn about the Divine Secrets of their little clique–and about her mother’s painful past. Enter the Ya-Ya Sisterhood–Caro ( Maggie Smith) Teensy ( Fionnula Flanagan) and Necie ( Shirley Knight) Vivi’s lifelong best friends. It threatens to destroy not only their relationship but Sidda’s own plans to marry her longtime boyfriend Connor ( Angus MacFadyen).
After she gives a damaging interview to Time magazine–damaging mainly to her mother Vivianne Abbott Walker ( Ellen Burstyn) who doesn’t take lightly to her daughter’s intonations that she was not a good mother–the two women begin a feud. A promising young playwright Sidda Lee Walker ( Sandra Bullock) lives in New York far enough away from her Louisiana hometown.
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