This is probably one the greatest films I have ever seen about life and death, women’s friendship, motherhood and a complicated daughter’s relationship with her mother.
Set in a small town in Louisiana, the story centers around a hair salon owned by the most optimistic social butterfly, Truvy (Dolly Parton). The women gather here to talk about their life challenges, marriages, their jobs, and health. We have a cantankerous Ouiser with a heart of gold (Shirley MacLaine), God-fearing Annelle (Daryl Hannah) who is not quite sure whether she’s still married or not, Clairee (Olympia Dukakis), who thinks that “What separates us from the animals is our ability to accessorise.” and a young, beautiful, and stubborn Shelby, who drives her mother, M’Lynn (Sally Field), crazy.
Robert Harling writes his characters so vivid and enchanting that you could feel them being real. To top it all, are performances of the greatest actresses that I will never forget. After over 30 years, the film did not age one bit. It is still as funny and touching as it was when I saw it for the first time. As Dolly Parton’s character says: ‘Laughter through tears is my favourite emotion’, and watching it, laughing through tears makes it my favourite film.
