Steel Magnolias

Steel Magnolias is a 1989 American comedy-drama film directed by Herbert Ross and starring Academy Award winners Sally Field, Shirley MacLaine, and Olympia Dukakis with Dolly Parton, Daryl Hannah, and Julia Roberts. The film is a film adaptation of Robert Harling's 1987 play of the same name about the bond a group of women share in a small-town Southern community, and how they cope with the death of one of their own. The supporting cast features Tom Skerritt, Dylan McDermott, Sam Shepard and Kevin J. O'Connor. 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. Plot Annelle Dupuy (Daryl Hannah), a shy beauty school graduate, moves to Chinquapin Parish in northwestern Louisiana, where Truvy Jones (Dolly Parton) hires her to work in her home-based beauty salon. Meanwhile, M'Lynn Eatenton (Sally Field) and her daughter, Shelby (Julia Roberts), busily prepare for Shelby's wedding that is being held later that day. M'Lynn's husband Drum Eatenton (Tom Skerritt) 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 (Olympia Dukakis)—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 (Dylan McDermott), so he would not be deprived of children.