Steel Magnolias

People relate to others by sharing similar experiences and shared emotions.That's what I THOUGHT! But apparently in the US there is such a big racial difference that the actors have to be Af.American in the SAME story to entice the market of af.am audience. Hopelessly condescending and bias. Women all over the world just loved the original regardless of the mid-west whiteness of the cast at the time. My European, Turkish, African friends loved it as much as my Asian coworkers and my Moroccan neighbour. This is just plain stupid since the whole movie doesn't contribute anything, it's not creatively adjusted to this age, no special differences in character. It's a money grab with ridiculous racial bias.

I was excited when I saw that they were remaking this movie. I was disappointed 2 minutes into it when I realized that they actually REMADE the movie. It was disappointing, I was anticipating a remake with a twist to make it their own. But a line for line remake with a different cast was a total let down. I loved the original and this with the bad acting just didn't compare. I just don't understand the reason for a remake with an all black cast if they weren't going to make it their own, and thats not being racist. I'm an African American woman myself, it just all seemed so unnatural. They had great actors in the movie it just didn't live up to all of the hype that surrounded it.

I tried, really I tried, to enjoy this version. I didn't. About half way through it I was checking the time to see how much more there was to it. I kept hoping it would get better. In the original, The characters had a chemistry that enhanced their performances. You believed they liked each other, and were longtime friends. There was something missing, the attachment the characters were supposed to have for each other seemed forced. The actress playing Shelby missed the character's sense of humor and play, as well as her determination to live a normal life, despite having a devastating chronic illness. The scene in the cemetery in the original where there was laughter through tears is classic. You can't duplicate that.

This is one remake that should have never been considered, let alone done.

First, the casting was all wrong. Why in the world would anyone, including Latifah, think she was the perfect choice to play the role Sallie Field's originated? Of those actresses, Phylicia Rashad would've played it best. Alfre Woodard would have been better playing Clarice and Jenifer Lewis would have been good as Ouiser. I like Jill Scott, I think she is a good actress, and she was good in her role. My issue was with her accent. She should not have attempted a southern accent. The other two actresses weren't bad in their parts. Their accents sucked too, but overall they were not that bad.

The original is a classic. The remake is a travesty.

Sorry, but this movie was bad. I mean really bad. The first movie was lighthearted and uplifting for the most part, making you feel proud of being a Southerner. This one was dark and depressing, and felt more like it was filmed in New York instead of Louisiana. All of the idiosyncrasies and accents that made the original truly Southern were barely existent here.

Alfre Woodard's portrayal of Weezer was more angry than eccentric. Felicia Rashaad's "Clerice" was too reserved. The girl who played the beauty shop assistant was not naive and unrefined enough.

In closing, I love the over the top nature of black comedies in general, and considering the cast that was present, I really expected better. They really did this movie a huge disservice.