Intermission: 'Ya Ya Sisterhood' shows talents of fine female cast

"The Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood"

Directed by: Callie Khouri

Starring: Sandra Bullock, Ashley Judd, Maggie Smith, Ellen Burstyn, Fionnula Flanagan, Shirley Knight, James Garner

Rated: PG-13

Callie Khouri, making her directorial debut, writes pieces from a decidedly female perspective. And currently in Hollywood, no one does so better.

Khouri is best known for scripting the Ridley Scott-directed "Thelma and Louise," which proved to be a great film and a testament to modern feminism.

Khouri has now taken to directing and wrote the screenplay for "The Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood" based on two novels by Rebecca Wells.

Critics are polarized by this film. Those who hate it really hate it and make some valid points why.

Those who like it are willing to overlook the flaws and appreciate the finest female ensemble cast to come along in quite a while.

It's obvious the actresses have a great love of this piece, as well as great respect for Khouri as a director.

Ashley Judd and Sandra Bullock have both praised Khouri and have said making this film was an amazing experience.

Sandra Bullock plays Sidda Walker, a writer with her first successful Broadway hit.

In an interview with "Time" magazine, she makes allusions to an unhappy childhood, a statement that sends her mother into a magnificent hissy fit.

Mom is Vivi Walker, played in the present by Ellen Burstyn and in flashbacks by Judd, a strong-willed Southern woman who, as a child, formed a secret society with three of her friends. The Ya Ya Sisterhood lives on to this day, and the ladies, all Southern gentlewomen who have a tendency to drink a bit too much, still take care of each other and adhere to the tenets of Ya Ya.

Maggie Smith is Caro, Fionnula Flanagan is Teensy and Shirley Knight is Necie. Along with Burstyn, they make a formidable pack of feisty females.

When Vivi and Sidda have their falling out, and Vivi removes all pictures of her daughter from her sight, the other Ya Ya girls figure it's time for an intervention. They fly to New York, take Sidda out for dinner, slip a mickey in her drink and cart her back home to Louisiana.

They tell her it's time she learns a few things she thinks she knows but really doesn't. Sidda, along with the viewing audience, is schooled in what went on in Vivi's life and how she became what she is today.

There are lots of laughs along the way, but there's also an undercurrent of trauma that Khouri develops.

Sidda has always blamed her mom for drinking too much, being too opinionated and for running off and leaving the family for a time. It's this absence that is at the heart of the tale, and Sidda learns that things aren't always the way they appear.

Through a series of flashbacks, where Judd is the young Vivi, we slowly begin to fill in the blanks and get to know all of the Ya Ya sisters quite well.

A more colorful group of Southern gals would be hard to find, a fact that annoys a lot of the folks who don't like this film. I know that many of the events are fairly implausible, but the same could be said about a guy with spider powers or people learning the secrets of "the force." And those films are doing pretty well.

"The Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood" is the heir apparent to "Steel Magnolias," but I think it's a much better film. Khouri's writing and direction is focused and the ensemble cast could not be any classier. Maggie Smith, who does so well as a proper Englishwoman, dons a great Southern drawl. Flanagan (Irish if you couldn't guess) does so as well. Burstyn, last seen as the over-the-counter diet-pill addict in the troubling and brilliant "Requiem for a Dream," is perfect in the role of Vivi. She conveys an air of great strength but the vulnerability is there as well. Everyone knows someone like her, a person who "takes up all the space in the room."

This is a movie I really can't defend to its detractors. It probably is sappy and overwrought. All I can say is I laughed and cried and in the end enjoyed every minute. It's great to see this many talented actresses working together on a piece they obviously enjoy immensely. I look forward to Callie Khouri's next endeavor as a director. She has a fresh eye for film making.

(Jim Wunderle works at Associated Video Producers and is a Springfield free-lance writer and musician.)