Name: Steel Magnolias
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Released: 1989-11-22
Duration: 117 min
Rating: 7.2
Cast: Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Shirley MacLaine, Daryl Hannah, Olympia Dukakis

11 quotes

Steel Magnolias

Reflections on a Beautiful Service

Truvy How you holdin up, honey?

M'Lynn I'm fine.

Clairee It was a beautiful service.

Ouiser The flowers were the most beautiful flowers I have ever seen!

M'Lynn They were beautiful.

M'Lynn Yes, Annelle, I guess it should.

M'Lynn Well you go on ahead!! I'm sorry if I don't feel like it! I guess I'm a little selfish. I'd rather have her here.

M'Lynn Thank you, Annelle. I appreciate that. And it's a real good idea. Shelby, as you know, wouldn't want us to get mired down and wallow in this. We should handle it the best way we know how…and get on with it. That’s what my mind says. I wish somebody’d explain to my heart.

Truvy Drum says you never left her side for a second.

M'Lynn No.. I couldn't leave my Shelby. I just sat there and kept pushin the way I always have where Shelby was concerned.... I was hopin she'd sit up and argue with me. Finally we realized there was no hope. They turned off the machines. Drum left.. couldn't take it. Jackson left. I find it amusin'.. men are supposed to be made outta steel or somethin. I just sat there. I just held Shelby's hand. There was no noise. No tremble. Just peace. Oh God.. I realize as a woman how lucky I am! I was there when that wonderful creature drifted into my life.. and I was there when she drifted out of it. It was the most precious moment of my life... I gotta get back. Has anybody got a mirror?

[Pause; ''slight laugh''; ''sighs'']

Truvy Does anybody have a mirror? I don't know how you're doin on the inside honey…but your HAIR sure is holdin up beautiful.

M'Lynn Shelby was right! This IS a brown foot ball helmet!!!!

[''looking in mirror, upset''; ''begins to cry'']

Clariee Ohh…honey are you okay?

M'Lynn I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine. I'm fine! I can jog all the way to Texas and back, but my daughter can't! She never could! Oh God! I'm so mad I don't know what to do! I wanna know why! I wanna know why Shelby's life is over! I wanna know how that baby will ever know how wonderful his mother was! Will he ever know what she went through for him? Oh God I wanna know why!! Why Lord, I wish I could understand! No! No! No! It's not supposed to happen this way! I'm supposed to go first. I've always been ready to go first! I-I don't think I can take this! I-I don't think I can take this! I-I just wanna hit somebody til they feel as bad as I do! I just wanna hit something! I wanna hit it hard!

[''crying''; ''screaming''; ''in a firm tone''; ''continues sobbing'']

Clairee Here! Hit this! Go ahead M'Lynn, slap her!

[''grabs Ouiser by the shoulder and positions her in front of M'Lynn'']

Ouiser Are you crazy?!

Clairee Hit her!

Ouiser Are you high, Clairee?!

Truvy Clairee, have you lost your mind?

Clairee We'll sell t-shirts sayin I SLAPPED OUISER BOUDREAUX! Hit her!

Annelle Miss Clairee, enough!

Clairee Ouiser, this is your chance to do something for your fellow man! Knock her lights out, M'Lynn!

Ouiser Let go o me!

[''gets out of Clairee's grip'']

Clairee M'Lynn, you just missed the chance of a lifetime! Half o Chiquapin Parish'd give their eye teeth to take a whack at Ouiser!

[''everyone, except Ouiser, starts laughing'']

Ouiser YOU ARE A PIG FROM HELL!!

[''Ouiser turns and walks away'']

M'Lynn Ouiser, don't leave!

Clairee Ouiser! Ouiser, I was just kiddin'!! Come back!!

M'Lynn l shouldn't have gone on the way l did. l made everybody cry. I'm sorry.

Truvy Oh, don't be silly. Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion. Thanks, Annelle.

[''Annelle goes over to Jack Jr. to play with him'']

M'Lynn Maybe l should have an emotional outburst more often. Maybe l should start havin them at home. Drum would be so pleased.

[''Clairee and Ouiser approach the other woman, and they've clearly made up'']

Ouiser I have feelins'.

Clairee Of course you do.

Truvy Well, l'm glad to see the two of you made up.

Clairee Ouiser can never stay mad at me. She worships the quicksand l walk on.

[''Ouiser hugs M'Lynn'']

Drum Then I guess we can't talk about it.

[''to Sammy''; ''Ouiser sticks her hand like a knife into Drum's back, as a sign of sympathy; Drum watches her walk away with Clairee; M'Lynn puts Jack Jr. into a tree swing'']

M'Lynn Let's get in the swing, shall we? Get our feets in there. There we go. Hold on. Hold on. Hold on!

M'Lynn Shelby would love that. I'm tickled pink. Pink.

[''softly'']

Truvy Well, what are you gonna name it if it happens to be a boy?

[''Truvy looks down at Jack Jr. with a big smile'']

M'Lynn That's how it should be. Life goes on.

[''cut to a year later, parents are helping their children in the Easter egg hunt, including Jackson and Jack Jr. Annelle and Sammy approach the party; Sammy is wearing an Easter bunny costume'']

Truvy They're closed!! What is it?!

Truvy Okay. Now?

Truvy Yep!

Truvy All right. l don't believe it! I'm a chain!! Oh, Spud!!

[''gasps when she sees Spud has opened a shop called Truvy's West, a new addition that connects with her beauty spot''; ''Truvy kisses Spud, then they hug. Cut Annelle, putting the head of the Easter Bunny costume on Sammy's head'']

Annelle Over there!!

M'Lynn Ouiser, Owen.

M'Lynn Just a second, it's Jackson.

M'Lynn Oh, Jack!! Sweetheart…

Truvy Oh, honey, it's okay. lt's okay. Women have babies every day. M'Lynn!

M'Lynn Annelle…

Truvy Jonathan, quick! Get that Easter Bunny over here now!

Jonathan Hey, Tommy, where's Sammy?

Tommy He's over there.

Jonathan Oh, excuse me!

Tommy Why? What's going on?

Clairee This way, this way. Spud's Jeep is this way!! Come on!! Here, here! Get her in!

[''Jackson and Marshall help Annelle into Spud's Jeep; Truvy gets in after her'']

M'Lynn We'll find Sammy! We'll find Sammy! lt's all right, honey. We'll get Sammy.

Louie Come on, Sammy! Get your tail hoppin'!

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

Steel Magnolias

A Lighthearted Exchange Among Friends

Clairee Said what?

Clairee Ouiser, nobody pays any attention to you.

Clairee No, you're not. You'd give your dog a kidney if he needed one.

Clairee Drum loves pork and beans. He eats them with everything.

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

Steel Magnolias

A Touching Blend of Humor and Emotion

Taglines The funniest movie ever to make you cry.

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

Steel Magnolias

Laughter as a Vital Necessity

Taglines Sometimes laughter is a matter of life and death.

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

Steel Magnolias

Embracing Emotion: Laughter and Tears Combined

Truvy Jones Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion.

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

Steel Magnolias

Value of fleeting moments over a mundane life

Shelby Eatenton Latcherie I would rather have thirty minutes of wonderful than a lifetime of nothing special.

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

Steel Magnolias

Embracing Change in the 80s

Truvy Jones Oh get with it, Clairee. This is the 80s. If you can achieve puberty, you can achieve a past.

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

Steel Magnolias

Concerns About Work and Marriage Dynamics

M'Lynn Drum and I both feel that she should not work after she gets married.

M'Lynn You should not be on your feet all day!! You should be kinder to your circulatory system!!

Clairee A radio. What did I just hear—? Oh, yes! The Antilley family is sellin KPPD! I wonder how much radio stations sell for.

Clairee What would I do with a radio station? Oh, business never interested me. Lloyd took care of all that stuff. Shelby, I hope you and Jackson will be as happy as Lloyd and I were. We had such a good time. Until November. Well, at least he hung on through the state playoffs.

Clairee Well, I really do love football, but it's hard to parlay that into a reason to live.

Truvy What are your colors, Shelby?

Shelby They're blush and bashful.

M'Lynn Her colors are pink and pink.

Shelby My colors are blush and bashful, Mama.

M'Lynn How precious is this wedding gonna get, I ask you?

Shelby My colors are blush and bashful. I have chosen two shades of pink, one is much deeper than the other.

M'Lynn But the bridesmaids dresses, they are really beautiful.

Shelby Ceremony will be too. The walls are banked with sprays of flowers, and my two shades of blush and bashful. Pink carpets especially laid out for my service, and pink silk bunting, draped over anything that would stand still.

M'Lynn That sanctuary looks like it's been hosed down with Pepto Bismol!

Shelby I like pink! Pink is my signature color.

Truvy How many bridesmaids?

Shelby Nine!

Truvy Nine?! Good Lord!!

Shelby Exactly. Mama made me have my cousins and Margie St. Maurice.

M'Lynn Shelby, let's not go into this now! You know there was no way around it!

Shelby It will be pretentious. And Daddy always says, An ounce of pretension is worth a pound of manure.

M'Lynn The poet laureate of Dogwood Lane.

Shelby Mama, I wish you'd get off Daddy's back.

M'Lynn Shelby, look, now l don't really wanna get into—

Truvy Fill us in on the reception!!

Shelby My reception! My reception! Ferns, dancing, tons of people! Every pink flower west of the Mississippi. Wedding cake in the dining room and the groom's cake... Hidden in the carport?

M'Lynn Shelby and I, we agree on one thing.

M'Lynn and Shelby The groomscake!!

Shelby It's awful!! lt's in the shape of a giant armadillo.

Truvy An armadillo?! You're jokin right?

Shelby No. Jackson wanted a cake in the shape of an armadillo. He's got an aunt that makes them.

Clairee It's unusual.

M'Lynn It's repulsive! It's got gray icing! I can't even begin to think how you make gray icing!

Shelby Worse the cake part is red velvet cake. Blood red!! People are gonna be hackin into this poor animal that looks like it's bleedin to death.

M'Lynn The rehearsal supper was a real experience.

Shelby Mama, it wasn't that bad! It was out at Jackson's uncle's place on the river.

M'Lynn Jackson comes from the good old Southern family with good old Southern values. Ya either shoot it, stuff it or marry it.

Shelby They're simply outdoorsy, that's all.

Truvy Did ya'll do anything especially romantic?

Shelby We drove down to Frenchmen's Point and went parkin'!

M'Lynn Oh, Shelby. Really!

Truvy Oh, M'Lynn, leave her alone. This is my favorite part. This is the romantic part. Now, see, that's what really melts my butter.

Shelby well, then we went skinny dipping, and we did things that frightened the fish.

Clairee It's been a long time since we had a youngster in this place.

Shelby We talked and talked and talked…

Truvy I love those kinda talks in the arms of the man you love!

Shelby Actually, we fought most of the time.

Truvy You fought?

Shelby Well, cause I told him I wouldn't marry him.

M'Lynn What?!

Clairee Why'd you go and do a thing like that?

Shelby Oh, it's okay now. We worked it all out.

Truvy Oh, it's probably one of those last minute jitter things.

Shelby No, but the weddin's still on.

Truvy Well, thank goodness. Cause this is going to be in the hairdo hall of fame.

[''pointing to Shelby's hairstyle'']

Clairee Shelby, you scared us. That wasn't a nice thing to do to your mama. You should never say something like that to a woman who's marinating fifty pounds of crab claws

Truvy Oh, but the makin up can be extremely romantic. I miss romance so much.

Clairee Oh, Truvy, it can't be that bad.

Truvy Oh really, now? Well, the last romantic thing my husband did for me was back in 1972. He enclosed this carport so that I could support him!

M'Lynn Well, Truvy, now I think I have somethin that could cheer you up. Drum and l have been plannin to talk to your husband about buildin a room on to our house.

Truvy M'Lynn, are you serious? lf you give Spud a job, l'll give you hot oil treatments for the rest of your life! Annelle, this looks pretty good. I think you know what you're doin'.

M'Lynn I try.

Truvy Well, it must run in the family. This young'un's got the prettiest hair l've ever had my hands in. So thick. Well, just because l'm braggin on you don't mean you can get lazy on me. Hold your head up, Shelby.

Shelby Stop it!!

Truvy Shelby? Shelby! M'Lynn!!

Clairee I'll get some juice!!

M'Lynn Truvy, there's some candy in my purse.

Truvy I have some right here.

[''grabs a peppermint'']

M'Lynn Shelby. Shelby. Hold on. Clairee's getting you some juice. Shelby. Shelby. Shelby.

Truvy Should I get her a cookie?

M'Lynn No, juice is better.

Clairee Here's the juice!!

M'Lynn Shelby! Shelby, you need some juice. You need some juice.

Shelby Stop it, Mama!

M'Lynn Drink the juice.

Truvy Please drink the juice.

Shelby No! Stop it, Mama! l have some candy in my purse.

M'Lynn No, you didn't bring your purse, sweetheart. You didn't bring your purse. No you didn't!! No, here you go. There you go. Drink some of this. lt's not any wonder with all this runnin around and weddin nonsense.

Clairee She's a diabetic.

M'Lynn She just has a little too much insulin, that's all. We'll get a little more in her. She'll be all right.

Shelby lf you don't leave me alone, l'm gonna leave.

M'Lynn Oh, I'd love to see you try!! Cooperate, please!!

Clairee This one hit her fast.

M'Lynn Yeah. She's been so upset lately. Dr. Mitchell told her on her last appointment…children aren't possible.

Clairee Here, M'Lynn.

Ouiser Oh, God, come here, Rhett!!

Annelle That is one ugly dog. What kinda dog is that?

Ouiser This is it, I have found it, I am in Hell!!

Truvy Good mornin, Ouiser.

Ouiser Don't try to get on my good side, Truvy. I no longer have one! Come here, Rhett.