Steel Magnolias is an American comedy-drama television film directed by Kenny Leon that premiered at Lifetime Network on October 7, 2012. It is a contemporary retelling of the play Steel Magnolias and its 1989 film adaptation. The new film stars an all-black American cast, including Queen Latifah as M'Lynn, Jill Scott as Truvy, Condola Rashad as Shelby, Adepero Oduye as Annelle, with Phylicia Rashad as Clairee and Alfre Woodard as Ouiser. The film marks the first collaboration between Latifah and Scott (the second being Flint in 2017).
Contents
Cast
Queen Latifah as Mary Lynn "M'Lynn" Eatenton
Phylicia Rashad as Clairee Belcher
Adepero Oduye as Annelle Dupuy-DeSoto
Condola Rashad as Shelby Eatenton-Latcherie, M'Lynn & Drum's daughter and Jackson's mother
Jill Scott as Truvy Jones
Alfre Woodard as Louisa "Ouiser" Boudreaux, Clairee's best friend
Tory Kittles as Jackson Latcherie, Shelby's husband and Jackson's father
Afemo Omilami as Drum Eatenton, M'Lynn's husband
Lance Gross as Sammy DeSoto, Annelle's husband
Michael Beasley as Spud Jones, Truvy's husband
Demetrius Bridges as Jonathan Eatenton, M'Lynn & Drum's first son
Justin Martin as Tommy Eatenton, M'Lynn & Drum's second son
Julius Erving as Minister
Jeff Rose as Dr. Judd
Reception
Critical reception
The film has been met with positive reviews from critics, with a score of 74 out of 100 from Metacritic. Many critics praised Alfre Woodard's performance as Ouiser.
Ratings
The film premiered on Sunday, October 7, 2012, on Lifetime and earned 6.5 million viewers. It is the 3rd highest viewed Lifetime Original.