Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood

Sandra Bullock (Sidda Lee Walker)	Ashley Judd (young Vivi)
Ellen Burstyn (older Vivi)	MaggieSmith (Caro)
Fionnula Flanagan (Teensy)	Angus MacFadyen (Connor)
JamesGarner (Vivi’s second husband)	Shirley Knight (Necie)
Directed By:	Callie Khourie
Written By:	Callie Khourie, Mark Andrus, Rebecca Wells
Unique Selling Proposition:	An All-Girls Production

Based on the novel of the same name, "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood” is a tale about the misunderstanding caused between a mother, Vivi (Ellen Burstyn) and a daughter, Sidda (Sandra Bullock) by the daughter’s impetuous interview to Time magazine. In that interview she says she owes her creativity (as a successful Broadway playwright) to her difficult childhood. Sidda and Vivi exchange fire over the phone and mail thereafter (it’s quite funny actually).

Vivi’s friends, the Ya-Ya sisterhood girls (a secret society formed by them in their childhood), Caro (Maggie Smith), Necie (Shirely Knight) and Teensy (Fionnula Flanagan) decide to step in. They kidnap Sidda and bring her to the plantation grove. Their objective is to make Sidda realize the truth about Vivi.

Sidda has had a difficult childhood with her mother Vivi (the young mother played by Ashley Judd) switching between the good and the bad due to her addiction problems. Vivi distances herself from her children because she is unable to trust herself with them. Sidda mistakes this for a detachment in relationship and is about to break her own upcoming marriage with Connor (MacFadyen) because she is afraid her genes would act up and mess up her own marriage.

The Ya-Ya sisters succeed finally, however, as they tell Sidda stories that she never knew about her mother. Meanwhile, Vivi herself, with some prompting from her second husband (James Garner) and Connor, realizes that she is also responsible for the problems between her and her daughter.

To begin with, this is an outstanding effort for an All-Girls Production. This is Callie Khourie’s first movie as a director, in fact and she is also the co-writer. Which perhaps explains why she messed up with an opportunity to produce an all-time great movie with a cast that is rarely seen these days. The cast is the outstanding part of the movie. More on that later.

Let’s start with the flaws first this time because the movie has many good points and I would like to dwell more on them. The major flaw is the overdose of sentimentality (that explains why the women outnumbered the men in the movie hall). The movie is simply too mushy at times and it breaks the rhythm. The script is a little jerky too, with flashbacks intervening too many times.

Now the good news. The cast is, as said earlier, an outstanding one. Khourie had the fabulous advantage of starting out with languid grace of Maggie Smith, the cool and poised assurance of Ashley Judd, the undoubted charisma of Sandra Bullock and the proven talent of Ellen Burstyn. A dream cast. And it is the cast that manages to sweep aside the inconsistencies of Khourie and deliver near-flawless performances.

Despite the heavyweight assemblage around her, Ashley Judd manages to steal the limelight as the young and confused mother. She looks better than in most of her recent films (notably, “Where the Heart Is” in which she co-stars with Natalie Portman). In fact, she looks pretty regal most of the time and has performed superbly. She steals most of the scenes in which she appears and that is no mean achievement in this film.

Sandra Bullock is her usual charming self, with her one-liners keeping you amused all the time. Maggie Smith is proving that her repertoire is still not fully utilized (last she was seen was as the wizened professor in “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone). She is very very good as Caro who brings her artificial respirator in tow. Ellen Burnstyn is very natural as the older mother as are the other two Ya-Ya sisters Fionnula Flanagan and Shirley Knight.

In fact, it is the men, James Garner and Angus MacFadyen who have delivered just passable performances in this movie.

There are many hilarious and funny moments in the movie and you might in fact miss some of them because you were laughing at the previous ones just then.

With more experience, Khourie definitely has the makings of one of the best directors. There are two parallel messages in the movie, one that great friends do not give up on you and two, always give the other person a fair chance before passing judgement.

Despite its at-times jerky script and unashamed sentimentality, the movie is definitely watchable.

Oh yes, I was almost forgetting. The music is terrific. Put together by T Bone Burnett, the soundtrack is really good and moving most of the time.