An all black cast of Steel Magnolias?
By Pam Quinn (Writer)
My Crazytown comrade David Davila wrote a week ago about his concerns for Lifetime’s remake of STEEL MAGNOLIAS in his blog “ Blush & Bashful/ Pink & Pink”. This past Sunday Lifetime aired the remake...
But they gave it a twist...
Do you... do you notice the twist? Yup... they added some flavor. The fact that this exists, makes me NOT want to remove “Asaka, mother of the Earth” from my resume in order to be taken seriously at an audition. They modernized it, they cast it with all strong, talented, black women actors and gave Shelby the kidney problems BEFORE the baby was born because of the present day advances in medicine making a pregnant diabetic not that much of a concern. Well, David... the biggest difference between the 80’s film with Sally Field and the Lifetime remake is that the remake... is abysmal. It felt overly rehearsed and almost came close, at times, to an exact impersonation of the original characters. I watched it with a close friend (who rises from the South) who pointed out that the only parts she couldn’t stand were those that were original. Because there wasn’t a better precedent set.
Dear Lifetime, just cause there’s a blackberry in the scene, doesn’t mean that it’s been “modernized”.
Dear Lifetime, Did you put a gun to Alfre Woodard’s head in order to get her in this?
Dear Lifetime, Did Tyler Perry really direct this?
Jill Scott (Truvy) - It always amazes me when women who are abused by their significant others, contiue to approach them with carefree conversation and always look so hurt and surprised in the moment when the return is hostile. THIS IS WHO YOU MARRIED! WHY ARE YOU STILL SURPRISED THAT THEY’RE AN ASSHOLE.
Condola Rashad (Shelby) - Did you do ANY research on diabetics before this “film”?
Alfre Woodard (Ouiser) - I’m... I’m so sorry.
Phylicia Rashad (Clairee) - You were the best of a bad situation.
Queen Latifah (M’Lynn) - I’m supposed to believe that Condola Rashad is your daughter? Were you 13 years old when you had her? And was it your choice to pick up your “daughters” hair off the ground and smell it? If so, why?
Adepero Oduye (Annelle) - Who?
The cast alone is enough to impress anyone. To get someone like me on the hook to DVR it.But the fact of the matter is... it was terrible. Nothing that came out of their mouths was believable and it looked as if they felt STUCK to be there, doing this. As if someone talked them into it and then they decided to phone the rest of it in just to make it through to pay day. It reeked of “made for TV”, none of the relationships felt real, it felt like stage deliveries done on film and none of the jokes landed. I’m still a fan of Latifah, Woodard, Rashad... who isn’t? But they chose the WRONG project.
PAM QUINN
Moved to California from New York at age 14 and entered the professional world of writing at 17 on the west coast. Rising from sketch comedy with a background in theatre, Pam collected what she had learned over the years and compiled it into playwriting. She co-founded The Unknown Artists (www.theunknownartists.org) with Emily Clark and continues to be prolific within this fantastic company. www.uaplayclub.wordpress.com
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I had high hopes the remake of “Steel Magnolias” would parallel the success of the original, especially with an all-star cast. I missed the movie when it premiered because of my work schedule at DISH. It is recorded on my Hopper, and I think I will still watch it since I’ve wanted to see it ever since I heard about the remake. I’m just glad I have a ton of DVR space and I was able to record my other favorite programs without using up much DVR space. The original is still one of my favorites, and it will be difficult for anyone to match its success.
Posted by: Mikea | Wednesday, October 10, 2012 at 06:31 PM