This movie should have 'Warning: Strictly For Women Only' stamped on every poster. A hybrid of all those American touchy-feely films with long titles such as Fried Green Tomatoes At The Whistle Stop Café, it contains all the clichés we've come to expect of the genre from entangled mother/daughter relationships, tragic romance and the value of female friendship, to solving problems with a couple of homilies and a glass of iced tea.
On the plus side, an impressive cast Ellen Burstyn and Ashley Judd especially, as the present day and flashback versions of Vivi gives Ya-Ya a welcome injection of wit. Sadly, such moments are few and far between. Director Callie Khouri best known for her superb script for the ultimate chick flick, Thelma And Louise seems to have forgotten that even female audiences like a little strength and sassiness with their sugar.