Just in time for the sticky, humid weather comes the damp and sappy celebration of women in the form of “The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood.” Get the Kleenex and estrogen ready, this one is chick-flick at its finest.
Part “View,” part “Golden Girls,” all heart, “Ya-Ya Sisterhood” explores the timeless bond between mothers, daughters and friends and all the bumps and scars that go along with it. Through flashbacks, we learn of the troubled childhood of both mother Vivi (Ellen Burstyn, “Requiem for a Dream”) and daughter Sidda (Sandra Bullock, “28 Days”) and how one affected the other and consequently, our heart strings.
“Ya-Ya Sisterhood” is rare in that the entire film creates a dialogue between the past and present of both Vivi and Sidda and does so with remarkable ease, only slowing in a few places.
Vivi’s life-long girlfriends, the clan-like Ya-Yas with the most irritating battle cry, begin to tell Sidda memories about her mother’s youth in an effort to repair the ailing mother/daughter bond. Through stories, snap-shots, and one mother of a scrapbook, Sidda learns her mother’s past was punctured with alcohol and drug abuse, a.k.a the proverbial “I’m not to blame” lesson, reconciles with “mama,” and, viola!, instant feel-good movie of the summer.
In its simplicity, “Ya-Ya Sisterhood” is hooky, emotional manipulation at its finest. The “divine secret” is merely a plot-device, and a lame one at that. Bullock seems a little forced in this role, but Burstyn and the rest of the Ya-Yas more than make up for it. Burstyn is fiery and immensely enjoyable to watch. Maggie Smith (“Harry Potter”) is the film’s scene stealer as she totes around her oxygen tank, slams some cocktails and cusses up a storm with less effort than Bobby Knight. Ashley Judd (“High Crimes”) also gives the film an added umph as the younger Vivi, saving the film from a straight to Lifetime fate.
“Ya-Ya Sisterhood” thankfully avoids anyone dying from an incurable disease, adoption, or any other weepy-ass storylines that damage similar types of movies. Yes, it does the chick flick thing. Yes, it’s does the sappy, emotional tear-jerker. But it does so very, very well.
GRADE: B
