Well, this one's a bit different from its trailer. You might think it to be one of those "older women sitting at a table telling people the truth about their lives in a direct, and funny, manner - and everybody learns from it, and acknowledges those truths" movies. (If that is a genre). It's really more of a Tennessee Williams-styled "family as a circle of hell" movie. Nobody's happy, everybody's deeply messed up, and the only way forward seems to be to detach from everyone else.
Beyond the unhappiness and malaise, this brought Tennessee Williams (kids, he was like Tyler Perry, except more damaged, and out of the closet) to mind for another reason - it's got a stage play feel to it. The dialogue doesn't aim for realism, it aims for the big dramatic moments that in real life most people eschew (but that some people do enjoy going through once in a while, admittedly. Hand up). And we don't flash back at all, we just see the characters in the here and now, steadily building towards a dramatic climax or three.
The story is serviceable, the dialogue has its moments. What makes this worth watching are the performances, from a strong cast. Everyone is quite good in their parts. I liked Juliette Nicholson and Juliette Lewis as two of the family sisters; I always enjoy Chris Cooper in movies. And the movie is carried by Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts.
Now, you would expect Streep to be great - and she is. Just tremendous, as befits the greatest actress to have worked movies. You may or may not expect great acting out of Julia Roberts, but she does give it to you here. This is her best dramatic part IMO.
On the whole, the film's no picnic and it's nothing that we haven't seen before, but it's a chance to see some strong female performances.
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