Steel Magnolias
PG

Steel Magnolias

Six extraordinary friends. They share each other's laughter. They dry each other's tears.

1989 • 118 min • Comedy · Drama · Romance

Synopsis

A young beautician, newly arrived in a small Louisiana town, finds work at the local salon, where a small group of women share a close bond of friendship and welcome her into the fold.

Our family guide

Best from age 11
61
Movie Knight Score
746 reviews
  • 50 Reviewers · 2 · 51%
  • 72 Audience · 744 · 49%

Set in a close-knit Louisiana community, this film celebrates the enduring bonds of female friendship, laughter, and resilience. It follows a group of women who share life's joys and sorrows, especially through a new arrival to their beauty salon.

Violence & peril
1/10
Language
3/10
Drinking, drugs & smoking
2/10
Romance & sensuality
1/10
Scary moments
3/10

Heads up

  • A central character experiences serious health issues
  • Deals with the death of a young family member
  • Some emotional moments can be very sad

What it models well

  • The power of female friendship
  • Community support and resilience
  • Finding joy amidst sadness
  • Empathy and compassion

Talk about it after

  • Coping with grief and loss
  • Celebrating life and memory
  • The importance of a strong support system

Written by the Movie Knight editorial team for Steel Magnolias. Our own words, our own scoring — always double-check against your family's standards.

Where to watch

Stream

  • fuboTV
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  • Paramount Plus Essential
  • Paramount+ Amazon Channel
  • Paramount+ Roku Premium Channel

Links go straight to each service. Some are affiliate links that support Movie Knight at no cost to you. Availability data by JustWatch via TMDB.

Top billed cast

Director: Herbert Ross • Crew: Robert Harling

Trailers & clips

Reviewer notes

Not recommendedTrusted family reviewers

"Steel Magnolias" is an emotionally barren experience throughout as it attempts to emulate the feeble "Beaches" (1988) and it largely accomplishes the same startling underachievement as that memorably lacklustre film.…

RecommendedTrusted family reviewers

You can tell from the start that this was adapted from the stage. The dialogue--for the most part--has the same earnest theatrics as your average play, and honestly it works fairly well in a knock-off Tennessee Williams kind of way. And the stage adaptation becomes even more evident when it shows itself to be a comedy tear-jerker. And, as I said, that's fine.…

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Gallery

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Details

TMDB audience
7.2/10 (744)
Age rating
PG
Status
Released
Budget
$15,000,000
Box office
$95,904,091