The 1989 hit movie, Steel Magnolias is coming back with a brand new all African American cast including Queen Latifah and Jill Scott, and the ladies are hitting the promotional trail to spread word of the upcoming remake.
The TV movie will air on Lifetime this Sunday at 9 pm ET/PT and has quite the star studded cast.
Alfre Woodard, Phylicia Rashad, Jill Scott, Adepero Oduye, Condola Rashad, and Queen Latifah all came together to add some star power to the new version of the film.
Queen Latifah, Jill, Adepero, and Condola even stopped by 106 & Park to promote the film remake as well as share some advice about relationships and hair.
Other than the fact that the cast is now entirely African American, the other elements of the film are exactly the same which may not necessarily be a good thing to most movie critics.
Craig Zadan and Neil Meron produced the new Steel Magnolias which seems to have the same exact problems as the older version of the flick.
“The story is blatantly manipulative, with a mix of sentimentality and sitcom one-liners that is as repellant to some as it is attractive to others,” USAToday wrote about the film.
Critics also pointed out that the addition of male characters to the originally all female play didn’t do much for the story at all.
“The male characters, a film addition to what had been an all-female cast on stage, continue to be a one-note was of space…,” USAToday added.
In the original play, the men are only talked about by the women who are actually in the film, but they are never portrayed physically.
The new school adaptation has added men to the film, but their roles proved to be relative pointless and unnecessary.
Of course, leaving the plot untouched has also left the admirable points of the movie in tact as well.
Audiences tend to enjoy the portrayal of a Southern style sisterhood bond between all the Louisiana women in the movie.
The six different women, and their varying personalities, add a touch of comedy to the story but perhaps not quite enough.
For some critics, the story is a bit too heavy and sad for their liking with not enough comical moments to help balance out the tragedy.
Either way, the lack of change in the script despite the fact that the cast is now all African American, seems to be sending out a relatively positive message.
“Harling’s story of life’s sweet moments bound to tragic ones has nothing to do with the color of one’s skin, which is probably the point he wanted to make here,” Newsday posted in their own commentary about the movie.
Despite the critiques and relatively low ratings for the TV movie, the ladies of the cast received overwhelming support during the movie’s premiere in New York City yesterday.
Family and friends including Alfre Woodard’s husband Roderick Spencer and sexy songstress Keri Hilson came out to show some love on the red carpet as well as Lifetime Networks Executive VP of programming Rob Sharenow.
Queen Latifah opted for a simple all black look while co-star Jill Scott went all out in a dazzling gold dress that fit her curves just right.
