Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
Warner Bros. Pictures | Release Date: June 7, 2002 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
48
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 35 Critic Reviews
Positive:
10
Mixed:
19
Negative:
6
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
This is a work of excess and passion, an untidy sprawl of a motion picture that is sometimes ragged, occasionally uncertain, but -- and this is what's important -- always warm, accessible and rich in emotional life. Read full review
60
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
The movie finally comes together into something that is genuinely -- and almost quietly -- stirring.
50
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
During one or two comic set-pieces, you can see the appeal that the Ya-Yas hold for readers. But you can also sense, farther in the distance, the more vital film that might have been. Read full review
50
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
As for the Ya-Yas: They're not as much fun as the First Wives' Club.
50
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Suffers from an excess of material crammed into too little screen time. There's so much story that the characters get short shrift; you have to wonder, for example, what became of Siddalee's three siblings. Read full review
50
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
A question: If you hire actresses from England, Kansas, Ireland and Michigan, shouldn't someone teach them all to do believable Southern accents -- and remind them to keep doing those accents as the film goes on? Read full review
50
Miami HeraldConnie Ogle
The film relies a bit too much on the humor of older women flipping each other off and mouthing obscenities, although it is hilarious to see the usually proper Smith frantically chopping up a roofie to slip into Sidda's drink. Read full review
50
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
The magnolias in Callie Khouri's fried green movie look limp. Read full review
50
New York PostMegan Lehmann
Khouri seems never to have met a "chick flick" cliché she didn't like, from the ubiquity of emotional telephone conversations to the lachrymose (but entirely predictable and dramatically flabby) reconciliation at the end. Read full review
50
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
The tart, often jauntily profane dialogue and sharp interactions of the present-day relationships give Divine Secrets its occasional zip; when Khouri takes us back in time, especially to the Ya-Yas' early childhood, the movie flags. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleSteve Davis
For those enamored with Wells' books, however, this film version will likely meet their expectations, and it undoubtedly will spawn more Ya-Ya chapters throughout the country. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
Divine cast keeps 'Ya-Ya Sisterhood' from falling flat Read full review
50
SalonStephanie Zacharek
Isn't so much a movie as a tract, a parable in which the charred wisdom of its characters is much more significant than the intricacies of their lives. Read full review
50
Film ThreatMichael Dequina
Should the likes of Burstyn, Flanagan, Smith, and Knight have to be reduced to playing eccentric caricatures of aging Southern belles? Read full review
50
The New York TimesStephen Holden
Perhaps not since "Steel Magnolias" has Hollywood turned out a movie so resolutely for and about women. Read full review
50
SlateDavid Edelstein
The movie doesn't have any undercurrents, psychological or cinematic. -- The Blessed Mother ends up looking like a drunken housewife. Read full review
40
New York Magazine (Vulture)Peter Rainer
The thinness of the movie, which is what is intermittently enjoyable about it, is at odds with its sob-sister pretensions. Read full review
40
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Except for Ashley Judd, who shows true grit as Vivi in her babe days, the effect is like being buried in molasses. For guys whose pain threshold is way low when it comes to the bonding of Steel Magnolias, Ya-Ya is a definite no-no. Read full review
40
Village VoiceMark Holcomb
As earnest and smart-alecky as an entire season of Designing Women, Ya-Ya is sure to score with its redemptive family melodramatics and stock eccentric characterizations. Read full review
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