Some people might call "Steel Magnolias" a 'chick flick'; if by that they mean a story with warm caring friends and honest emotions, then this movie certainly fits. "Steel Magnolias" is a 1989 film set in Chaquapin Parish, Louisiana. A great deal of the 'action' (no exploding cars or fights for world domination) takes place at Truvys' Beauty Shop, and deals with the everyday lives of the people in the Parish.
The amazing cast includes Sally Field, Shirley MacLaine, Dolly Parton and Olympia Dukakis. Dukakis won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for "Moonstruck" (1987).
2. Joy
Answer: Jennifer Lawrence
The heroine of "The Hunger Games" films, i.e., Jennifer Lawrence, plays a more timely, real life role as Joy Mangano in "Joy" (2015). Joy Mangano is an American entrepreneur and businesswoman who invented the self-wringing Miracle Mop. She started inventing things as a teenager when she worked in an animal hospital and came up with the idea of a florescent flea collar to keep pets safe.
She is the president of her own company, Ingenious Designs, LLC; all this while raising three children as a single mother. Jennifer Lawrence was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Joy.
3. Nine to Five
Answer: Lily Tomlin
"Nine to Five" was a 1980 satire where three secretaries who work for a sexist, tyrannical boss get together and dream up comical ways to kill him. Then they manage to kidnap him and keep him trapped in his own house while they run his department and substantially increase productivity.
A funny and empowering film, the wonderful cast included Jane Fonda, Dolly Parton (who wrote the song "9 to 5") and Lily Tomlin. It was the second highest grossing film in 1990, after "The Empire Strikes Back". Lily Tomlin got her start on "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" in the late 1960s and she hasn't stopped since, e.g., Ernestine and Edith Ann.
4. Fried Green Tomatoes
Answer: Kathy Bates
Based on Fannie Flagg's novel "Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe", the 1991 film "Fried Green Tomatoes" was created. The film is presented in flashbacks where Ninny Threadgoode (Jessica Tandy) shares stories from her past with Evelyn Couch (Kathy Bates), a middle-aged housewife who visits the nursing home on Wednesdays. Ninny talks about a relationship between Idgie and Ruth and, as time goes by, Ninny and Evelyn develop a friendship as well. Kathy Bates won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her frightening portrayal of former nurse Annie Wilkes in "Misery" (1990).
5. Juno
Answer: Ellen Page
Canadian actress Ellen Page had her break-out roll in the 2007 quirky comedy "Juno". Juno MacGuff is a sixteen year old who got pregnant in a one night 'sit' (it happened in a chair) with her friend Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera). While waiting for an abortion at the clinic, she decides to have the child and give it up to an adoptive couple she finds in the PennySaver personal ads.
In the meantime, she continues going to her classes at school. Page is exceptional in the role and actually seems to mature before our eyes. Ellen was nominated for a Best Actress Award for "Juno" when she was only 20.
She has also appeared in "Inception" and "X-Men" as Kitty Pryde.
6. The Color Purple
Answer: Margaret Avery
Margaret Avery was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Shug Avery in the powerful drama "The Color Purple" (1985). The film was based on Alice Walker's 1982 Pulitzer Prize winning novel about a black Southern woman, Celie Johnson, and the abuses she suffered throughout her life, e.g., pregnant at 14 - by her father! She winds up with a heartless husband whom she calls "Mister".
The plot centers around Celie's family and her relationships, and about turning her life around from victim to empowered survivor. Through the years, Margaret Avery has appeared in a number of films and TV shows.
7. Bridesmaids
Answer: Maya Rudolph
Maya Rudolph plays Lillian, the engaged woman who is going to be the bride in the movie "Bridesmaids" (2011). Actually, the lead character is Annie, an out-of-work, single pastry chef, played by Kristen Wiig (who also wrote the script). Annie was chosen by Lillian to be her maid of honor. Annie and the four bridesmaids go through a bizarre series of events to try to make the wedding perfect. This movie was hailed by many; I personally was not one of them. Maya Rudolph gained fame as one of the members of the "Saturday Night Live" cast where she parodied celebrities like Whitney Houston and Donatella Versace. As an aside, Maya's mother was soul singer Minnie Riperton.
8. The Help
Answer: Viola Davis
The setting for this stirring and poignant film, "The Help" (2011), was Mississippi in the 1960s. Society girl and writer Skeeter Phelan (Emma Stone) returns home. In the early stages of the Civil Rights movement, Skeeter decides to write a story from the point of view of the black women who have spent their lives taking care of rich white families.
At first, no one wants to collaborate with Skeeter but finally Aibileen, brilliantly played by Viola Davis, comes forward. Little by little, the others begin to tell their stories and pave the way for the changes to come. Davis was nominated for Best Actress in "The Help", and Best Supporting Actress in "Doubt".
9. Precious
Answer: Mo'Nique
Talk about a heart-wrenching film..."Precious" (2009) is the story of an overweight, illiterate, abused Harlem teenager in 1987. Sixteen year old Claireece 'Precious' Jones is pregnant with her second child. She lives at home with her vicious and abusive mother, Mary, who watches TV and smokes all day, while fraudulently collecting welfare.
She has no use for her daughter or for education and, when Precious is offered a chance to go to an alternative school to better herself, Mary does not support it.
Originally a TV actress, Mo'Nique won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her amazing portrayal of Mary Jones.
10. The Accused
Answer: Kelly McGillis
"The Accused", a 1988 movie, is a tough one to watch. The film is based on the true story of a woman who was raped in a bar by three men while others watched and cheered. Jodie Foster was brilliant in the lead as the victim, Sarah Tobias; she won a Best Actress Academy Award for the role.
When Sarah's checkered past is revealed, the DA agrees to a plea bargain, and the perpetrators wind up with mild sentences. But, at Sarah's insistence, DA Kathryn Murphy, played by Kelly McGillis, then agrees to put the spectators of the rape on trial. Kelly McGillis also appeared in "Witness" and "Top Gun".
This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor spanishliz before going online.
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