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from a chandelier upstairs. Dragging the ceiling fixture behind her, she considering stabbing herself in the kitchen before putting her head in the oven. She is narrowly saved by Meg, who stumbles upon the scene. As Meg revives her, Babe realizes why their mother also hanged the family cat: She did not want to die alone. Later that morning, Meg and Babe surprise Lenny with a birthday cake.
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belles" and added, "Playwright Beth Henley has no dire message for us, but her adaptation is nicely restructured, glib as all get-out and character-wise ... The powerhouse performances are directed by Bruce
Beresford, who maintains balance among the actresses and keeps a lovely tone and smooth pace.
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In the morning, a chipper Meg returns home to find the dejected Babe and Lenny seated over breakfast. Meg assures her sisters that she plans on telling
Granddaddy the truth about her life in Hollywood, even if it "sends him into a coma". Lenny and Babe burst into laughter before informing Meg that
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Meg visits Old
Granddaddy at the hospital and regales him with stories about her career in Hollywood, but Lenny is skeptical. Lenny, who feels Meg has always received preferential treatment, vents to Babe, who reminds her that Meg was the one who found their mother's dead body. Meg later admits to
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called the film "that most delicate of undertakings: a comedy about serious matters. It exists somewhere between parody and melodrama, between the tragic and the goofy. There are moments when the movie doesn't seem to know where it's going, but for once that's a good thing because the uncertainty
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Shortly after, Lenny summons the courage to call her ex-boyfriend and arrange a reunion. Meanwhile, Babe receives a surprise call from
Zachery who threatens to have her institutionalized, and feels her only recourse is to commit suicide like her mother. She unsuccessfully attempts to hang herself
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Barnette Lloyd, an attorney hired to represent Babe, visits the house and speaks with Meg while Babe listens from a roof tower. Barnette suggests that Babe claim self-defense or temporary insanity, and shows Meg photographs from the hospital showing Babe seeking treatment for
Zackery's physical
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and reminiscing about their last date. Meg eventually admits to Doc Porter that her career in
Hollywood has been a failure. Simultaneously, Barnette visits the house and shocks Babe with sexual photographs of her and Willie together which Zachery's sister, Lucille, has procured from a private
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Granddaddy actually is comatose. Later, Babe shows Meg the incriminating photographs of her with Willie. Barnette arrives shortly after, having negotiated with
Zackery to drop charges against Babe out of fear that the public will perceive the affair as a poor reflection of Zachery's manhood.
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Lenny that her stories to Old
Granddaddy were fabricated. Lenny becomes increasingly angry with Meg after finding that she carelessly took a bite out of every chocolate in a box of Lenny's birthday candy. When Lenny criticizes her, Meg insinuates she is jealous of her romantic life.
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abuse. Later, Babe admits to Meg that, due to her unfulfilling marriage to
Zackery, Babe had carried on a romantic affair with a Willie Jay, a teenage African American boy. Upon Zackery's confrontation, Babe shot him with the pistol before preparing herself lemonade.
292:. The film's narrative follows the Magrath sisters, Babe, Lenny and Meg, who reunite in their family home in Mississippi after Babe is arrested for shooting her husband. Each sister is forced to face the consequences of the "crimes of the heart" she has committed.
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disliked the film, though he conceded "it's not really the fault of the actresses. The casting sounds ideal until you see them together. Their strong, highly individualized presences simply cannot disappear into the texture of the play, which is as spare as a
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on
December 12, 1986. It received positive reviews with critics praising its screenplay and performances (most notably Spacek's), but was a box office disappointment; grossing $ 22.9 million on a $ 20 million budget. The film received three nominations at the
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cartoon, and as packed with eccentric details. Under Mr. Beresford's direction, these details aren't seen out of the corner of the eye but in the same, larger-than-life close-ups that destroy any sense of an ensemble performance by the actresses."
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almost always ends with some kind of a delightful, weird surprise. The underlying tone ... is a deep, abiding comic affection, a love for these characters who survive in the middle of a thicket of Southern Gothic clichés and archetypes."
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Lenny fears that Babe will be convicted for shooting Zackery and suspects she may be mentally ill, while Meg presumes Babe must have had a valid reason for committing the crime. After Lenny learns that Old Granddaddy has just suffered a
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detective she hired to stalk Babe. Lenny is awoken by Babe's vocal reaction, but her attention is diverted by a phone call from the hospital notifying her that Old Granddaddy has slipped into a
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on Lenny's birthday, after Babe shoots and seriously injures her abusive husband, Zackery Botrelle. The three sisters were raised by Old Granddaddy after their mother committed
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The film opened on 246 screens in the US and earned $ 1,402,921 on its opening weekend. It eventually grossed $ 22,905,522 in the United States and Canada.
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and has lived largely a life of solitude in the familial home caring for Grandddaddy, while Babe married and moved in with the wealthy Zackery. The
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with a southern accent, a lilting gingerbread gothic with Diane Keaton, Sissy Spacek and Jessica Lange ding-a-linging harmoniously as
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to pursue a career as a singer, though she has kept her lack of success and a subsequent nervous breakdown a secret from her sisters.
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in the hospital, Babe is released to her sisters from the county jail. Meg confides in Babe that she believes that Lenny is a virgin
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Meg is the only of the siblings to have left Hazlehurst, having ended her relationship with Doc Porter and relocated to
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Friendly, David T. (November 16, 1985). "De Laurentiis Rejoins the Ranks--At Embassy: De Laurentiis: Embassy".
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received positive reviews among critics, with Spacek's performance being widely highlighted and lauded.
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Doc Porter arrives at the house and he and Meg spend the evening together on a lakeshore, drinking
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The eccentric Magrath sisters—Lenny, Meg, and Rebecca "Babe"—reunite at their family home in
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Knoedelseder, William K. Jr. (August 30, 1987). "De Laurentiis Producer's Picture Darkens".
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currently holds an 82% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 22 reviews.
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Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical
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from the original on February 29, 2024 – via RogerEbert.com.
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Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical
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by hanging herself and the family's cat. Lenny is a
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482:Connie Adams as Zackery's concubine
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226:$ 20 million
198:Running time
175:Release date
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97:Diane Keaton
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1142:Silent Fall
1006:Don's Party
659:Beth Henley
644:Tess Harper
608:Nominee(s)
532:Roger Ebert
453:Tess Harper
447:Sam Shepard
361:Los Angeles
286:Tess Harper
282:Sam Shepard
268:. It stars
258:Beth Henley
202:105 minutes
117:Tess Harper
112:Sam Shepard
80:Produced by
60:Beth Henley
46:Directed by
1277:1986 films
1271:Categories
1238:Mr. Church
1150:Last Dance
1118:Black Robe
1062:King David
729:References
683:Nominated
663:Nominated
648:Nominated
633:Nominated
496:Box office
357:egocentric
349:wallflower
231:Box office
186:1986-12-12
1094:Her Alibi
605:Category
595:Accolades
558:Dixieland
319:. At the
264:-winning
144:Edited by
1038:The Club
922:AllMovie
868:Archived
818:Archived
373:spinster
215:Language
154:Music by
90:Starring
66:Based on
611:Result
534:of the
491:Release
388:bourbon
345:suicide
218:English
207:Country
184: (
1257:(2018)
1241:(2016)
1225:(2011)
1217:(2009)
1209:(2006)
1193:(2002)
1190:Evelyn
1185:(2001)
1177:(1999)
1169:(1999)
1161:(1997)
1153:(1996)
1145:(1994)
1137:(1994)
1129:(1992)
1121:(1991)
1113:(1990)
1105:(1989)
1097:(1989)
1089:(1987)
1081:(1986)
1073:(1986)
1065:(1985)
1057:(1983)
1049:(1981)
1041:(1980)
1033:(1980)
1025:(1978)
1017:(1978)
1009:(1976)
1001:(1975)
993:(1974)
985:(1972)
602:Award
369:stroke
288:, and
223:Budget
1246:Flint
353:ovary
247:black
1086:Aria
911:IMDb
790:2024
722:Won
707:Won
696:Won
407:Cast
393:coma
335:Plot
931:at
920:at
909:at
573:of
1273::
884:.
866:.
860:.
835:.
816:.
810:.
779:.
331:.
307::
284:,
280:,
276:,
272:,
961:e
954:t
947:v
890:.
792:.
523:.
188:)
23:.
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