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Both movie and book begin with the conflict of the "modern day" Siddalee (Sandra Bullock) and Vivi (Ellen Burstyn), who are struggling with the latest manifestation of their dysfunction: an article in which playwright Sidda (in the movie... she's a director in the book) is interviewed and mentions that she did not have an easy childhood. Siddalee is midwifed through the experience by her long-term fiancee, Connor McGill, played by the delicious Angus MacFadyen. Ultimately, Sidda is drugged and kidnapped by the very lovable lifelong friends of Vivi, "The Ya-Ya's," who are utterly delightful and, in my opinion, make the movie. Played by Shirley Knight, Maggie Smith and Fionulla Flannagan, the movies' best lines are delivered by these three, with the occasional help of Burnstein, who simply glows throughout. The most memorable scene for me involves Teensy (Flannagan) and Vivi, as Teensy's reigns victorious in her attempt to block Vivi from getting to the other Ya-Yas and Sidda before the Ya-Yas have finished their work on her prodigal daughter.
As the story progresses (in the book, Sidda is not kidnapped, but instead chooses to go on a retreat to the Washington state cabin of a friend and the Ya-Ya scrapbook is mailed to Sidda by Vivi, afterwhich, the Ya-Yas converge), Sidda begins to explore the Ya-Ya scrapbook and at first, uncovers more questions than answers about her mother's troubled past. In the movie, Caro, one of the Ya-Yas says, "That book, minus the chip on your shoulder, is your ticket out of here." That pretty much sums up the movie. The Ya-Yas (in the book, they come to the cabin where Sidda is staying and talk her through the book) assist as Vivi's story begins to unfold.
The encounter with the young Ya-Yas actually starts the first few minutes of the movie with a bonding and naming ritual done by the young girls that establishes them as Ya-Ya's. Through flashbacks, we see the girls grow up unto bold, daring and vibrant (if troubled, largely from the patriarchal, heavily restrictive era in which they were raised) young women.
Devastated over the loss of her one true love, Jack, the brother of Teensy, Vivi tries to pick up the pieces, marries the ultimately long-suffering Shep (in the book, it was because he looked really hot in blue jeans and in the movie, it's not really well explained) and has four babies in five years, the oldest being Siddalee. Young Vivvi is played dynamically by the beautiful Ashley Judd.
As we revel in the friendship and fierce loyalty of the Ya-Ya's, we learn that Vivi's drinking (all of the Ya-Ya's are voracious drinkers and, in fact, made me want to take it up myself), unresolved grief over losing Jack and abusive childhood has led her into a relentless depression. This culminates in an increasingly disturbing climax that reveals a secret Vivi staunchly refused to disclose prior to her admission to Connor (who has come to Siddalee's parents looking for clues to his fiancée's resistance to commitment), and coincides with the revelation of this same secret to Sidda by the Ya-Ya's (Caro tells Sidda prior to the story, "Better get comfy, Bebe, I've got a full tank," patting her necessary oxygen tank).
The complex Vivianne Abbott Walker is captured completely by the lovely Ellen Burstyn, who takes us through the emotions that haunt the older Vivi, looking back on her motherhood and marriage. At the end of the movie, we feel that Vivi has made peace with her demons and while she is very much a damaged person, she has come into her peaceful Diva place and bridged an epic abyss with Siddalee. One of the last lines comes after the two have experienced a moving conversation that seems to bring them to reconciliation and acceptance. Vivi gives Sidda a treasured ring that was a gift from her beloved father, then says that she has one question, "Do I look like I've gained weight?" Sidda then answers that on the contrary, Vivi looks like she could stand to gain a few pounds to which Vivi replies, "God love ya."
Vivi's quiet, enduring husband is played in simple elegance by James Garner, who very nearly steals the show in every scene he's given. In a particularly moving moment, Vivi knocks on Shep's door (they've had separate bedrooms for decades, we learn) and asks if she's ruined his life. Shep drolly replies that he was always under the impression that it was the other way around.
The movie ends with a re-enactment of the first Ya-Ya ritual, this time bringing Sidda into the fold (the children of the Ya-Yas are known as "Petite Ya-Ya's") while Shep and Connor, listening to the rowdy cheers from the upstairs room, clink beer bottles and celebrate the joys of being on the porch (Neanderthals). While the book, "Divine Secrets ..." proceeds in a basically similar fashion and, as usual in book versus movie, fills in many details that are delicious to know prior to seeing the movie. The book is very well written and a gentle, melodic read. It was my first foray back into fiction in years and very much whet my appetite to read Wells' first book, "Little Altars Everywhere." I ordered it through Half.com and it seemed to take forever to get here. Once it arrived, I hurriedly devoured it and began to feel that I'd eaten a piece of chocolate too fast and hadn't realized it was a piece of shit. It's not that the book was particularly bad. Well's writing style remained a smooth read, but the format was one of first personal journaling, moving through different members of the Walker family (Shep, Vivi, Siddalee, Little Shep, Baylor & LuLu, as well as a very enjoyable chapter by the Walkers' maid, Willetta and one by her husband, Chaney). "Divine Secrets" moved around in perspective from person to person, but was told in third person personified. I was on board with the book for the most part until about 3/4th of the way through when it was revealed that Vivi had sexually molested Little Shep, her oldest son. Disapproving of what LuLu was wearing on a date, Vivi ripped the blouse from her daughter's body in front of her date, exposing her breasts and bra. In watching "Divine Secrets," I related to Vivi in an uneasy way, remembering my own struggles with raising children amidst extreme depression and occasional madness with my older three sons. This was amplified with the reading of the book and when the first book so boldly and viscerally highlighted Vivi's extreme cruelty and perversity, I felt betrayed and a little bit dirty. I thought I knew her and the abrupt and blatant plunge into icy waters of her full extremes was mind-numbing and nauseating. I can't really say if it is my own personal identification with Vivi that turned me off to the book or if it was just a little more than I needed to know about the Walker family. My vote: For both the movie and the book, "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood."
For the book "Little Altars Everywhere."
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In
2002, women over the world renewed their desire for connectivity and
friendship after watching the movie, "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya
Sisterhood." Brilliantly directed by Callie Khouri, Ya-Ya parallels
the lives of mother and daughter, Vivi and Siddalee, and explores their
complex and turbulent relationship and history. The movie was
taken from the book of the same name by Rebecca Wells (left), a lovely
Diva in her own right who, in both the movie and the books she has
written, weaves a seductive story blending the points of family,
friendship, frailty and the fuzzy space between Craft and Bayou
Catholicism. 
