M'Lynn calls Aunt Fern "that awful woman" when she says she'll be by to drop off the groom's cake at the beginning of the movie, then, when M'Lynn picks up Jack Jr. from her after Shelby dies, she doesn't say one word to her, just picks up the kid and leaves.
Why didn't M'Lynn like Aunt Fern?
"We're all out of cornflakes. F.U." Took me three hours to figure out F.U. was Felix Ungar!
She probably just found her to be obnoxious. I've never met a person in my life who is not annoyed to no end by at least one other person in the world. Haven't you ever just not been able to stand another person and there is either no particular reason or simply a combination of things that caused it?
"The cover of this book is so misleading. It never snows like the cover implies that it does."
lol... Oh, yeah. I find numerous people annoying to death. (I just figured it's the area I live in... Philly suburb area... ick.)
I guess that didn't occur to me because I don't see anything wrong with Aunt Fern... which may have to do with the fact that I really like Ann Wedgeworth.
*shrug and a grin*
Makes me wonder if there isn't a book this is based on that may give more insight...
Off to go see about that.
Thank you for replying...
"We're all out of cornflakes. F.U." Took me three hours to figure out F.U. was Felix Ungar!
Hmm...I think I've read somewhere that there was indeed a book. Not sure of Aunt Fern was a real person though. :)
"The cover of this book is so misleading. It never snows like the cover implies that it does."
I don't think that Aunt Fern was the horrible woman who was going to drop off the cake eventhough she did make it I think M'Lynn was talking about another woman and the reason why she didn't talk to Aunt Fern when she picked up Jack Jr was that she was still sad about losing her daughter and didn't wanna talk to anyone right away. Does that make sense?
shareYeah... actually, it does. Thank you.
Meanwhile, I joined my local library so I could read the book which is really a play in a book binding.
It's good, don't get me wrong, but... it's too short and does nothing to fill in gaps or explain anything... lol...
I was thinking about this a few minutes ago, while I was getting my first cup of coffee for the day... thinking I was gonna have to figure out how to contact Mr Harling and ask him *grin*
But, your explanation makes sense.
Now, I can just go back to wishing such a place and such women actually existed.
(And, that I could live there... and know them.)
"We're all out of cornflakes. F.U." Took me three hours to figure out F.U. was Felix Ungar!
There is town and there are women just like that. It's Bobby Harling's hometown of Natchitoches Louisiana. I moved here 14 years ago, and I plan to stay forever for just that reason.
shareCan ya save a spot somewhere there for me?
:)
"We're all out of cornflakes. F.U." Took me three hours to figure out F.U. was Felix Ungar!
I am from Lake Charles LA and it may be a little bigger than Natchitoches but it is similar. you make friends in the neighborhood or your family is there and those relationships are identical to the movie version.
Unfortunately, people move so much today, that type of circle of friends is something rare. and in this case, Ouiser, M'lynn TRuvy, etc all grew up together and never left.
At the wedding, Aunt Fern talks about how she made the cake and how she can do just about any animal except for snakes because she doesn't have the counter space.
I just think that M'Lynn thought the cake was tacky beyond words for her daughter's upscale wedding, and thought everyone would "talk" about it. I know lots of people like that.
As for not talking to her when she picked the baby up, she was just on "auto-pilot". I've been like that and apologized later for it. And Aunt Fern didn't look like she was offended.
I figured M'Lynn was just a snob. She seemed awfully concerned with appearances, and Aunt Fern was a little avant-garde.
Lots of families tend to be this way, unfortunately. My family is like that, if you're not materialistic you are shunned.
Yet almost none of them are wealthy, go figure.
"I'd say this cloud is Cumulo Nimbus."
"Didn't he discover America?"
"Penfold, shush."
I agree with your version of M'Lynn being a snob and concerned with appearances. Look at how she acted at Truvy's when Annelle decorated the beauty shop with a bunch of Christmas decorations. Her face spoke volumes.
I could not figure out what was wrong with Aunt Fern. I liked her.
"Which one do you want, Biff? Doug? Skippy? No, don't take Skippy, he has asthma."
You don't see much of Aunt Fern in the movie. When M'Lynn picked Jack Jr. up from Aunt Fern's she didn't say hello to Fern or thank you. Then again she was sad over Shelby's death. I didn't see anything wrong with Aunt Fern.
shareIn that scene M'Lynn does give a look at Aunt Fern that seemed to take the place of verbal interaction, sort of a sad, sympathetic acknowledgment of the situation and possibly a "thanks" for watching Jack Jr. I didn't pick up on anything truly unpleasant between the two in that scene.
shareI agree with Hugh on this. Sometimes silence speaks volumes. Ann Wedgeworth had such a look of pain and sympathy in her eyes, and when somebody has just lost their nearest and dearest, you really want to give them space or allow them to make the first move as far as conversation goes. M'Lynn did acknowledge her; It was just extremely subtle, a small smile to indicate her thanks for watching over her grandson. It seemed like it was extremely early in the morning too and that with plans for her daughter's service, M'Lynn had a ton of stuff to do. We've all probably watched this movie so many times (I know I have) that we all pick up on little tidbits we might not have noticed before.
"Great theater makes you smile. Outstanding theater may make you weep."
Well this is kinda late but here's my two cents. I think M'lynn just didn't care for Jackson's family overall. She said they either "shoot it, stuff it, or marry it" with disdain.
I think M'lynn was a well-off, professional lady who lived in town and had lots of connections and she viewed Aunt Fern and Jackson's family as a bit Redneck-y.
She also didn't seem that fond of Jackson either, implying that he was calling the shots when Shelby got pregnant. And that basically he had no concern for Shelby's risks.
Thank you for replying... no matter how long it's been.
:)
I agree with the posters that think that M'Lynn was a bit of a snob. Aunt Fern seems a little kooky and M'Lynn is definitely not the kooky type. I think it's also because she was extremely protective over Shelby and I don't think she was exactly happy about Shelby getting married and that could have had a part in her calling Aunt Fern "that awful woman".
As for the not saying anything when she picked up Jack Jr. after Shelby died, that's a non-issue for me. Her daughter just died and she is heartbroken. It wouldn't make any sense for M'Lynn to walk up to Aunt Fern and shoot the breeze.
-"Moo with me"