I don’t know why, but I love the movie Steel Magnolias. It’s a combination of Dolly Parton’s bad acting, the good natured rivalry between Olympia Dukakis and Shirley McLean, and Julia Roberts’ annoyingly toothy smile that draws me in. Yes, I cry every single time I see it, just like I cry every time I see Terms of Endearment or West Side Story.
But there is a time line discrepancy in Steel Magnolias that bothers me to my very core. Let me outline it for you, and see if you agree or can offer some clarity. I tried reaching out to my Facebook friends, but got little to no satisfaction from anyone’s input.
Fact 1: Shelby has a kidney transplant on our about July 4th.
Fact 2: Annelle, who is deeply religious, is getting married on or close to Halloween.
Fact 3: Shelby collapses and slips into a coma on Halloween
Fact 4: Shelby dies and is buried. At the funeral Annelle is pregnant and asks M’Lynn if she can name her baby Shelby
Fact 5: Annelle goes into labor and gives birth on or around Easter
Just looking at these raw facts raises an eyebrow right away. If you are married on Halloween, there is no way you can have a baby on the following Easter unless you were creasing the sheets before you walked down the aisle. November – April is only 6+ months of gestation time.
Yes, the baby could’ve been premature, but they make mention of how uncomfortable Annelle is in her advanced stage of pregnancy at the Easter Egg Hunt so I doubt that was the case.
separated at birth?
There is the school of thought that Annelle gave into temptation by letting her boyfriend bed her down before entering into holy matrimony, but I hate that idea. It just doesn’t fit her character. And on a side note, who cast that dude? He looked like Eddie Munster grown up. Ick.
The only other plausible explanation is that Shelby was in a coma for a very long time. Let’s pretend she collapsed on Halloween of 1989, the year the movie came out. Annelle would have had to have become pregnant around August of 1990 to give birth around Easter of 1991. If she is already pregnant at Shelby’s funeral, that means Shelby would have to have been in a coma for at least 10 months – the last of October 1989 to August of 1990. This would also account for the fact that Jack Jr., who was like 1 1/2 when Shelby collapsed, was a lot older when we next see him at the Easter Egg Hunt where Annelle goes into labor.
But this theory doesn’t mesh for 2 reasons. For one, Jack Jr. is being pushed in a swing at Shelby’s funeral and is clearly still a toddler. And, they mention that M’Lynn didn’t leave Shelby’s side even once while she was in the coma…she couldn’t risk missing it if Shelby woke up for even a minute. I doubt even the best mother would sit by a comatose daughter for 10 months non-stop.
Nope, it’s a plot flaw, plain and simple.
Am I mentally defective for even caring about this?
I’m ashamed I never bothered to do the math and notice this!!! I’ve watched this movie 100 times and usually when I do that I notice more discrepancies and lack of continuity for any movie.
Now it’s going to bug me too!
It seems to me everything would work out great if let’s say Shelby died after Halloween of ’89 (you’re right that she couldn’t have been in a comma that long due to Jack Jr’s age at the funeral) and Annelle gave birth not on/near Easter of ’90 but 1991 instead… Jack Jr looks the right age and Annelle actually says “We’ll talk about uncomfortable when your nine months pregnant” which means the baby definitely wasn’t early.
However I think the big mistake is that they have her announce she’s both pregnant already and going to name the baby Shelby *on the day of the funeral*. That’s what messes it all up!
That means she HAD to be at least 3 months pregnant when she got married! I know you don’t want to believe she “slipped” but remember she was a lot more “adventurous” at the beginning at the movie… religion or not, that old part of her just doesn’t go away. It’s the ONLY explanation! Would have been nice if they clarified that.
I rewatched the bridal shower scene with Annelle and all we learn for sure is that they were getting married on Halloween… no mention of baby already on board. It does really come out of the blue at the funeral.
Finally someone who understands, and can intelligently discuss this conundrum!
Oh, BTW – thanks…you gave me my best day of likes so far on this blog!
Ha! Well this is what happens when I get behind on my blog reading!! I always feel bad because you go months thinking no one gave a crap about your post and then it turns out that some of your readers just didn’t get to reading it until later! Better late than never? 🙂
and no, you are most definitely NOT mentally defective! How crazy would that make me for feeling weird that this HADN’T occurred to me!?!?!
For some reason I’m obsessive about movie/TV show time lines and this has ALWAYS bothered me…the only plausible explanation is that Annelle is pregnant before she gets married (they certainly don’t give the impression that Shelby was in a coma that long), but since this is so out of character for her you’d think they would do a better job explaining it. ALWAYS bugs me when I watch this movie.
I am so happy there are other people out in the world scratching their heads at this too. It’s NOT just me!
Ok the reason I am reading this is my 20 year old daughter has never seen SM (I know….what?!?) so I turned it on last night. Well haven’t seen it in years but I realized as the opening scenes unfolded that it was Shelby’s wedding day and Truvy was getting ready to hide Easter eggs for the Easter egg hunt the following day. So my question was, “What legitimate church-going Southern pillar of a community gets marries on Easter weekend in a big church that will host Easter services and festivities the next day?!?”
So I Googled it, and here I am, with no answer but just more questions….
Thanks. lol
It’s another one of those things you just have to overlook when you love a movie, right?
Thanks for mentioning this. It’s been driving me crazy. Jack Jr never even had another birthday. He was 15 months old when Shelby went in the coma, so if she was in a coma for a month he would have still been a toddler when she died, he would’ve been about 21 months old when the next Easter came around. It says in the credits, Jack Jr at one and Jack Jr at three. Annelle said she was nine months pregnant when she told Sammy to dress up as the Easter Bunny so there was hanky panky going on before the Halloween wedding. I still love the movie!
I love it too and am so glad that there are others out there who share my irksomeness at this lack of attention to detail.
When I saw this movie as a teen I was very confused as to whether or not Annelle was pregnant before her and Sammy got married. The dresses she wore seemed maternity (the dress she wore when pouring out Sam’s beer for example), but could also have just been “modest” since she had adopted a more Christian lifestyle. I could see her and Sammy “slipping up” and having premarital sex which may also explain the constant praying, repentance for their sin. Mostly I just disregarded the timeline, but since reading them I’m more than convinced she was pregnant before they got married.
I wonder if the book could shed any light on this. Movies always cut stuff out – hell, Gone with the Wind the book vs. the movie? Massive differences. I may have to see if the library has it.
Definitely comment here with the answer if the book sheds some light!
So glad to see I am not alone on this one. I do love this movie and have watched it so many times that I pretty much know it by heart but I also agree that the timelines just don’t add up. I truly don’t believe that there was supposed to be a pre-marital pregnancy which would lead us to believe that Shelby was in a coma for a very long time but the other details don’t line up with that either… so yes this does drive me crazy. Maybe in this lovely little town a pregnancy term is magically much shorter????…. either way I still love this movie!!!
One more thing folks… the other thing I have a hard time with is if indeed Annelle was already pregnant and the timeline was shorter I just can’t see M’Lynn (as devoted as she was to Shelby) allowing them to pull the plug (so to speak) after only a few weeks or so. It’s just another thing that doesn’t seem to fit. As you can see I have thought about this all way too much but it’s still nice to know that I’m not alone in my desire to figure this out.
You know, when I wrote this post I had no idea there were SO many people out there who felt the same way, and who spent time analyzing this movie flaw.
I can see M’Lynn realizing after spending weeks and weeks at the hospital that there was no hope and that it was time to let her rest. Remember Truvy saying “Drum said you never left her side for a minute.” I’m sure that was exhausting, and can make you face the truth a lot quicker.
Thanks for commenting!
This is my ALL TIME FAVORITE MOVIE. I literally can quote every single line in the movie. I’ve seen it at least 100 times. Seriously. I even watched it on my wedding day while I was getting my hair done. This plot flaw has always bothered me! I just watched the movie again and decided to google it to see if it bothers anyone else.
Here is my take on it:
If Annelle was pregnant before she got married… ok. I can accept that. But, look at the size of her belly after Shelby’s funeral. She appears to be maybe 4-5 months along. Not NEARLY as huge as she is at Easter. Notice the flowers in the yard… they are spring-looking flowers. Also, if you look behind M’Lynn, you will notice that the pool is still covered up. This means it must be spring. Being in Louisiana, spring does come early….but not early enough to account for her being nine months pregnant and going into labor at an Easter egg hunt.
Also, if Shelby was in a coma from October-August…the way the yard is at the funeral doesn’t fit that either. Again…spring flowers are blooming and why would they cover the pool up so early (unless they never opened it that summer, given the circumstances)
My far-out theory is this: Annelle gets pregnant on her honeymoon, which would make her about 4-5 months pregnant at Shelby’s funeral. She has a baby at the end of July, and names him/her Shelby. She gets pregnant again right after that birth and at the Easter egg hunt, we are actually seeing her go into labor with her second child (They never actually say that she is having her first baby…) It IS possible.
I know, I have over-thought this to the max.It is a dilemma that has bothered me for over 20 years. 🙂
Ha! I love how you’re trying so hard to make this work! I’ll have to watch this again the next time the movie is on and look at all the details you mention.
You should be a CSI investigator!
You are not alone on the over-thinking of this. I too have spent way too much time on trying to figure it out. I do find it hard to believe that this would be the second child, mainly because where is baby #1???…. but I love that these thoughts keep this conversation going. 🙂
We have waaaaay too much time on our hands! 🙂
[…] to debunk a time continuum flaw in the movie “Steel Magnolias.” That post, “Where Steel Magnolias Goes Awry” holds the record for most comments by far. Folks who have also noticed this serious screw […]
Omg finally someone else feels the same way as I do! That has always bothered me, too. At the ‘bridal shower’ at Halloween, she doesn’t have a baby bump…but at the funeral is really showing and in a maternity dress.
Makes me feel good knowing other people out there agree with my analysis!! I bet I quote this movie almost daily!
I have to also say this…on a different subject. My husband would never see me standing alone at our daughter’s casket and NOT come over to me.
The credits say Jack Jr. is 3 at the end of the movie. So there’s that.
I guess the key is, how old was Jack Jr. in the birthday scene where they never show Julia Roberts’ face? If he’s one, that really makes no sense because he couldn’t be 3 just 9 months later.
But we do know because M’Lynn says “you only have your first birthday once” during that scene!!!
So…. Jack Jr has his 1st birthday in July, Shelby collapses that Halloween. Annelle gets pregnant around August of the next year. One year after Shelby’s collapse they finally let her go which would explain Annelle being as pregnant as she was at the funeral AND be ready to have the baby at Easter… AND Jack Jr being (almost) 3 at the end of the movie during the egg hunt.
Does this finally work yet? You know, if we can buy that M’Lynn only wore about 2 outfits for the year Shelby was in a coma???
Oh damn.. never mind… forgot about Jack Jr being the littler version at the funeral… basically the same aged actor as how he looks the Halloween Shelby collapses. Dang it… if it weren’t for that, it’d fit. Ugh… this will bother me forever!!!
Yeah, there’s no way Shelby was in a coma for a year. Jack Jr. can barely walk when M’Lynn picks him up at Aunt Ferns
Ok. Years late to this party but THANK YOU! I just watched the movie for the 150th time and drove myself crazy, yet again, trying to figure out the timeline. It has bothered me since the 2nd time I watched. The only thing that makes sense is that Shelby was in a coma for 10 months. Jack, Jr.’s age messes with the “shot gun” wedding theory. So basically, the movie starts at Easter time (and the wedding) and ends 4 years later at Easter time (and the birth of Annelle’s baby). Not a satisfying conclusion because I cannot imagine M’Lynn being at the hospital and not in touch with these women for that long, given their bond. Plus, when Shelby died and you see M’Lynn hugging Jack, Jr., he hasn’t grown much since Shelby collapsed. But since this has bugged me for so long, that’s what I’m going with and I thank you so very much for letting me know I’m not the only one that got stuck on this issue!!! Way to go!!
Thanks for your input Pauline. I am amazed at the response I’ve had from this one little post. I never realized how many other people out there shared my frustration at the gianormous glitch in this otherwise perfect movie. I still bawl my eyes out every time regardless of the time flaw.
Absolutely … whenever I need a good cry, this is my “go to” movie. Like Truvy says “laughter through tears is my favorite emotion” and this movie always delivers. It’s a great reminder of the power of friendship and just how strong we women are.
I always sob at both this movie and at Terms of Endearment.
Ok so because I obviously have OCD or no life, (or both) I found a you tube version of the play (small town theatre group). In the play, they are always at Truvy’s shop. When Annelle tells M’Lynn she is naming the baby Shelby, she is way far along in the pregnancy. Looks like 8 or 9 months. I think it was more poignant to have the movie start with Easter and end with Easter and they just tried to fill in the seasons to have “markers”. The best part of being stuck on this was to find out it was a play originally and that this is the story of the playwright’s sister. He wrote it as therapy to deal with his grief and I believe it took him a very short time (either 10 days or a month … something crazy like that). But these women were real and basically what they said in real life was the script. The time line was 2 1/2 or 3 years (I think … hard to remember what you read at 2am. Lol. Google is a great thing when you have insomnia!). so the movie may have screwed it up but the play is the real deal. You tube it. The only characters are the women and the only set is Truvy’s shop. The film stayed true to the play as far as dialogue. Also … interesting tidbit … Betty Davis wanted to be Weazer with Elizabeth Taylor being Clarice!!
This bother me too! I think she was ina coma for a long time, that makes more sense to me.
Timelines in movies make me crazy too and this one has drained way too much of my time so nice to know I’m not the only one here. Thanks for the heads up on the Youtube play. I will be looking for that too.
I was wondering the same thing. I’m watching the movie right now and Idk why I searched but I found your article. In IMDb, there is 2 actors for jack jr… One for the 1yr old Jack Jr and one for the 3 yr old Jack Jr. I also noticed in the funeral scene that it looks like spring time. Maybe Shelby was in the coma thru the winter. Either way I love this movie and will watch over and over again hahah
This is something that has bothered me for years. While I sit here and watch SM for the millionth time, it bothered me still. I just found your blog and feel so vindicated because I also posted this on FB a long time ago and no one was bothered by this. Lol. I’m so glad I’m not the only one.
This is by far my most commented on blog post. I’m so glad I wrote it and that I’m not alone in believing there is a major glitch
I agree. I’ve tried so many different scenarios and none work. I thought about what another poster said about her being in a coma for 10 months, but then Jack Jr would have been older when she went to pick him up at the aunt’s house. He was still a toddler. And I just can’t imagine that Annelle, with her strong faith, was pregnant before they got married and it was never even discussed. But yet Jack Jr was considerably older in the final Easter Scene and the credits say, “Jack Jr at 1 and 3”. Do we all have too much free time on our hands? Lol.
I love that you wrote this!!! And I’m so glad I found it! Thank you google!! Lol
I’m glad I wrote it too. So happy to see there are so many Steel Magnolia fans out there!
Isn’t it great to know you are not alone! Lol. It just seems to me that with such a poignant story, they would’ve paid attention to detail, especially when showing how everyone has moved on with their lives! It does make me smile now when I watch it … just knowing I’m not the only one that this bothers is weirdly comforting and makes it more palatable. By the way… you tube the stage play. Pretty interesting how they do it with one set and how the movies dislogue really stayed true to the play. And also knowing that it was based on a true story made an even bigger impact on me and my anger over the movies inaccuracies.
More than one person has suggested I watch the play – one rainy day maybe I’ll give it a try. Thanks for reading!
Hello Everyone! It touches my heart so to see that this conversation is still going. Although we may never figure this out it has certainly been the spark of some great conversation and the reason for bringing us all together. This will always be one of my absolute favorite movies. Keep posting!!
This post has been SO POPULAR, wouldn’t it be great if someone actually associated with the production of the movie version found this post and could provide some definitive answers???!!! That’d be awesome.
That would be fantastic! Who’s up for writing Dolly Parton? I think she’s the only one who would reply!
Great Idea!
I was just wondering whether Shelby and M’Lynn knew she was dying around the scene when Truvy thought Shelby was “driving nails up her arm”. Dialysis and low kidney function nation typically leads to death often even with the transplant.
But now, with this blog there are much more questions about this movie that need answering!
I never thought of that…it seems as if the operation only bought her a few months if she collapses on Halloween.
I think Shelby and M’Lynn were making it seem like the transplant was an easy fix and not mentioning the risk of organ rejection. I think they all lived in a world where their own denial made them both strong and niave.
you are obviously a Steele Magnolias aficionado!
Never thought of it like that! And yes love this movie, found this wonderful article last night too!
http://gardenandgun.com/feature/thirty-years-of-steel-magnolias/
Thanks…that was a really good article!
If you look at her dress when she was making the red beans and rice ….I believe she was pregnant than and that would fit the timeline. Just a thought…
You know, it does…BUT she would have to have just began the pregnancy which wouldn’t account for wearing a maternity dress. Shelby had the surgery right after July 4th, and 9 months from then plops you right into Easter. Also (I’ll have to try to notice next time) what she looks like at her bridal shower.
I solved the mystery. This question has been bothering me for years, too, and so this morning, I downloaded the script of the play and read the whole thing. *Drum roll* Annelle married Sammy and then got pregnant.
Here’s the scoop from the play. Jack Jr. was due in June but was a preemie. At the time of Shelby’s veins being all messed up, JJ was 15 months old. That was June. Annelle was asked about her boyfriend (Sammy) in that scene, and it closes shortly thereafter. The next and final scene takes place on November 1st. Annelle is described as “visibly pregnant.” And later in the scene she is asked about her husband, so there it is. We know she married Sammy and enough time had passed for her to start showing.
M’Lynn comes into the shop to have her hair done, and Clairee having been to Paris didn’t know what happened to Shelby because she was fine before her trip. She asked M’Lynn if she would mind sharing, and she didn’t so M’Lynn told the story of how she died–Shelby had been in a coma for four days before being taken off life support. So at that time JJ would have been almost 21 months old in the play.
I think the film script writers tried to tell us that Annelle had already married Sammy except they botched the scene with a line by Sally Field. Dolly says, “I always wanted to give a wedding with a monster motif!” Sally says, “That’s what you get for getting married on Halloween!” But later someone says, “Better late than never!” The better late than never line always made me think that the shower had been postponed rather than a reference to age because Annelle had previously been described as “barely more than 18.”
Except for Sally’s line, i think what they were trying to say is Annelle got married in the summer, but just didn’t have a shower then since M’Lynn was recovering from surgery, but the girls really wanted her to be there so they waited. Annelle appeared to be wearing a wedding ring in that scene, too.
At the very least I did solve another mystery on my own. I always wondered why Shelby wasn’t in JJ’s birthday scene. I figured the baby actor wouldn’t stop crying so they put in his real mother to calm him, but from a distance you can see it really is Julia Roberts holding him so that wasn’t it.
But then I remembered things from my film criticism class, and I realized the powers-that-be were foreshadowing Shelby’s death in that someday soon she would be “out of the picture,” which we start to realize in the next scene when we see her veins and get a bad feeling this is the beginning of the end.
JJ should have been portrayed by an almost 2-year-old when leaving Aunt Fern’s. And while the play ends Nov 1st, had it continued, it’s conceivable that Annelle could have had her baby at Easter, and JJ would have actually been 3. So the film people messed up a little by derailing the timeline but oddly they manage to get back on track with a 3-year-old JJ (well JJ would have been 30 months then) and Annelle was really due around Easter..She definitely stayed pure, though, lol.
Phew! That’s a lot to digest! I’m sure it all makes sense in the play, but the movie blew it big time, especially having JJ grow up like 2 years by the time Annelle has her baby on Easter. However, I will watch more closely next time for things like the wedding ring, and other comments you pointed out. Thanks so much for sharing this!!!
Not only does the “married on Halloween” mess up the timeline from the play, but it makes me wonder why they made JJ’s birthday the 3rd of July in the movie! That’s really messing things up for us trying to make sense of this timeline!
I’m gonna have to watch this movie again real soon to study.
PS Some have tried to deduce the timeline by the foliage in the film but it was shot in the summer months including the Christmas festival scene so you can’t go by that.