"Ya-Ya Sisterhood Bullshit"

M.E. Russell puts together a devastating critique of The Secret Life of Bees and the mini-genre to which it belongs:

These movies tend to be based on the sorts of books Oprah likes to endorse, and they contain some or all of the following:

* A precious, self-consciously offbeat title ("Fried Green Tomatoes," "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood").

* A condescending Hollywood interpretation of life in the South, in which people are either abusive racists full of hate or quirky saints full of hospitality.

* Hollywood stars putting on Southern accents like they're doing dinner-theater Tennessee Williams.

There's much more.