Forever Ya-Yas

Like the lives of its characters, not to mention its title, nothing about “Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood” is neat, orderly, concise.

This is a work of excess and passion, an untidy sprawl of a motion picture that is sometimes ragged, occasionally uncertain, but--and this is what’s important--always warm, accessible and rich in emotional life. That’s because veteran screenwriter (“Thelma & Louise”) and first-time director Callie Khouri has a strong feeling for the lifelong friendship of four powerful Southern women, the unshakable fellowship without rings that “Secrets” details. This film is strong when and where it needs to be, in its ability to convey heartfelt sentiments and portray the power of a very particular kind of sisterhood.

At the heart of “Secrets,” shoring up its emotional truth, is the performance of Ashley Judd as Vivi, the most dramatic and the most troubled of the Ya-Yas. After seeing Judd mark time in the recent “High Crimes,” it’s especially satisfying to see this charismatic performer really connect with a role and make it come fully alive.

Written by Khouri, adapted by Mark Andrus (“As Good as It Gets”) and based on the novel of the same name by Rebecca Wells as well as its companion book, “Little Altars Everywhere,” “Secrets” uses three sets of actresses to follow its four protagonists from their childhood in 1930s Louisiana through their coming of age during World War II through their modern incarnation as crusty battle-axes who say things like “I hope this isn’t a real emergency; I only brought one vodka bottle.”

Although Judd is the undisputed star of the coming-of-age section, the four women who play the Ya-Yas in their battle-ax years--Ellen Burstyn, Maggie Smith, Shirley Knight and Fionnula Flanagan--beautifully share the ensemble glory. To see actresses like this given their heads to play forceful, well-defined, mature women is to see something not on view often enough.

After an opening prologue showing the four Ya-Yas as little girls sneaking out at night to take a solemn oath of friendship as members of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (“This is done for all eternity, loyal forever”), “Secrets” moves to modern Manhattan, where Vivi’s daughter, rising young playwright Sidda Lee Walker (a businesslike Sandra Bullock) is giving the obligatory interview to Time magazine about her roots.

What results are quotes about her mother’s drinking, her fighting, her all-around difficulty. “I owe my creativity to her,” Sidda concludes. “If I’d had an easy childhood, I’d have nothing to write about.”

Back home in Louisiana, the adult Vivi (Burstyn) is not amused. Mother and daughter exchange vituperative dispatches and finally break off all communication, in the process threatening Sidda’s long-delayed marriage to the long-suffering Connor (Angus MacFadyen). Clearly, this is a job for the Ya-Yas.

Taking it upon themselves to mend the rift and concluding that “an extreme situation implies extreme measures,” the Ya-Yas fly to New York, drug and kidnap Sidda (a major change from the very popular novel) and take her back to an isolated cabin in Louisiana where they can show her the Ya-Yas’ precious scrapbook and talk some sense into her.

It’s not that the Ya-Yas don’t understand what a major drama queen Vivi has always been, it’s not that they haven’t witnessed her taking up all the space in the room. It’s that they want Sidda to understand how her mother got that way, to see, via flashbacks featuring Judd, the hand life dealt her. “You are a lot more normal than you have any right to be,” they tell Sidda, adding the caveat, “She is what she is, but you have a long life ahead of you.”

Not only hasn’t everything gone smoothly in Vivi’s life, everything doesn’t go smoothly in the retelling of it. Some of “Secrets” is too pat, too Hollywood, some of it feels unfocused, but the film’s biggest problem is with its men.

Both the long-suffering Connor and Vivi’s husband, the even-more-long-suffering Shep Walker (James Garner), are duller than dishwater, ineffectual characters who can’t hope to hold our interest. Which means the considerable amount of time “Secrets” devotes to whether Connor and Sidda are going to stay together plays like a waste of time.

Still, “Secrets” is not without resources to recapture our attention. It’s got an exciting and wide-ranging soundtrack, produced by T Bone Burnett and David Mansfield, and featuring blues star Jimmy Reed, Cajun legend Ann Savoy, Alison Krauss, Lauryn Hill and others. And it’s got a love for language, for irreplaceable lines like “I take a problem and chew on it till all the flavor is gone and then I stick it in my hair.”

But what “Secrets” has most of all, what Khouri has created that overcomes its flaws, is a sense of women confident in their power, their friendship, their emotionality, women excited to just be able to be themselves. That too is something we don’t see often enough.

MPAA rating: PG-13, for mature thematic elements, language and brief sensuality. Times guidelines: Nothing that is likely to trouble older teens.

‘Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood’

Sandra Bullock...Sidda

Ellen Burstyn...Vivi

Fionnula Flanagan...Teensy

James Garner...Shep Walker

Cherry Jones...Buggy

Ashley Judd...Younger Vivi

Shirley Knight...Necie

Angus MacFadyen...Connor

Maggie Smith...Caro

Warner Bros. Pictures, in association with Gaylord Films, an All Girl production, released by Warner Bros. Director Callie Khouri. Producers Bonnie Bruckheimer, Hunt Lowry. Executive producers Bette Midler, Mary McLagen, E.K. Gaylord II, Lisa Stewart. Screenplay Callie Khouri. Adaptation Mark Andrus, based on the novels “Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood” and “Little Altars Everywhere” by Rebecca Wells. Cinematographer John Bailey. Editor Andrew Marcus. Costumes Gary Jones. Music David Mansfield, T Bone Burnett. Production design David J. Bomba. Art director John Jensen. Set decorator James Ferrell. Running time: 1 hour, 54 mins.

In general release.