Greetings, good citizens and cinephiles of Winchester.

Finding true friendship is like discovering a treasure.

True friendship means you have an unwavering ally in life who will be honest to you even when it hurts. Laughs, tragedies, victories, tears and years and shared solidify this union as each day passes.

Selflessness and absolute dedication to each other’s wellbeing are at the core of the true friendship existence.

Just because you have 2,000 friends on Facebook doesn’t mean you have 2,000 friends. They are mere acquaintances you have at one time or another like two ships which passed in the night.

If you disagree then I urge you to run a reality check scan on your friends’ list with this question. How many would drop everything in their busy schedules to visit you in the hospital?

True friendship of a close-knit bunch of Southern belles comes into focus for you and your friend(s) to enjoy with the rerelease this weekend of the 30th anniversary screening of the award-winning comedy drama, “Steel Magnolias” (1989).

“Steel Magnolias” takes place in Natchitoches, Louisiana, with its central location being the beauty parlor of spunky Truvy, played by singer/actress Dolly “Nine to Five” Parton.

Truvy is never alone as she shares a close bond with M’Lynn, Sally “Forrest Gump” Fields, her diabetic daughter bride-to-be, Julia “Pretty Woman” Roberts, Truvy’s timid assistant Annelle, Darryl “Splash” Hannah, the town’s former first lady Clairee played by Olympia “Moonstruck” Dukakis and lastly the cantankerous Ousier, comically played by Shirley “The Apartment” MacLaine. 

The group gossip, laugh and cry together as they confront life’s unforeseen tragedies and the humorous happenings of their lives in a southern small town.

Though they all differ in personalities, they are strengthened as a unit loyal through their unwavering friendship to each other.

“Steel Magnolias” was adapted for the big screen and directed by Herbert “The Goodbye Girl” Ross based off Robert Harling’s successful 1987 play of the same title. 

Magnolias is based on the family and friends of Harling in his hometown of Natchitoches.

Besides “Steel Magnolias” being a popular play and theatrical release, the story was remade for a TV movie in 1990 and again in 2012 with all African-American cast.

The play is still performed around the country and Winchester’s own Leeds Center for the Arts just finished a solid production earlier in the month.

For all you guys out there who feel this is too much of a chick flick and are dreading the feat of watching it with your lady, fear not, as Tom “M.A.S.H. Skerritt, Dylan “Hamburger Hill” McDermott, and Sam “The Right Stuff” Shepard also star in Magnolias.

For all you ladies out there who enjoy this movie or have yet to see it, you may also enjoy these other genre titles, “Terms of Endearment” (1983), “Fried Green Tomatoes” (1991), and “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” (2005).

This event includes exclusive insight from Turner Classic Movies in honor of the film’s 30th anniversary brought to you by Fathom Events. 

“Steel Magnolias” show times are 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sunday and 7 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday at the Regal in Hamburg and Cinemark theaters at Fayette Mall and Richmond Centre.

Look around and see who your true friends are. It’s about quality, not quantity. Without these breathing treasures, life at times would be bland. True friends are the flavor that is added to each day.

Like Ringo said, “I get by with a little help from my friends.”

Have a film-tastic day. 

Rick Baldwin is a writer, filmmaker and film/music historian. He is president of the Winchester-Clark County Film Society. Find more from Rick on Facebook. He is on Twitter @rickbaldwin79  and can be reached by email at rickbaldwiniii@hotmail.com.