Starring: Alyvia Alyn Lind, Jennifer Nettles, Ricky Schroder, Dolly Parton
Director: Stephen Herek
Based on Dolly’s life, this TV movie shows what it was like growing up in the Smokey Mountains as a family of 12 children. Based on Parton’s song Coat Of Many Colors, in which her mother makes her a coat from rags and the young Dolly is bullied mercilessly for the garment and the fact that her family can’t afford anything for her to wear under it.
I wasn’t sure whether to include this one because it’s a TV movie, and Parton only narrates it, but since it was about her life has her name all over it, I felt like I would.
The thing is, it’s a sweet film, but like a lot of made for TV movies, it’s pretty cheesey and the acting can be pretty hammy. Sometimes it all feels like it’s trying too heard to pull on the heartstrings. It also has a bit of Bible thumping, which some might find a bit much.
A lot of the film rests on Alyvia Alyn Lind, the little girl who plays Dolly, and she’s cute, but she’s not able to have the emotional reach that the film might need, even though she tries her best.
On the whole, it’s about what you’d expect from a TV film about a Country singer, and I feel like hard core Dolly fans will enjoy it. It lacks the sparkle that a film starring Dolly would have, but I did find the events of Dolly’s life and what her growing up was like really interesting.
See It If: you like Hallmark movies or if you love Dolly and want to see a film about her life. Not highly recommended.
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