Starring Jessica Lange, Ed Harris, Ann Wedgeworth, and David Clennon
Directed by Karel Reisz
Music and Lyrics by various
Coal Miner's Daughter was well-received enough for Patsy Cline to get her own full-on biopic five years later. Even more than twenty years after her tragic death, Cline's albums continued to be big sellers. Several country singers (including Lynn) made their own tribute albums to her. No wonder she and Lynn became friends. They had similar lives, including turbulent marriages to abusive men who didn't like their success. To find out just how turbulent it was, let's begin at a bar in Virginia, where tough guy Charlie Dick (Harris) catches her act for the first time...
The Story: Patsy (Lange) is unhappily married to Gerald Cline (James Staley) when she catches free-wheeling Charlie's eye. They're crazy about each other from the moment he sees her, and they get married shortly after her divorce. Patsy makes waves with the bouncy "Walkin' After Midnight" on the TV talent program Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts, but is devastated when Charlie's drafted. Her subsequent tour is cut short when she learns she's pregnant. Six weeks later, she's back in the recording studio. Nothing can stop Patsy from achieving her dreams of stardom, even a nasty car crash. Charlie wishes she'd stay at home more and takes to seeing other women to make her jealous. He regrets his behavior when Patsy goes on one more tour...and never comes home...
The Song and Dance: This one is all about the performances. Lange earned a Best Actress Oscar nomination as the fiery singer who is determined for her music to be heard one way or another. Harris nearly matches her with his strutting rooster of a husband who loves his wife, but wishes she'd pay more attention to him. Ann Wedgeworth is also excellent as Lange's feisty and caring mother, who is her biggest support and greatest confidante. Lange is lip-synching to Cline's recordings, but she does so well imitating her mannerisms and voice, you mostly do believe it's her singing.
(And kudos for Patsy for being the only lady we've seen this month who actually called the cops on their abusive spouse!)
Favorite Number: We kick off with Cline's intentionally cheesy "San Antonio Rose" at the bar where her lively performance catches Charlie's eye. Their dance to the Sam Cooke standard "You Send Me" outside of the bar is what makes them realize they're deeply in love. She records the old Hank Williams standard "Your Cheatin' Heart" right after mentioning she wants to be Hank Williams...and realizing Charlie's not exactly being faithful. We get to see "Walkin' After Midnight" partially in blurry black-and-white on Charlie's TV and realize just how much of a hit Cline was. She's not crazy about "Crazy," her first song after her big car crash, until she encourages the musicians to rearrange it in a slower tempo. "Sweet Dreams" shows Patsy's hit the big time. She's backed by a full orchestra and clad in an elegant sequined suit.
What I Don't Like: Even more than Coal Miner's Daughter, this is your standard soap opera that hits all the usual up-and-down beats of musical biopics and adds nothing new to the table. They don't even mention Loretta Lynn or her strong friendship with Patsy, probably to avoid comparisons to the previous film. In fact, I really wish we spent more time with Patsy and her music and her super-cool mom and less with Charlie and their off-and-on marriage. Charlie is an abrasive jerk who got what he deserved with that jail time. We get to know him better than Patsy and her ambitions.
There's problems with historical accuracy, too. Neither of the accidents are shown as they happened. Patsy was getting her mother fabric to make her costumes before the car crash, not beer, and she was thrown from the windshield. The plane made an emergency landing in the woods and was torn apart by trees, not a mountainside. Also, it's obvious this was a cheaper production. It lacks the gorgeous location shooting of Coal Miner's Daughter and frankly looks like a mid-80's TV movie.
The Big Finale: Fans of Cline, Lange, Harris, or vintage country music may find a lot more in this one than I did, if they can handle the melodrama.
Home Media: Easy to find on DVD and streaming. HBO Max has it for free with a subscription, and it runs on the cable channel as well. The DVD can frequently be found for under $10.
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