A Salute to Dolly Parton - Blue Valley Songbird

Lifetime, 1999

Starring Dolly Parton, John Terry, Billy Dean, and Beth Grant

Directed by Richard A. Colla

Music and Lyrics by Dolly Pardon and others

We salute one of the true originals of country music with this down-home musical drama. Lifetime began in 1984 as a merger of two earlier cable channels, carrying health and medical-related programming. They switched to talk shows after a year, and by the late 80's, were the home on cable for women-related programming. Parton made this movie with them in 1999, when they were at the height of their popularity as the place for movies and programming with women and their lives in mind. While Dolly wasn't as successful as she had been in the 1980's, she continued to steadily release albums and had even been inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame that year. How does she do in this melodrama inspired by the title song off her album Hungry Again? Let's begin with singer Leanna Taylor (Pardon) flirting with a cop as she rushes to a concert and find out...

The Story: Leanna has been playing with her band and her manager and boyfriend Hank (Terry) for fifteen years. Hank is jealous and controlling, refusing to let Leanna chose anything from her songs to where she plays. She's been falling for her guitarist and fellow songwriter Bobby Grissom (Dean), who was working on a number with her. Hank's not thrilled when he sees their chemistry onstage and fires Bobby. 

Meanwhile, Leanna is also coming to terms with the death of her father (Bob Morrison) and her mother Ora (Peggy Walton-Walker) not having responded to her letters. Leanna's father was abusive and domineering, refusing to let her sing for anyone but him. She wouldn't even go to his funeral. It's not until Hank's friend Ruby (Grant), who owns the restaurant where Leanna plays frequently, talks to a major producer Leanna once knew that she begins to realize how much she's let Hank take over her life, and where hear heart really lays.

The Song and Dance: Parton and her music are really the only reasons to see this southern-fried melodrama. Even with her strange orange-ish hair, Parton always gives 100 percent to even the corniest lines. There are some nice songs here, and with her producing as well as starring in this movie, it goes without saying that the music comes across well. I also like Kimberly Kates as a band member's pregnant wife who constantly worries he'll stray on the road. 

The Numbers: Our first number takes us onstage at Ruby's, with Leanna and her band performing "I Hope You're Never Happy." She and Bobby first work on "We Might Be In Love" at her home. They perform the traditional "Angel Band" onstage while remembering how she first sang it in her church in Blue Valley as a teen. It's when Leanna and Bobby perform "We Might Be Love" onstage that Hank realizes his lady is in love with someone else. Unfortunately, her zither version of "Wildflowers" onstage is cut off before we hear all of it. She performs "My Blue Tears" onstage a little later and a bit of "Amazing Grace" when she finally brings herself to see her father's grave. She and Bobby duet on "Runaway Feeling" after he returns to the band. We hear her recording the title song in the finale.

What I Don't Like: Parton and her music are really the only things that stand out. The cliches run hard and heavy, especially in the second half, when she's trying to come to terms to losing a father she wasn't even sure she loved. Neither Dean nor Terry are especially compelling or interesting, making you wonder why Leanna would stay with either of them. The production is obviously a cheap cable movie; the songs are pretty much a matter of Dolly bringing her own recent material. 

The Big Finale: This dull melodrama is for true fans of Dolly and Lifetime romance movies only. 

Home Media: Easily found on DVD and streaming, the latter often free with commercials.

DVD

Tubi

Footloose (2011)

Paramount, 2011

Starring Kevin Wormald, Julianne Hough, Dennis Quaid, and Andie MacDowell

Directed by Craig Brewer

Music and Lyrics by various

Let's move down south for an altogether more dynamic remake. The success of the 1998 stage version of the popular 1984 film sparked talk of a movie remake. Brewer came on 2010 after Kenny Ortega dropped out. Zac Efron was originally supposed to play the lead, but when he left, Wormald stepped in. Hough, a professional dancer on Dancing With the Stars, was making her big-screen debut here. How well do they all handle the story of a grieving teenager who proves to a small town that dancing is no crime? Let's begin with the event that sparked the restrictive law, the death of Bobby Moore, the son of Reverend Shaw Moore (Quaid) and his friends in a car crash on the bridge, and find out...

The Story: The reverend is so beside himself with grief, he convinces the town council to pass several rigid laws concerning their teenage children, including one banning unsupervised dancing within city limits. Ren McCormack (Wormald) is also grieving when he arrives in town from Boston three years later. He's living with his Aunt Lulu (Kim Dickens) and Uncle Wes (Ray MacKinnon) and their little girls after the death of his mother, but he's having a hard time fitting in. Though he does make friends with goofy Willard (Miles Teller) and falls for Moore's rebellious daughter Ariel (Hough), most of the town sees him as a troublemaker. When he and the other teens insist on holding a real senior prom, Reverend Moore continues to insist that dancing and rock will lead to no good. It takes a talking-to from his daughter and wife Vi (MacDowell) to show him how his protectiveness may be causing more harm than good. 

The Song and Dance: If nothing else, I give them credit for getting people who can actually dance this time. No need to put in a substitute for Wormald in his big blow-off-steam solo "Catch Hell." He was a back-up dancer for Justin Timberlake (who recommended him) and certainly knows what he's doing. He's even from Boston in real-life, with the accent to match. Quaid's the other stand-out as the rigid reverend who hasn't gotten over the loss of his son and thinks it's the dancing and music that lead to his demise. As in the first film, gorgeous cinematography, this time in and around rural Georgia and the Atlanta suburbs, helps ground this old-fashioned story in the here and now. Some terrific choreography too, especially in the scene when Ren takes Willard, Ariel, and Ariel's friend Rusty (Ziah Colon) to a cowboy bar and when the kids finally get their prom in the finale.

The Numbers: We open with the title song as we see Bobby and his friends dancing and partying...and realize that it was likely drinking, not dancing, that was one of the major causes of the accident. "Where the River Goes" covers Ren's arrival in Bomont and his stroll across the town, checking out the sellers at a local fair before he ends up at his aunt and uncle's house. Ren's got the "Walkin' Blues" when he's fixing up the old Volkswagen to be his car. "Bang Your Head" provides the backdrop at the local speedway, where Ariel's boyfriend Chuck (Patrick John Fluger) is a driver. "Holding Out for a Hero" is now a slow ballad as Ren remembers his late, beloved mother while working on the Volkswagen. "Dance the Night Away" is the big chorus number at the drive-in, where Ren gets all of the kids dancing to the dance-rap tune 

Fed up with being accused of being a troublemaker when he's really just grieving and out of place, Ren takes out his anger in the dynamic "Catch Hell" solo dance routine at the garage. "So Sorry Mama" is the second big chorus routine, the country line dance at the cowboy bar where Ren finally teaches the nervous Willard how to dance. Willard finally gets into the spirit of the thing with the big line dance "Fake I.D." It's Ren's little girl cousins and their friends who finally teach the football players to dance with the help of their Barbie speaker and the original "Let's Hear It for the Boy." This turns into the teens printing out flyers and drumming up support for their fight against Bomont's city council.

"Little Lovin'" provides the backdrop for all of the teens and their families cleaning up the cotton mill for the big dance. (The cool chandelier the kids make from metal tubing, old glass bottles, and light bulbs shows how well they've really, really been paying attention in shop class.) As in the original film, "Almost Paradise" covers Ren and Ariel's entrance and the football team spreading out to find dance partners. The movie ends with country star Blake Shelton turning the title number into a foot-stomping country anthem in a delightfully riotous dance routine for the teens.

Trivia: The stage version of Footloose opened on Broadway in 1998. Despite mixed reviews that complained about the dated story, it ran for two years. The London mounting in 2006 only managed five months. It was briefly revived in London in 2017 and turns up occasionally in regional stagings. 

What I Don't Like: The good cast can't the fact that the story hasn't dated well in either version. This was annoyingly melodramatic in 1984, let alone the 21st century. Despite the dusty rural Georgia setting, this also lacks some of the Midwestern grit that attached itself to the 1984 film. Wormald has the opposite problem from Kevin Bacon in the original. He's a sensational dancer who needs no double, but doesn't have Bacon's charisma. 

The Big Finale: Honestly, same deal as with the 1984 version. It's still too melodramatic for my taste, but if you liked the original or the dance-oriented movies of the 2000's-early 2010's, you'll want to dance on over and hear it for the boys.

Home Media: Easily found on all formats, often for under $10. Paramount Plus currently has it and the original with a subscription. 

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Blu-Ray

Paramount Plus

I Saw the Light

Sony Pictures Classics/Sony, 2015

Starring Tom Hiddleston, Elizabeth Olsen, Cherry Jones, and Maddie Hasson

Directed by Marc Abraham

Music and Lyrics by Hank Williams and others

The other country music star we're looking at this week has a far more tragic history. Hank Williams was one of the most influential names in country music during the 40's and early 50's. His songs sold in the thousands, his concerts were legendary, and many of his songs continue to be recorded, revived, and analyzed to this day. His life, however...well, that was more of a mess. Let's begin with Williams' former songwriting partner and publisher Fred Rose (Bradley Whitford), who'll explain to us just how messy Williams' life got...

The Story: We begin near the end of World War II, as country radio star Hank Williams (Hiddleston) and divorcee Audrey Sheppard (Olsen) are about to get married by a justice of the peace. Audrey is a part of his act and band at first, but they get complaints that she's not as good as he is. Hank's mother Lillie (Jones) doesn't like Audrey, partially because she manages the band along with singing. 

As it turns out, Lillie has a point about the marriage. Despite them having a child, Hank Williams Jr, it's rocky from the start. Even as Williams is praised as a genius and becomes one of the biggest stars on the Grand Ol' Opry, his constantly being on the road and dealing with pain from a bad back leads to multiple affairs and heavily abusing drugs and alcohol. 

By 1952, even as he was in talks with MGM about a role in their upcoming musical Small Town Girl, his performances are beginning to suffer. Audrey divorces him; the Opry fires him due to his constantly missing shows. He gets a spark of hope when he marries 19-year-old Billie Jean Jones (Hasson), but his health has already deteriorated, to the point where his much-vaunted tour around Christmas and New Year's ends up being his last.

The Song and Dance: Hiddleston and Olsen are the main reasons to watch this tepid biography. They apparently worked hard to get the mannerisms and accents for their characters right, and it paid off. Hiddleston nails Williams, a charming, hard-working man who ultimately succumbs to his pain and demons, with Olsen nearly matching him as the wife who's had enough of his drinking and womanizing. Hiddleston does his own singing, and does it well, sounding reasonably like Williams and doing justice to several of his best-known songs.

The Numbers: We open with Hiddleston, in a simple yellow spotlight, performing one of Williams' best-known ballads over the credits, "Cold Cold Heart." He and the Saddle Spring Boys sing "Honky Tonkin'" in, appropriately, a down-home western honky-tonk bar. Audrey's "Blues Come Around" is less well-received. They do better recording "Movin' On Over" in Nashville. We see the tail end of Hank's radio show as Audrey joins them for the railroad-themed "Pan American." Williams and the Saddle Spring Boys are briefly seen recording "Lovesick Blues," which he gets to sing in full when he finally gets on the Grand Ol' Opry. 

"Santa Baby" is heard in the background at the Christmas party that Hank spends drunkenly playing with his garage door opener.Hank's introduced by another country legend, Roy Acuff, before he and the Saddle Spring Boys launch into "Hey Good Lookin'."  His second Opry number is the lively ballad "Why Don't You Love Me?" right before he meets Billie Jean for the first time. He sings "Your Cheatin' Heart" for the girl at her home. The cast of the concert Williams was supposed to be at when he died sings "I Saw the Light" in tribute. The movie ends with Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" over the credits.

What I Don't Like: Even more than Walk the Line, this is a tepid mess of cliches you've seen a million times in biographical musicals going back to the dawn of sound. The unfocused script and dull direction doesn't help there. It's also very dark. Williams' death at a young age puts this more in line with later stories of musicians who succumbed to fame like The Doors. This is not for people looking for a more uplifting or cheerful story. And frankly, the black-and-white interview sequences with Rose simply weren't necessary. They should have let Williams' story unfold naturally. 

The Big Finale: Mainly recommended for Hiddleston and Olsen's sterling performances if you're a major fan of the stars or Hank Williams. Everyone else is probably better off looking for Williams' real-life recordings instead.

Home Media: Easily found in all formats. 

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Blu-Ray

Amazon Prime

Walk the Line

20th Century Fox, 2005

Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Reece Witherspoon, Ginnifer Goodwin, and Robert Patrick

Directed by James Mangold

Music and Lyrics by Johnny Cash and others

Having explored classic rock legends last month, this week, we're going to dive into the country scene with three of the most beloved performers in country music. This one goes back to Cash and Carter appearing on the TV show Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman in 1993. Enamored with film, Cash wanted to get his life story onscreen. Even after a series of interviews in 1997, it wasn't until 2001 when they had a script ready and were able to sell it to Fox. It was a huge hit in 2005, but how does it look now, after many similar music biographies have come and gone? Let's start with Cash (Phoenix) and his legendary concert at Folsom State Prison and find out...

The Story: Johnny grows up in rural Arkansas with his mother Carrie (Shelby Lynne), his abusive father Ray (Patrick), and his sisters and his brother Jack (Lucas Till). After Jack dies in a saw mill accident while Johnny goes fishing, Ray blames his youngest son for his death. Tired of the abuse, Johnny enlists in the Air Force in 1950. He's not much of a pilot, but he does write the song "Folsom Prison Blues" while in West Germany. 

After he gets back to the US, he marries his girlfriend Vivian (Goodwin) and gets a job as a door to door salesman after they move to Memphis, Tennessee. He proves to be far more successful when he forms a gospel band, the Tennessee Two, and auditions for Sun Records. They take him after he plays "Folsom Prison Blues." The song is such a success, they send the Two out on tour with legends like Elvis Prestley (Tyler Hilton) and Jerry Lee Lewis (Waylon Payne), giving Johnny his first taste of celebrity.

It also introduces him to June Carter (Witherspoon), a pretty, perky fellow country singer touring with her family. He falls for her right away, but she's a lot warier of him. He starts heavily abusing drugs and alcohol, and Vivian is all too aware of why Johnny keeps insisting on touring with June. He even ends up in prison for six months after a trip to Mexico to pick up more drugs. Vivian's had enough and divorces him, and even June's fed up. Johnny buys a home in Tennessee to be near June, but she's not sure she's ready to put on that "Ring of Fire." Even after Johnny records his famous Folsom Prison album, she keeps turning him down...until he tells her onstage that he can't make music without her.

The Song and Dance: Exemplary performances highlight this tale of rise and redemption through one of the greatest romances in country music. Phoenix and Witherspoon put in pitch-perfect performances as the troubled "Man In Black" and the smart lady who loves him and his music, especially when showing his dark side and drug addiction. That they did their own singing - and very well - adds layers to the authenticity. Patrick is the only one who gets near them as Cash's disapproving father, who never forgave Johnny for the loss of his favored son. Pitch-perfect costumes and sets and James Mangold's dynamic direction beautifully depict the rural Southeast and Nashville in the 50's and 60's. 

The Numbers: Our first song is appropriately, Johnny's first song. He first conceives "Folsom Prison Blues" while stationed in West Germany. It's not until that audition for Sun records that we hear the full version. He's attracted to Sun Records after hearing a band play "Don't Leave Me This Way." Jerry Lee Lewis (Waylon Payne) shows off his piano dexterity with his "Lewis Boogie" at the tour concert. June fakes laryngitis so Johnny gets a chance to sing "Cry Cry Cry" and impress the audience. Johnny's thrilled when none other than Roy Orbison (Johnathan Rice) sings "You're My Baby."  June finally gets onstage with her perky "Jukebox Blues."

Johnny successfully gives the new rock sound a shot with "Rock n' Roll Ruby," which really gets all those girls in the audience moving...but even he can't compare to a young Elvis Prestley (Tyler Hilton) tearing up the stage with "That's All Right." After Johnny's "Home of the Blues," he insists that June join him for "Time's a Waistin'." June protests at first - she recorded it with her ex-husband - but they have so much fun together, soon, even she's into the charming song.  The title song provides the backdrop for a montage depicting Johnny's success, his feelings about June, and his buying a house for his family. 

June pours her own frustrations with Johnny and her failed relationships into the traditional folk song "Wildwood Flower" at their concert. She joins Johnny for the uptempo Bob Dylan ballad "It Ain't Me, Babe." Johnny's drug habits finally catch up with him when he passes out while performing "Folsom Prison Blues" at Las Vegas. Inspired by her problems with Johnny and their relationship, June writes the classic ballad "Ring of Fire." Realizing that many of his fans are prisoners, Johnny records his classic live album at the real Folsom Prison, dressed all in black and singing "Cocaine Blues." The movie ends with him singing her "Ring of Fire," and insisting that they perform "Jackson" together.

Trivia: Witherspoon won Best Actress at the Oscars. Phoenix was nominated for Best Actor and won a Golden Globe.

What I Don't Like: There's a reason this would later be parodied by Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. This is about as typical of a rise and fall biography as you can get, though the focus on Johnny and June's romance does give it an interesting wrinkle. Most of the other characters aren't around long enough for you to know them like the leads; Goodwin's role as Johnny's first wife, who wants him to focus on family above else, is slightly underwritten. 

The Big Finale: If you're a fan of classic country or rock music, Cash and/or Carter, or either of the stars, you owe it to yourself to check out this searing look at how "The Man In Black" met and got together with the true love of his life.

Home Media: Easily available on all formats. I reviewed the extended version, which has an extra 16 minutes of footage. 

DVD

Blu-Ray

Amazon Prime - Extended Cut