![]() ![]() Sometimes the emotional vibe of scenes shifted gears too quickly, leaving the viewer unsure of where things were being left between main characters, but the main concerns for the movie were mostly due to the limitations of the television environment. ![]() The sets and settings felt painstakingly authentic, the accents were thick without feeling phony, and the dialogue, though at times a little corny, included unexpected kernels of wisdom that made the other more predicable moments more forgivable. All of this is surprisingly well acted by long-time television star Ricky Schroder as Dolly Parton’s father, country singer Jennifer Nettles as Dolly’s mother, and the show stealer, Alyvia Alyn Lind who portrayed a 9-year-old Dolly Parton. Unlike many faith-based movies, Coat of Many Colors was bravely willing to broach the subjects that lead to doubt, and didn’t avoid the complexities of religious understanding, it purposely lead the story head on into them. The film was bold in how it dealt with very private and personal family issues, at points challenging the definition of a “G” rating in how graphic both the language and depictions played out, and chose to highlight more dark moments than light ones to render what ultimately was a positive story, but one fraught with tragedy, personal shortcomings, and public doubt of faith before eventually finding redemption. Instead Coat of Many Colors was strikingly honest and candid in segments, was smeared with dirt and grease to the point where not only were the characters and settings believable and historically accurate, but you could almost smell the sweat and feel the grit in gripping scenes. What was astounding is how good it was as a television movie, and aside from some isolated moments, avoided much of the schmaltzy, cheeseball, cornpone feel that can completely ruin what otherwise might be a strong premise, yet tries to make a movie that will appeal to everyone in the rigid reality of mainstream TV. The other was a made-for-TV, G-rated “faith-based” movie, leaning primarily on unknowns and career television actors for the cast that would attempt to take the premise of a single Dolly Parton song and string it out for two hours in the restrictive environment of network television-basically, the Hallmark Channel goes country.Īnd guess what movie ended up setting records, wowing critics, wooing fans, and guess which one received such woeful early reception it got pushed all the way back to 2016?Ĭoat of Many Colors, which aired originally on Thursday, December 10th and will be rebroadcast on NBC Christmas Night, was not some sort of astounding feat of movie magic. One was a full-featured, big budget, major Hollywood-funded Sony-distributed film on the life of Hank Williams starring a fast-rising movie superstar in Tom Hiddleston in which no expense was spared, Hank’s estate was fully on board and his entire music library had been licensed to use, and was preceded by Oscar buzz even before the first screenings. In 2015, there were two major movies traditional country fans had to look forward to.
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