https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAtz9x4OfCo
Back in 1955, when Dolly Parton (Alyvia Alyn Lind) was just 8 years old, she had a lot of things happen to her in a 9 month period of her life that changed her forever. Tonight at 9p on NBC, you will see why that time period means so much to her in this beautiful story Coat of Many Colors.
Parton was the fourth child to Robert (Ricky Schroder) and Avie Lee Parton (Jennifer Nettles) and there was always something special about her. She had the voice of angels and everyone knew she was going to be a star including her. She was a rambunctious girl, and that is what made her Dolly Parton. Her mother was expecting her 9th child and the little girl couldn’t wait for him to be born. Even though he was her brother, she thought of him as her baby.
Then tragedy strikes when he is born early and dies shortly afterwards. His death causes tension between her parents, her mom goes into a deep depression and Dolly stops singing. Her older sister knows this needs to stop, so she tells her mother that their songbird Dolly has lost her voice. This was the push her mom needed, and she decides to get through her grief by making a Coat of Many Colors for her daughter. Even though they were very poor, Dolly felt so rich and special in her new coat that was just like Joseph’s from the Bible.
You see, Dolly’s grandfather (Gerald McRaney) was a Preacher and her mother was very religious. Her father was 17 when he first saw his future wife, who was just 15, sitting in that Church, and yet he never went in. The two of them have very different opinions about religion and the death of their son will make the divide even greater.
But this is a very strong family of ten and they will overcome this. When the end of this 9 month period is over, young Dolly will know where her life is going. She is going to be a star and her family is going to be there by her side. If they can get through this, they can get through everything.
Parton and her manager, Sam Haskell, had been talking about making a movie of her life for a while. After speaking with NBC President Bob Greenblatt, they went through her musical library and knew this song should be the first story they told. When they spoke with Greenblatt about making this particular film, he told them that this needs to be a Christmastime movie. It is not about Christmas, it is about a family and that is what this time of year should be about.
The song as we know is a very potent one from Dolly, and the movie is just as powerful. The cast will leave you in awe with their outstanding performances. Schroder and Nettles are perfect as her parents, but the real star is Lind. She might only be 8 years old, but she is just as lovable and mesmerizing as the person she is playing. So much so, you would think it was actually Dolly playing herself.
A few months ago, at the NBC TCA Summer Press Day, Dolly Parton answered if there really was a Coat of Many Colors. She said, “Absolutely there was a coat of many colors. I had even a little picture made in it, a school picture.” What happened to it? She revealed, “But you don’t think about you’re going to be a star; you’re going to have that carried with you. You don’t know that so mama tore that down, I’m sure, and sewed it into a quilt or blanket or into something else. We do have a little replica of it my mom made from memory as best she could remember at the time. But that was just a memory in my head, and so it’s been recycled, I’m sure, knowing my mama.”
If tonight’s movie is a hit, as it should be, they will do another one. Which one of her songs will be the inspiration for that one? Jolene. If you want to see that song come to life, then you need to watch the movie tonight. Actually, you need to watch it this because it a throwback the movies of the week that would bring families together back in the day. We need more of those and I think this one will be the start of the revolution. Don’t miss out on the revolution and tune in for a tale that will be watching every Christmastime.
