Larry Parks as Al Jolson in "The Jolson Story" and "Jolson Sings Again"; Susan Hayward as Jane Froman in "With a Song in My Heart"; Susan Hayward as Lillian Roth in "I'll Cry Tomorrow"; Doris Day as Ruth Etting in "Love Me or Leave Me"; Barbra Streisand as Fanny Brice in "Funny Girl"; Diana Ross as Billie Holliday in "Lady Sings the Blues".
Those are just a few of the wonderful movie musical biographies where a popular actor takes on the role of a legendary performer and isn't doing an "imitation". Some of the performances (Doris Day, in particularly) aren't exact replicas of the original performer, but the story is so perfectly interwoven with the songs that it doesn't matter. In the case of the wonderful Sissy Spacek as Loretta (Webb) Lynn in "Coal Miner's Daughter", you think you are actually watching Ms. Lynn act out her own story. Listen to Spacek singing, then switch to a CD with Ms. Lynn performing, and you can barely tell the difference. That goes double here, because you also have the wonderful Beverly D'Angelo giving a heartfelt performance as another country legend, the still much missed Patsy Cline.
The first quarter of the movie shows Loretta's hardship in the mountains of Kentucky, a child bride at 14, and an expectant mother soon afterwards. Married to the much more mature Doolittle (Tommy Lee Jones in his star-making role), Loretta sings to her babies, and finally he goes out and buys her a guitar and pushes her to perform live. Ending up on the Grand Old Opry (introduced by none other than Ernest Tubb with Minnie Pearl standing in the background), she is an instant success, and when she is introduced to the legendary Patsy, the two become like sisters. It is Patsy's tragic death in a car accident that sets the stage for Loretta's ultimate nervous breakdown, as well as Doolittle's inability to stay in the background as "Mr. Lynn". Unlike Norman Maine in "A Star is Born", however, Doolittle won't take the noble coward's way out, and you see him grow up himself as he takes her success in stride and leads her to the path of recovery, a story that itself could become a legendary country song like the title song Spacek breaks into at the end.
Breaking away forever from the "Carrie" mold, Spacek proved herself to be a multi-talented star, and one of the shining lights of the 1980's. Her friendly freckle faced real looks made her appealing in all sorts of roles, and here, Spacek does not appear to be acting. She IS Loretta Lynn, and even when up against the powerhouse performance of Mary Tyler Moore in "Ordinary People", deserved the Oscar she received. Her breakdown scene should be interwoven with the greatest individual scenes on celluloid when clips of cinema at its best is put together.
Jessica Lange deservedly won praise for her later performance as Cline in "Sweet Dreams" (and got her own Oscar Nomination), but D'Angelo is just as memorable. Ironically, Lange and Spacek co-starred right after that in "Crimes of the Heart", along with another powerhouse, Diane Keaton. Levon Helm and Phyllis Boyens are memorable as the Webbs, Loretta's hard-working parents both strict and loving, and filled with the earthly spirit of country folk. They are not stereotypical Ma and Pa Kettle hicks, just real people in a real location making the most out of a little.
The music is sensational, and the CD gives full versions of the sometimes abridged songs in the movie. When Loretta's first audience gets to hear her sing in public for the first time (the song "There He Goes"), you can see in their eyes that they realize that they are present to an unforgettable moment in country music history. Spacek adds humor to her first appearance on radio, telling off the DJ who lied about playing her record, and later misinterpreting a certain word which offends a radio station owner. Be warned; You will feel shudders down your back as D'Angelo breaks into "Sweet Dreams", and when it is repeated on the radio as Spacek and Jones sleep, make sure you have Kleenex handy. "Back in Baby's Arms", Spacek and D'Angelo's duet, shows two powerhouse actresses playing two powerhouse singers, and a lesson in how women in the same industry don't have to be competitors, but can bring out the best in each other.
The clichés of these types of biographies are definitely there, but that really doesn't matter. Only once does the film seem awkward as it moves from one sequence to another, but for the most part, the screenplay flows beautifully, making this the surprise hit of 1980, the type of film that today would sadly end up on cable and be forgotten by tomorrow.
Those are just a few of the wonderful movie musical biographies where a popular actor takes on the role of a legendary performer and isn't doing an "imitation". Some of the performances (Doris Day, in particularly) aren't exact replicas of the original performer, but the story is so perfectly interwoven with the songs that it doesn't matter. In the case of the wonderful Sissy Spacek as Loretta (Webb) Lynn in "Coal Miner's Daughter", you think you are actually watching Ms. Lynn act out her own story. Listen to Spacek singing, then switch to a CD with Ms. Lynn performing, and you can barely tell the difference. That goes double here, because you also have the wonderful Beverly D'Angelo giving a heartfelt performance as another country legend, the still much missed Patsy Cline.
The first quarter of the movie shows Loretta's hardship in the mountains of Kentucky, a child bride at 14, and an expectant mother soon afterwards. Married to the much more mature Doolittle (Tommy Lee Jones in his star-making role), Loretta sings to her babies, and finally he goes out and buys her a guitar and pushes her to perform live. Ending up on the Grand Old Opry (introduced by none other than Ernest Tubb with Minnie Pearl standing in the background), she is an instant success, and when she is introduced to the legendary Patsy, the two become like sisters. It is Patsy's tragic death in a car accident that sets the stage for Loretta's ultimate nervous breakdown, as well as Doolittle's inability to stay in the background as "Mr. Lynn". Unlike Norman Maine in "A Star is Born", however, Doolittle won't take the noble coward's way out, and you see him grow up himself as he takes her success in stride and leads her to the path of recovery, a story that itself could become a legendary country song like the title song Spacek breaks into at the end.
Breaking away forever from the "Carrie" mold, Spacek proved herself to be a multi-talented star, and one of the shining lights of the 1980's. Her friendly freckle faced real looks made her appealing in all sorts of roles, and here, Spacek does not appear to be acting. She IS Loretta Lynn, and even when up against the powerhouse performance of Mary Tyler Moore in "Ordinary People", deserved the Oscar she received. Her breakdown scene should be interwoven with the greatest individual scenes on celluloid when clips of cinema at its best is put together.
Jessica Lange deservedly won praise for her later performance as Cline in "Sweet Dreams" (and got her own Oscar Nomination), but D'Angelo is just as memorable. Ironically, Lange and Spacek co-starred right after that in "Crimes of the Heart", along with another powerhouse, Diane Keaton. Levon Helm and Phyllis Boyens are memorable as the Webbs, Loretta's hard-working parents both strict and loving, and filled with the earthly spirit of country folk. They are not stereotypical Ma and Pa Kettle hicks, just real people in a real location making the most out of a little.
The music is sensational, and the CD gives full versions of the sometimes abridged songs in the movie. When Loretta's first audience gets to hear her sing in public for the first time (the song "There He Goes"), you can see in their eyes that they realize that they are present to an unforgettable moment in country music history. Spacek adds humor to her first appearance on radio, telling off the DJ who lied about playing her record, and later misinterpreting a certain word which offends a radio station owner. Be warned; You will feel shudders down your back as D'Angelo breaks into "Sweet Dreams", and when it is repeated on the radio as Spacek and Jones sleep, make sure you have Kleenex handy. "Back in Baby's Arms", Spacek and D'Angelo's duet, shows two powerhouse actresses playing two powerhouse singers, and a lesson in how women in the same industry don't have to be competitors, but can bring out the best in each other.
The clichés of these types of biographies are definitely there, but that really doesn't matter. Only once does the film seem awkward as it moves from one sequence to another, but for the most part, the screenplay flows beautifully, making this the surprise hit of 1980, the type of film that today would sadly end up on cable and be forgotten by tomorrow.