Sweet Dreams (1985)

Jessica Lange stunningly portrays Patsy Cline, the velvet-voiced country music singer who died in a tragic plane crash at the height of her fame.

Director:

Karel Reisz

Writer:

Robert Getchell

Stars:

Jessica Lange, Ed Harris, Ann Wedgeworth

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jessica Lange	...	Patsy Cline
Ed Harris	...	Charlie Dick
Ann Wedgeworth	...	Hilda Hensley
David Clennon	...	Randy Hughes
James Staley	...	Gerald Cline
Gary Basaraba	...	Woodhouse
John Goodman	...	Otis
P.J. Soles	...	Wanda
Terri Gardner	...	Old Singer
Caitlin Kelch	...	Sylvia
Robert L. Dasch	...	John
Courtney Parker	...	Older Julie
Coulton Edwards	...	Baby Randy
Holly Filler	...	Madrine
Bruce Kirby	...	Arthur Godfrey

Storyline

Patsy Cline was the first female solo artist to be elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame. Thirty-two years after her untimely death in a plane crash in Tennessee, her "Greatest Hits" album sold over six million copies. Loved by her fans today as much - if not more - than she was at the height of her fame, the life, the loves and most of all the voice of Patsy Cline is legendary. This film tells the story of the passionate, fun-loving, soft-spoken, loud-living life of one of country music's - and one of popular music's - greatest singing stars. This film covers the years 1956 through 1963, from her rise to fame and the top of the charts through TB talent shows and country bars - through her turbulent marriage to Charlie Dick and the demands of touring which would lead to the fatal plane crash.

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Plot Keywords:

fame | country music | singing | bar | year 1956 | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Music | Musical

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 October 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dulces sueños

Filming Locations:

Hagerstown, Maryland, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Home Box Office (HBO), Silver Screen Partners

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At one point, Charlie asks Patsy what she's done all day and she responds, "I've been sipping champagne with Kirk Douglas". When the scene was filmed Jessica Lange actually said, "I've been sipping champagne with Rock Hudson", but Hudson was revealed to have had AIDS before the film was released and the producers thought a reference to him would be distracting.

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Goofs

When Patsy and Charlie are dancing at night outside the bar in heavy rain, the "rain" is obviously fake. Also, neither of them gets wet.

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Quotes

Patsy Cline: I can't stand it. Makes me want to scream and claw my face.

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Connections

Referenced in Mike & Mike: Episode dated 20 December 2013 (2013)

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Soundtracks

Crazy
Written by Willie Nelson
Performed by Patsy Cline
Backup Vocals by The Jordanaires
Electric Guitar by Hank Garland
Published by Tree Publishing Co. Inc.
Courtesy of MCA Records Inc.

User Reviews

Memorable Performances Off-Set A Soaper Script

Reality is generally more complicated than any motion picture can possibly convey--and such is the case with SWEET DREAMS, the 1985 bio-pic of singer Patsy Cline, which ran into a firestorm of criticism at the time of its release. For Patsy Cline was not a figure from the remote past. She and her life were extremely well recalled by family, friends, and co-workers, and one and all attacked the film as an extremely inaccurate portrait of her, her husband Charlie, and her life and career.

To a certain extent, the validity of these complaints about the film are a matter of opinion. But it does seem likely that the script softened Cline's harder edges and over-emphasized the stormy nature of her marriage in order to cast her in the role of victim. What isn't opinion is the way the film treats her career: it didn't happen like that, and while the film presents her as a great star at the time of her death in truth she had released only a handful of widely distributed records by 1963--and while some of them were big hits, they weren't quite as big as you might think. Even the celebrated "Sweet Dreams" never made it to the top spot on any music chart, and it was not until well after her death that she received full recognition for her remarkable work.

So instead of truth, or even a good approximation of it, SWEET DREAMS gives us the legend, the folk tale of the rough-and-tumble girl with the big, emotional voice who came from no where, married an abusive husband, and leaped into stardom that was cut short by an untimely death. And as legend, the film works very well.

The weak point of the film is the script, which plays largely to a "domestic drama" aspect and tends to smooth out the characters in a "santized for your protection" sort of way. The direction and cinematography are no great shakes either, and ultimately SWEET DREAMS looks very much like a made-for-television movie. But the cast carries it off in fine style. Jessica Lang looks no more like Patsy Cline than I do, and her lip-scynchs to Cline's work is rather hit-and-miss, but she gives a truly memorable performance; Ed Harris equals her in the role of husband Charlie, and together they create a synergy that has tremendous power. The supporting cast is also quite good, with Ann Wedgeworth a standout in the role of Cline's mother Hilda.

And then there is that soundtrack. Even if you've heard all these songs a thousand times, they're still worth hearing again. Patsy Cline was truly an amazing artist. But the film does something odd with them: the bulk of the story is set during the 1950s, but there is not a 1950s-era Cline vocal to be heard in the entire film, everything is taken from her glory years at MCA between 1960 and 1963. And very often it seemed to me that the original scoring of Cline's songs had been replaced with new arrangements.

And that, ultimately, is rather typical of the film as a whole. Just a little change here, just a little inaccuracy there, and while they all seem slight individually, they add up to a fairly significant distortion collectively. The performances make it worth watching, and they bring it in at a solid four stars. But if you're expecting anything more than the glossy legend of Patsy Cline, you won't find it here.

Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer