Sometimes it pays to step outside your expectation zone on Netflix. I'd normally never bother with a show about a country music star even though I enjoyed Dolly Parton years ago in '9 to 5' with Lily Tomlin etc.
But Dolly's new Netflix show - at least this first episode, 'Jolene' - is a deceptively simple story that's really about women supporting women, and how quickly women's friendships can get complicated by feelings un-shared and words unspoken - or spoken in a moment of anger or insecurity.
Women can be each other's best friends, and our own worst enemies, but seldom our own best friends. The script did a tidy job of exposing the social minefields too many women walk through daily, as contrasted with the power of even one female mentor's unqualified support. Dolly gave a straight-up performance as an older woman sharing her life experience without pressure on a younger one to make her own way.
This show also gives a worthy role to veteran actress Kimberly Williams-Paisley (whose eternal mix of vulnerability & strength I've enjoyed since first seeing her in 'The 10th Kingdom) and showcases the rise of a relative newcomer, Julianne Hough, from an uncredited schoolgirl in 'Harry Potter' to a luminous stage musician and screen personality in her own right.
It's a lovely, women-centric show with good music, even though it's not normally my kind of music and the women characters aren't normally my kind of women.
But Dolly's new Netflix show - at least this first episode, 'Jolene' - is a deceptively simple story that's really about women supporting women, and how quickly women's friendships can get complicated by feelings un-shared and words unspoken - or spoken in a moment of anger or insecurity.
Women can be each other's best friends, and our own worst enemies, but seldom our own best friends. The script did a tidy job of exposing the social minefields too many women walk through daily, as contrasted with the power of even one female mentor's unqualified support. Dolly gave a straight-up performance as an older woman sharing her life experience without pressure on a younger one to make her own way.
This show also gives a worthy role to veteran actress Kimberly Williams-Paisley (whose eternal mix of vulnerability & strength I've enjoyed since first seeing her in 'The 10th Kingdom) and showcases the rise of a relative newcomer, Julianne Hough, from an uncredited schoolgirl in 'Harry Potter' to a luminous stage musician and screen personality in her own right.
It's a lovely, women-centric show with good music, even though it's not normally my kind of music and the women characters aren't normally my kind of women.
