sindiana-28257 I watched this movie on a whim, without any foreknowledge of it, and was pleasantly surprised.Too often, producers search for universal appeal by eschewing universal truths. This film is a very rare exception. Not only does it target the Christian viewer, but it does so with a fairly good narrative, which centers on family, love, and the power of redemption.The acting is good, and the beautiful Appalachian scenery and talented singing are both notable.There are references to the Bible, as well as one to Lucy Maud Montgomery (the writer of "Anne of Green Gables"). I can't tell you how refreshing it is to see open appeals to faith on TV. By contrast, I recently saw an animated Christmas special which was blatantly ashamed of Christmas, but somehow still misappropriated the word in its title. "Coat" is not properly a Christmas special, as it does not specifically revolve around that day, but, if anything, this helps prevent it from falling into clichés.

mgarciber Let me first start by saying that now days its really hard to find a family movie that can be free of sexual scenes, profanity language that at the same time can be entertaining. I enjoyed this movie from start to finish.My family ages, 43, 39, 7,14 watched this movie together and would watch it again. The movie is not about how Dolly got famous, but more about redemption, love and how Dolly's family despite being very poor had it all ( love, GOD, faith, moral).It leaves a strong message and cannot wait to see it again on Christmas day, as it was announced it was a hit with 13 million viewers nationwide.

vchimpanzee At the start of the movie, young Dolly walks into church with her guitar ... and enough makeup on her face to be accused of looking like a harlot. The start of a lifelong tradition.Alyvia Alyn Lind does a great job as this somewhat naughty and rebellious girl who is basically good and has a strong faith. But she's not the best actor in the movie. More on that in a minute. Lind makes us like her and convinces us she will be someone famous, although we already knew she would be. She goes through so many trials, including bullying and the loss of a sibling she was going to take care of and love. But while her faith is challenged, she shows us the true meaning of her faith. Plus she can sing.Regardless of what I think of Jennifer Nettles' music, as an actress I predict she will get an Emmy nomination. She is so kind and loving, though she must also be so depressed she thinks life can't continue. And then she picks herself up and moves on with life, even with all the trails and tribulations. She is not the serious, strict parent I was expecting, and yet she holds that family together. And while she doesn't have all her facts right, Avie Lee is a strong believer and like Dolly, delivers a meaningful message of faith. Oh, and she can sing too. And it's the good kind of country music too.Rick Schroder isn't quite the father I would have expected. He has his moments and does a good job overall, but he seems kind of weak in the presence of Dolly's stern but loving father. He somehow seems secondary to his wife in holding the family together. Still, Robert Lee is challenged by adversity and can't believe in the same way his family wants him to.Gerald McRaney does his usual fine job as the stern but loving preacher father who has never quite accepted Robert Lee. But he's trying.Mary Lane Haskell gives us a capable and caring teacher.There are plenty of other good performances from the kids. The bullies may not be bad people but may just need love.Is it squeaky clean? Of course not, but what would you expect from this tough family? There are several curse words but this is probably still fine for the kids. The sex-related talk will probably go over kids heads but they might ask questions. Still, this is quite family-friendly.It's a wonderful effort overall.

Deep-Thought "Coat Of Many Colors" takes us back to Dolly Parton's girlhood. Dolly is played by the cute-as-a-button Alyvia Alyn Lind, who obviously had parents in the grip of the current vogue of thinking they're being creative by deliberately misspelling their kids' names. We see Dolly at a time in life before she habitually wore wigs and before she developed her spectacular female endowments, when she had only a pretty face, a pretty voice, and spunk. I hate spunk. This TV movie is an example of why: It presents a treacly, sanitized, Life-Saver-colored version of life amidst the fields and valleys of Locust Ridge, Tennessee, when all the family had was love, t'baccy, music, and the Bahble. Jennifer Nettles plays Dolly's mother, a woman whose youth and beauty are ridiculous to behold, seemingly untouched as they are by the Parton family's hardscrabble existence and eight children. In voice-over, the adult Dolly – who is nothing if not a savvy, pragmatic businesswoman – professes a simple-minded faith in a loving Jesus that a lot of people are likely to find more insipid than inspiring. She attributes that faith to her mother's influence; but the glaring inconsistency is that her mother's faith didn't prevent her from languishing in a protracted state of despondency after the stillbirth of a child. It also begs credulity to think that a 15-second admonition from her husband that her family needs her could just snap Mom out of it.Rick Schroeder puts in a dutiful performance as Dolly's father Lee; Schroeder goes through the film with an expression that strongly suggests that what he's thinking is, "Well, it's a living." Singer Jennifer Nettles hasn't acted much, but she does a serviceable job here. Aside from Dolly herself, the other characters are of necessity mere sketches.Dolly Parton is one of the greats of American country music, but this movie is about as convincing as Cinderella. Someone really needed to drill a hole in it and let the sap out.