Trying to appearances is a big mistake when it comes to Dolly Parton. Her image of a country Barbie with opulent headdresses served her as much as it hurt her. Dolly Parton – Here I Am, offered on Netflix, takes a sensitive look at this complex and endearing personality who has become nothing less than a monument of country music and pop.
“I know I look totally weird and artificial on the surface, but I’m totally real on the inside,” Dolly Parton says at the start of the documentary directed by Francis Whately (David Bowie – Finding Fame). Dolly Parton – Here I Am tries to unravel the mystery of this duality. He does not succeed. This is probably what makes it so interesting.
The film begins in fall 2019 as the singer prepares to celebrate 50 years of her induction into the Grand Ole Opry. This is not a detail in her career: treading the stage of this legendary hall – it is the temple of country music in the United States – was the goal to achieve when she set foot in Nashville, mid-1960s.
She was 18 at the time and knew she was stepping into a man’s world, but that was nothing to stop her. His calculation was simple: either I fail or I succeed. It is obvious, too, that she intended to do things her own way. His very first single, published in 1966, was titled Dumb Blonde and said in summary: do not be fooled by appearances, I am blonde, but I am far from being a mess. It’s fascinating to watch her sing this song lightly, with that sparkle in her eye that should have been seen as a warning.
Those who underestimate Dolly do so at their peril.
Jane Fonda, in Dolly Parton – Here I Am
What emerges from Dolly Parton – Here I Amis that the singer is a confident woman, who has made her way without making waves, but without allowing herself to be imposed. Who conveyed messages quite directly in his songs (Just Because I’m a Woman, which clearly speaks of gender equality), but who avoided taking a position in an interview. She has never called herself a feminist, but she has a “feminist background”, underlines a musician specializing in the work of the star.
Songwriter first of all
The other duality highlighted in the film is the phenomenal gap between his public and private life. Dolly Parton has been everywhere: on stage, on television, in the movies. However, she reveals herself very little, report several interviewees, including Kylie Minogue and Linda Perry (4 Non Blondes). She has been married since 1966, but she and her husband have rarely been seen together in public.
Dolly Parton – Here I Am relates of course his career, with an emphasis on his iconic songs: Here You Come Again, 9 to 5, Islands in the Stream, Jolene and of course I Will Always Love You. The documentary recalls that Elvis wanted to record this last piece, but that he demanded to obtain the rights to it. Dolly Parton refused. It was a wise decision: in 1992, I Will Always Love You was covered by Whitney Houston, and her phenomenal success has paid off for her songwriter.
I take songwriting more seriously than anything else I do. I am a songwriter [songwriter] first of all. It’s my way of expressing myself.
Dolly parton
It’s frankly refreshing to hear her talk in all simplicity about the way she wrote some of her songs like 9 to 5 and The Grass Is Blue, taken from the first of three bluegrass albums she released at the turn of the 2000s. She is inspired, but does not play the “inspired artist”: she searches, she works and she has fun too.
Dolly Parton – Here I Am does not unravel the mystery that surrounds its subject. However, it shows an ambitious, endearing artist, true despite artifices, of lively intelligence and humor. This documentary is not the latest novelty, but seeing it with a little delay also sticks to the singer’s journey: didn’t Dolly Parton get late for everything she has accomplished?
The documentary Dolly Parton – Here I Am is available on Netflix.