Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings’ On Netflix, An Anthology Based On The Music Legend’s Extensive Song Catalog

To say that we’re in the midst of a Dolly Parton resurgence isn’t completely accurate. The music legend never went away; she’s been on our screens and in our speakers with new material all along. But over her 50-year music career, she’s amassed an amazing catalog of incredible songs, many of which tell their own little stories. These stories are the basis for a new Netflix anthology. Read on for more…

DOLLY PARTON’S HEARTSTRINGS: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: Dolly Parton walks backstage at the Palace Theater in Dollywood, “Where my name is all over the place!” she says with a laugh. Then she wonders what life would be like if she had a different name. She then tells the story about why she wrote the song “Jolene.”

The Gist: Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings is an anthology series that uses the music legend’s extensive song catalog as a jumping off point to tell various heartwarming stories. The two episodes Netflix released to the press had episodes based on one of Parton’s most famous songs, “Jolene,” and another based on “These Old Bones.” We’re going to talk about “Jolene.”

We ope with the redheaded Jolene (Julianne Hough) working at the bank, just like the Jolene that inspired Dolly’s song. She’s fired for flirting with the customers and for dressing a bit too provocatively. That means she has to pick up more bartending shifts at Baby Blues, a honkytonk run by Babe (Parton), a wise singer who has taken Jolene under her wing. Jolene knocks them dead on stage at the bar, and Babe wants Jolene to go to Nashville, but Jolene feels comfortable in Coventry, sleeping with random married guys since her last relationship ended.

Meanwhile, Emily (Kimberly Williams Paisley) tries to shake things up by making their date night at Baby Blues after hearing a rumor that someone’s husband was seen with someone there. Things have stagnated between Emily and Aaron (Dallas Roberts) as they’ve raised their 13-year-old son Jed (Braxton Bjerken), and Emily just wants some spontaneity. Aaron gets called into surgery, so Emily is at Baby Blues alone, where she meets Jolene; they bond after she tears away a “creeper” who corners Emily and tells her “Let’s see those titties.”

The two become fast friends, especially after Jolene starts teaching guitar to Jed, and Aaron not only is a little jealous that Jolene brings out such a fun side of Emily, but he becomes attracted to Jolene, as well. When Emily finds out that Jolene was sleeping with the husband of one of her friends, Emily distances herself from Jolene, and also becomes suspicious that Aaron is sleeping with her former friend. The two get especially heated when, after Emily tells her friend, the woman shouts “WHORE!” at Jolene right before she plays the fall festival.

Our Take: Here’s the best way to describe Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings (not to be confused with the current hit podcast Dolly Parton’s America): It’s a slightly-edgier version of a Hallmark movie. The acting tends to depend on who is cast; the better the cast, the more authentic the movie feels. The ending is usually a happy one, and there’s about as much grit as a tiny hourglass and gets about as dark as dusk. There’s a touch more swearing — “titties,” “asshole,” “bullshit,” pretty much what we see on basic cable now.

So if you know that going in, your enjoyment of the series will depend on what kind of storytelling you’re in the mood for. If you want something that may have some conflict but is an overall feel-good story, then Heartstrings is a fun watch. Other episodes will star fine actors like Kathleen Turner, Gerald McRaney, Ginnifer Goodwin, Melissa Leo and more, and Parton herself will show up in guest roles in many of those episodes. And the casts are going to make or break these episodes for the viewer.

Thankfully, the “Jolene” episode is full of actors we’ve loved for years. Williams-Paisley plays Emily with the right amount of goofiness, but we can see just how she’s intrigued by Jolene and her ability to live as free a life as she wants (at least on the surface). Roberts is great as Aaron, who isn’t sure what he wants as he’s hurtling though his 40s and in a 20-year marriage, no matter how much he loves Emily.

But the revelation is Hough. We know she can act, but she’s definitely going against her squeaky-clean image as Jolene, who has the attitude that when she sleeps with married guys, “they’re having the affair; I’m not.” What struck us about Hough, aside from her great singing voice, is the fact that her approach to Jolene is a natural matter-of-factness that makes her a compelling lead. We believe Jolene’s honesty with others and her strong feminist stance because Hough makes it believable. And her chemistry with Williams-Paisley made us want to watch as many scenes between them as we could.

Sex and Skin: We see Jolene in bed with one of her married paramours, and she reminds him that they’re just doing something fun.

Parting Shot: We won’t spoil the ending of this episode, but it’s a nice bit of closure.

Sleeper Star: Parton is fun as Babe, but, just like Hough, we’ve known about Parton’s acting ability for a long time. Remember, 9 to 5 was forty years ago.

Most Pilot-y Line: Aaron is among a series of bearded, wishy-washy husband who seems to be annoyed that his marriage isn’t as exciting but doesn’t want to do anything about it. Even if Emily told Jolene about our sex life, we’d still appreciate seeing our wives be sexy Andrea Zuckerman for them.

Our Call: STREAM IT. Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings won’t be the most revolutionary drama anthology you’ve seen, but it’s well-acted and a fine series to warm your heart on a cold winter day.

Your Call:

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, VanityFair.com, Playboy.com, Fast Company.com, RollingStone.com, Billboard and elsewhere.

Stream Dolly Parton's Heartstrings On Netflix