Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors
  • Network: NBC
  • Series Premiere Date: Dec 10, 2015
Metascore
65

Generally favorable reviews - based on 8 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 8
  3. Negative: 1 out of 8

Critic Reviews

  1. Yahoo TV
    Reviewed by: Ken Tucker
    Dec 10, 2015
    80
    The pastoral nostalgia that this TV-movie taps into is powerful, if maudlin, stuff. This is the time of year when sentimentality can be a warming thing, and Parton’s Coat will keep an awful lot of people warm this winter.
  2. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Melissa Maerz
    Dec 11, 2015
    75
    What counts most is the acting, which lends the story a naturalism that the script can’t. Nettles captures the quiet, solitary sadness of Dolly’s mother with great subtlety.... But the real breakout star is 8-year-old Lind, who delivers a performance so believable, you can imagine looking it up on YouTube 10 years from now, when she’s inevitably winning awards for some gritty Sundance drama.
  3. St. Louis Post-Dispatch
    Reviewed by: Gail Pennington
    Dec 7, 2015
    75
    The story is a sweet one, and Coat of Many Colors does what it does very well. Nettles is strong as Mrs. Parton, but Lind steals the show as little Dolly.
  5. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Robert Lloyd
    Dec 10, 2015
    70
    Like Parton's music, it manages to be somehow clear- and misty-eyed at once, a mix of the natural and the sentimental.
  6. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Hank Stuever
    Dec 9, 2015
    70
    A plainly told, tenderly acted and well-intentioned two-hour movie.
  7. Variety
    Reviewed by: Brian Lowry
    Dec 8, 2015
    70
    There’s an earnestness here--ably delivered by the cast, starting with Lind--that should play well with the target audience.
  8. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Matthew Gilbert
    Dec 10, 2015
    60
    [Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors] plays like a long-lost episode of “The Waltons” in which Jennifer Nettles and Ricky Schroder have stepped in as Ma and Pa. It’s a romanticized view of the past, to put it mildly, and it’s as sticky sweet as the caramel apple cider you might find at Dollywood.
  9. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: David Wiegand
    Dec 9, 2015
    25
    The dialogue is pretty unbelievable, like a few hundred Hallmark card greetings strung together over two hours.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
6.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 13 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 13
  3. Negative: 4 out of 13
  1. LeZee
    Nov 29, 2017
    6
    Family. Laughing together and grieving together.

    A television film that I was eager to watch it since it is highly acclaimed. It is a    Family. Laughing together and grieving together.

    A television film that I was eager to watch it since it is highly acclaimed. It is a Christian film, which won't mind, but they have highlighted that topic too strongly. What I've anticipated was something like 'Love Comes Softly'. Since it went on that way, missed the opportunity to be balanced in content. Now it is a target product for the believers. If you won't mind that, then it will be a good film that shows lots of good sides by pointing out the bads.

    Based on the true story, that sets in the 1955, tells the story of a big farmer family living on the mountain, but all the focus was one of the children named Dolly. She's different than rest of her siblings. She's curious about the world, so mischievous and a good singer too. Her latest trouble takes a big price. Following, the family in a distress, that's going to change a few things forever in her life and everybody else.

    First of all I know zero about the real Dolly Parton. Thanks to this film for her early life introduction, but still don't know much about her latter life. So expecting from the sequels to cover them up. For now, there's only one sequel, about the Christmas. Alyvia was really good. She reminded Abigail Breslin from 'Kit Kittredge'. The film mainly aimed for families, so they would surely enjoy it. I liked it too, but not that overexcited as before my watch.

    6/10    … Full Review »
  2. kc2708
    Mar 7, 2016
    10
    This is based on Dolly Parton's life, how can you give it a poor rating? I am not originally from Tennessee but I live near where Dolly PartonThis is based on Dolly Parton's life, how can you give it a poor rating? I am not originally from Tennessee but I live near where Dolly Parton is from and I believe that it was portrayed very accurately to the life style of many of the people from that region. The actress that plays the role of Dolly is spunky and entertaining. This movie will make you cry, so get the tissues out. Overall it is a empowering film.… Full Review »
  3. chrismovieguy
    Dec 15, 2015
    9
    ok so it really depends on u if u will like this movie or not if u are not christian u may not appriceate it as much as it should beok so it really depends on u if u will like this movie or not if u are not christian u may not appriceate it as much as it should be appriceated but i for one loved it found myself laughing loudly at parts while crying over others a true christmas classic… Full Review »
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