zkonedog After recently watching "Walk The Line", I was recommended "Coal Miner's Daughter" by a family member. While it isn't a bad movie by any means, I felt that it lacked the energy need to truly be a great film.For a basic plot summary, the movie focuses on the life of Loretta Lynn (Sissy Spacek), who goes from dirt-poor in a mining town to arguably country music's greatest female superstar. Along the way, she meets and marries Doolittle (Tommy Lee Jones), as well as forms a relationship with fellow singer Patsy Cline (Beverly D'Angelo).Like I said, the main problem with "Coal Miner's Daughter" is that it lacks the kind of pulsating energy that I find define my favorite biopics ("Walk the Line" & "Ray" come immediately to mind). I know that the movie is supposed to accurately depict reality, but his IS Hollywood, and thus some drama is needed to keep it from being a documentary. That drama was missing from most of the film.There are two things that I really did like about the film:1. Spacek & Jones act their parts tremendously and have great chemistry on screen. They are a joy to watch.2. Roughly the first half of the movie (depicting life in a mining community) is excellent. It is a very compelling portrayal of the type of culture Loretta came from, as well as how her relationship with "Dool" began.Sadly, once Loretta and Dool move to Nashville in search of a record deal, the film really slows down...almost to a screeching halt at some points. It's almost like the title indicates: the filmmakers knew how to do a great "coal miner's daughter" setting, but once Loretta actually becomes a country star, things really get stale.Overall, "Coal Miner's Daughter" is a decent biopic piece that has since been both exceeded and overshadowed by other films of its same ilk. Unless you really have an interest in this specific story, or you really like classic country music, you might struggle with this one a bit too.

evanston_dad Fantastic biographical film about the rise to stardom of country western legend Loretta Lynn.The film is saved from the usual biopic doldrums by its focus on the gender dynamics between Lynn and her long-time husband/manager, played wonderfully in the film by Tommy Lee Jones. In its way, it becomes a rather feminist film and explores the dilemma women are still dealing with today when they try to balance a family with a career and are made to feel like they have no good choices. I don't particularly care about or like country western music, and I'm usually bored to death by the mere idea of a biopic, but I thoroughly enjoyed this film.A huge part of my enjoyment was due to Sissy Spacek, who deservedly won an Oscar for her portrayal of Lynn (and did her own singing, thank you very much). Beverly D'Angelo is also very good in a smaller role as Lynn's friend and fellow country western singer, Patsy Cline.In addition to Spacek's Oscar, the film was nominated in six other categories: Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, and Best Sound. 1980 was the year "Ordinary People" took home the best picture Oscar, and while I liked "Coal Miner's Daughter" very much, I think they made the right choice. I even think, as good as Spacek was, that Mary Tyler Moore gave the better performance that year. Spacek made me fall in lover with her; Moore scared the crap out of me.Grade: A

jarrodmcdonald-1 Okay, can't believe I am going to say this-- but I didn't like it. And I loved this movie when I was a kid in the 80s. But looking at it now, over thirty years later, I can't get over how odd it is hearing someone else sing Loretta Lynn's finest tunes. Let's face it-- as good an actress as she is, Sissy Spacek is not going to be appearing at the Grand Ole Opry anytime soon. I don't understand why Universal didn't pony up and just lease the original recordings and have Sissy lip-sync it. Is this a case of an actress' vanity, wanting to impress audiences that she can sing on a par with a Nashville legend?In a similar vein, I'm not hep on hearing Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon fill in for Johnny & June Carter-Cash in Fox's WALK THE LINE. It sounds phony-- like watching a movie about diamonds, knowing the whole time that the gems on display are actually cubic zirconium.Look instead at what Touchstone did with the hit film WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT-- they knew that as good as Angela Bassett was, a fitting tribute for Tina Turner would be to showcase the songs as originally sung by her. Admittedly, Laurence Fishburne sang Ike's parts, especially on Proud Mary with Tina herself-- but that is understandable given the real- life estrangement of the Turners and the fact that Ike was probably not creatively involved in the film at all. The film was about Tina's story, and it featured her voice on the soundtrack.Anyway, back to COAL MINER'S DAUGHTER-- a big thumbs down. When I watch something where country superstar Loretta Lynn is the main subject, I want to hear her sing, not a pale vocal imitation. In the same way I would not accept Loretta Lynn acting as Sissy Spacek in a biopic about the actress, I do not accept Sissy singing as Loretta. I want the real thing. Please give the cubic zirconium to someone who doesn't know the difference between the original and the fake.

mark.waltz Larry Parks as Al Jolson in "The Jolson Story" and "Jolson Sings Again"; Susan Hayward as Jane Froman in "With a Song in My Heart"; Susan Hayward as Lillian Roth in "I'll Cry Tomorrow"; Doris Day as Ruth Etting in "Love Me or Leave Me"; Barbra Streisand as Fanny Brice in "Funny Girl"; Diana Ross as Billie Holliday in "Lady Sings the Blues".Those are just a few of the wonderful movie musical biographies where a popular actor takes on the role of a legendary performer and isn't doing an "imitation". Some of the performances (Doris Day, in particularly) aren't exact replicas of the original performer, but the story is so perfectly interwoven with the songs that it doesn't matter. In the case of the wonderful Sissy Spacek as Loretta (Webb) Lynn in "Coal Miner's Daughter", you think you are actually watching Ms. Lynn act out her own story. Listen to Spacek singing, then switch to a CD with Ms. Lynn performing, and you can barely tell the difference. That goes double here, because you also have the wonderful Beverly D'Angelo giving a heartfelt performance as another country legend, the still much missed Patsy Cline.The first quarter of the movie shows Loretta's hardship in the mountains of Kentucky, a child bride at 14, and an expectant mother soon afterwards. Married to the much more mature Doolittle (Tommy Lee Jones in his star-making role), Loretta sings to her babies, and finally he goes out and buys her a guitar and pushes her to perform live. Ending up on the Grand Old Opry (introduced by none other than Ernest Tubb with Minnie Pearl standing in the background), she is an instant success, and when she is introduced to the legendary Patsy, the two become like sisters. It is Patsy's tragic death in a car accident that sets the stage for Loretta's ultimate nervous breakdown, as well as Doolittle's inability to stay in the background as "Mr. Lynn". Unlike Norman Maine in "A Star is Born", however, Doolittle won't take the noble coward's way out, and you see him grow up himself as he takes her success in stride and leads her to the path of recovery, a story that itself could become a legendary country song like the title song Spacek breaks into at the end.Breaking away forever from the "Carrie" mold, Spacek proved herself to be a multi-talented star, and one of the shining lights of the 1980's. Her friendly freckle faced real looks made her appealing in all sorts of roles, and here, Spacek does not appear to be acting. She IS Loretta Lynn, and even when up against the powerhouse performance of Mary Tyler Moore in "Ordinary People", deserved the Oscar she received. Her breakdown scene should be interwoven with the greatest individual scenes on celluloid when clips of cinema at its best is put together. Jessica Lange deservedly won praise for her later performance as Cline in "Sweet Dreams" (and got her own Oscar Nomination), but D'Angelo is just as memorable. Ironically, Lange and Spacek co-starred right after that in "Crimes of the Heart", along with another powerhouse, Diane Keaton. Levon Helm and Phyllis Boyens are memorable as the Webbs, Loretta's hard-working parents both strict and loving, and filled with the earthly spirit of country folk. They are not stereotypical Ma and Pa Kettle hicks, just real people in a real location making the most out of a little.The music is sensational, and the CD gives full versions of the sometimes abridged songs in the movie. When Loretta's first audience gets to hear her sing in public for the first time (the song "There He Goes"), you can see in their eyes that they realize that they are present to an unforgettable moment in country music history. Spacek adds humor to her first appearance on radio, telling off the DJ who lied about playing her record, and later misinterpreting a certain word which offends a radio station owner. Be warned; You will feel shudders down your back as D'Angelo breaks into "Sweet Dreams", and when it is repeated on the radio as Spacek and Jones sleep, make sure you have Kleenex handy. "Back in Baby's Arms", Spacek and D'Angelo's duet, shows two powerhouse actresses playing two powerhouse singers, and a lesson in how women in the same industry don't have to be competitors, but can bring out the best in each other.The clichés of these types of biographies are definitely there, but that really doesn't matter. Only once does the film seem awkward as it moves from one sequence to another, but for the most part, the screenplay flows beautifully, making this the surprise hit of 1980, the type of film that today would sadly end up on cable and be forgotten by tomorrow.