But everyone has ups and downs in their oeuvre, and I have to admit that most of the songs felt pretty flat to me ― warbling ballads and energetic choruses that chugged along dutifully until enough exposition had been laid out and the scene could end. CF: You’re right. Who wouldn’t love Dolly singing about Christmas? Musical film Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square stars Parton alongside Mamma Mia actress Christine Baranski, and it’s already been declared as … Jenifer Lewis? Can music, magic and memories change her mind? The whole movie proceeds in this spirit of barbed earnestness. In about five minutes, “Christmas on the Square” resolves the fate of the town, an adoption mystery, both health problems and everybody’s contempt for Regina. Illustration: Ivylise Simones/HuffPost; Photos; Getty Images, Netflix, Every moment is Dolly Parton’s moment, but it’s never been more true than this week. Even on the second watch, I found myself asking, “HOW DID WE GET HERE?”. The two men who start vogueing just look like they modeled for Sears. Who else would bother describing what a mess really is by pronouncing the word so that it sounds like ‘car accident’? Once the halfway point of the movie arrives, dramatic reveal follows dramatic reveal, with crucial details left unexplained. Tap dancing and tango at the bank? From the opening number, a jaunty ensemble performance set in the titular square, I quickly realized that what I was in for was a little bit Hallmark, sure, but also a little bit “Schitt’s Creek”-meets-Broadway. The duet between Baranski and Lewis in the hair salon definitely did catch my attention though and is at least memorable. (Netflix) Not content with co-funding a vaccine in the middle of a pandemic—no, really, that’s a thing she just did—Dolly Parton just finally put out a seasonal television event that she appears in for longer than five minutes. So yes, the movie has more stretches than a yoga class. But the rest is its own thing. Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square 2020 7+ 1h 38m Family Features Seasonal cheer comes to a screeching halt when a cold-hearted woman tries to sell her hometown's land. But I do want to talk about the music. It doesn’t matter. I’d skip this one. Premiering Sunday, “Christmas on the Square” tests whether the holiday-TV-movie industrial complex can handle maximal musical-theater cheesiness. Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square Not rated. But she knows when to slow down and take in a scene, as she does with a couple of the ballads, like a duet between Baranski and a kid tending bar, who winds up in a last-act medical crisis. I think what really got me is how much story gets crammed into 98 minutes, mostly explained via painfully expository song lyrics. Their little ditty felt vampy in a way that I can appreciate. Singing a ballad about the haves and have-nots, she appears to be green-screened into the aforementioned square, possibly because Dolly Parton does not go anywhere without flattering lighting equipment — even when she is supposed to look homeless. “Girl, you think you’re so fierce,” sings Lewis. You gotta push that all away to try to enjoy a bit of the quirkiness of this. She’s got cloudy tuffets to perch on and manners to teach Scrooge-y Regina. CF: Quirky is right. But it’s also dark! I don’t want to go into it too much here so people can just watch for themselves. Regina, a modern-day Scrooge, has to explore the horrific consequences of her selfishness and revisit the tragedy that closed her heart. The duet between Baranski and Lewis in the hair salon definitely did catch my attention though and is at least memorable. I also must have blinked when the storyline with the little Black girl and her father. MJ: And not just any old hairdresser, but your childhood friend, as we are told first in a line of dialogue and again 10 minutes later in song. Dolly Parton rescued a child actor from getting hurt on the set of her new Netflix movie “Christmas on the Square." NETFLIX Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square is a movie with a brick strapped to the accelerator — and you’ll love every insane second. I’ll see you when you do my hair tomorrow. EE: I didn’t love any of the songs. The results are mixed, to say the least. Three HuffPost reporters are here to tell you all about it. MJ: It seems like none of the performers (aside from Baranski and Lewis, who are seasoned enough to survive the script’s silliest impulses) realized they were making a movie and not a stage production. They’re not even Parton bronze. EE: I also must have blinked when the storyline with the little Black girl and her father. EE: RIGHT. CF: Yes, this movie seems engineered to test whether a Christmas musical can be too corny. On Tuesday, September 29, Netflix announced their newest holiday title, Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square, which is streaming as of November 22.The much-anticipated movie is directed and choreographed by Debbie Allen, a three-time Emmy and Golden Globe winner, not to mention the actress who portrays Catherine Avery on Grey’s Anatomy.. Erin E. Evans is senior enterprise editor of culture at HuffPost. And for the first 40 minutes, she, Parton and the screenwriter Maria S. Schlatter keep it all humming with the campy swish you need for a romantic-musical-family-tragedy holiday comedy. It’s ... a lot? Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square will be available to stream on Netflix on November 22, 2020, and it’s painful to watch. “Dolly Parton’s Christmas On The Square” is a new movie musical premiering on Netflix on November 22, 2020. What they are, though, is committed to the task at hand: some percentage of wit, wisdom and attitude that every number seems to call for and with double the amount of exposition. Dolly Parton, Christine Baranski and Jenifer Lewis? Parton did the music. Dolly Parton's Christmas on the Square isn't quite up to its star's standards, but its overwhelming good cheer and campy self-awareness may be just what viewers are looking for. Well, she is. Find out in Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square coming to Netflix on November 22, 2020. “Guess I don’t need a needle to get my ears pierced,” deadpans Baranski. You really have to pay attention because ... there are so many twists and turns. Who wouldn’t love Dolly singing about Christmas? Regrettably, I think it can. I don’t want to go into it too much here so people can just watch for themselves. I suppose I found joy in a song called “Wicked Witch of the Middle,” in which the townsfolk gather in a church to do a round-robin ditty about Regina being the wicked witch of Middle America. “Campy” is camp with a diploma and a martini. At some point, Regina serves Margeline, the beauty shop owner (and ex mayor) who’s played by Jenifer Lewis. Have a Holly Dolly #Christmas2020 with this Netflix holiday musical featuring 14 original songs by #DollyParton. By the end of this thing, she’s virtually the deity at the end of “Angels in America,” full of vinegar instead of vengeance. We have on our hands the sort of knowing bad that names a pastor Christian. (It’s a Christmas miracle!) CF: It’s nonstop entertainment! I have never really appreciated the movie musical, and “Christmas on the Square” exemplifies the primary reason: The camera brings the viewer right onstage, where we end up staring closely at broad emoting and ensemble dance numbers from a much closer vantage point than the genre was designed for. And just a few years ago in 2016, the Dollywood Foundation donated $1,000 a month to several hundred East Tennessee families who lost their homes during wildfires. Even on the second watch, I found myself asking, “HOW DID WE GET HERE?”. Directed by Debbie Allen. She’s not only funding the development of a new COVID-19 vaccine, she’s dropping a Christmas movie musical ― which she co-produced, composed, and performs in ― on Netflix to keep us all entertained through a lonely, cold holiday season. Regina, a modern-day Scrooge, has to explore the horrific consequences of her selfishness and revisit the tragedy that closed her heart. Debbie Allen did the bodies — the Ailey-isms and breakdances and swiveling in the pews. Now there’s a lot going on in Fullerville, so I had to sit for a second to reorient myself while watching this because it very much gives you over-the-top TV-movie-musical vibes. Everyone is operating at an 11 when a 6 would have sufficed. The next is Regina, a Trumpian spin on Ebenezer Scrooge, distributing eviction notices to children. Pastor Christian Hathaway (left, played by Josh Segarra), Jenna Hathaway (Mary Lane Haskell) and Regina Fuller (Baranski) talk about resistance to Regina’s plans. Have we described this movie as “a lot” yet? But is “Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square” any good? Promotional Video DVD, This is not an official release. The town’s pastor spearheads a resistance campaign, while Dolly ― an angel who walks among the townspeople disguised as a glamorously made-up panhandler ― tries to change Regina’s heart. Dolly’s whole brand is designed around appealing to everyone. Yes: It’s a child separation subplot, complete with a heartbroken young mother crying out in anguish as her baby is taken away forever. It’s ... a lot? Any joy I found came in the first half of the movie, before the narrative took a running dive off a cliff, trailing broken plot threads behind it. Dolly Parton as Angel in 'Dolly Parton's Christmas on the Square.' The latter twist was, I thought, just as ill-timed as ― and much more ill-considered than ― the eviction theme. Imagine someone singing to you at a salon while you’re trying to relax with cucumbers on your eyes. Subtitles: English, French, Spanish, Deutsch, Italian. It’s “Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la Land.”. Dolly plays an Angel, there are 14 original tunes. I feel embarrassed to even be evaluating her work! Premiering Sunday, “Christmas on the Square” tests whether the holiday-TV-movie industrial complex can handle maximal musical-theater cheesiness. Quirky is right. Starring Dolly Parton, Christine Baranski, Treat Williams and … The Sucret line is cute! Yep, I wrote it. DOLLY PARTON’S CHRISTMAS ON THE SQUARE is an entertaining, fun musical on Netflix about a small, vibrant, diverse town threatened by a wicked real estate woman. It’s also got Treat Williams, as Regina’s impossibly single old flame, still burning for her and ready with a song about why she’s wrong: his Christmas shop is not a room full of junk. CF: This truly signals the collapse of plot coherency. Tap here to turn on desktop notifications to get the news sent straight to you. You really have to pay attention because ... there are so many twists and turns. I couldn’t help but think about the measly $1,200 Americans received in the last eight months. EE: If you want a cute Christmas musical, go watch Netflix’s “Jingle Jangle” instead. MJ: There’s even a gauzy “Christmas Carol”-style flashback in which Regina watches her father give the baby up for adoption, finally understanding that he did so in her best interest. It’s the sort of bad that sets itself in a town that is doomed to become a mall, yet already has the peppy wink-wink of an Old Navy commercial. Lewis really took out her frustration on Baranski’s wig. “Margeline, don’t even argue, ‘cause even though we’re friends who have grown up here together, here’s a notice to vacate and a notice to relocate. Netflix’s peppy holiday musical has a campy streak and original songs by the country star, who plays a homeless angel with lessons for the town Scrooge. Then there’s the matter of Dolly Parton herself. Parton’s too self-deprecating to pat herself on the back but just self-amused enough to know an angel when she sees one. She’s not only. Perhaps because both of them could do no wrong in my book. The new film stars Dolly Parton, Christine Baranski, Jenifer Lewis, Treat Williams, Jeanine Mason, Josh Segarra, is directed and choreographed by Debbie Allen, and features 14 original songs by Dolly Parton. She starts out homeless, in gray rags, singing in the center of town about the power of togetherness, wagging her box for change at people too busy doing back flips and jetées to notice. Her scenes are spent guiding an angel trainee and giving Baranski the evil eye along with the withering folksiness that is Parton’s specialty as a movie star. Then, I found out Debbie Allen, one of my faves, was directing. The latter twist was, I thought, just as ill-timed as ― and much more ill-considered than ― the eviction theme. Running time: 1 hour 38 minutes. For me, the forced adoption scene was rock bottom ― any other lowlights for you two? So I was IN for all the hijinks. I feel like the wickedest witch of the middle of my apartment for daring to have critiques. A mall, really? Her songwriting is enjoying swiping a little of everything from the music buffet: Rodgers and Hammerstein, treacle, Ike and Tina. This scene brought me to tears, and not in a good way; the framing, in fact, is that this crime should be forgiven and forgotten because it was committed with good intentions. Well, that’s not new, but no one’s actually in drag. No wonder they all want to stay. Neither does Parton’s homeless angel. I feel like the wickedest witch of the middle of my apartment for daring to have critiques. Dolly’s whole brand is designed around appealing to everyone. Evictions, really? WATCH: Dolly Parton, Christine Baranski, Jenifer Lewis Discuss Christmas on the Square The new Netflix movie is directed and choreographed by … Movie musical “Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square” will premiere Nov. 22 on Netflix. Anybody who prefers their entertainment spiced, spiked, salted, smothered and smoked might have been waiting for Baranski vs. Lewis. Christmas on the Square (full title Dolly Parton's Christmas on the Square) is a 2020 American Christmas musical film directed and choreographed by Debbie Allen. In this economy? Regrettably, I think it can. The logistics of the arrangement are too fabled to grasp. Dolly needs no defense of her songwriting chops; this woman wrote “Jolene” and “And I Will Always Love You” in one day! Given the delightful news that the promising COVID-19 experimental vaccine from Moderna was funded in part by a $1 million donation from Dolly Parton, “Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square” The Sucret line is cute! This is a Christian undertaking, and Parton’s lyrics have the declarative navigability you need to learn a lesson. It also stars Christine Baranski, Treat Williams, and Jennifer Lewis. Everyone is operating at an 11 when a 6 would have sufficed. Their little ditty felt vampy in a way that I can appreciate. She gifted us with a new Christmas album, holiday sweater line, and bakeware.She donated money to help develop a … If you want a cute Christmas musical, go watch Netflix’s “Jingle Jangle” instead. Dolly, thank you. It has color cover and proper artwork on disc. EE: So the first time I watched this, I fell asleep in the middle and woke up at the end very confused about Regina talking about “my son.” I was too exhausted to fully accept that this is where the movie had veered off into yet another storyline. But the rest is its own thing. It’s the first of many, many, many things in this movie that make little sense. It’s one of those things that is so well-intentioned and harmless you sort of feel bad dinging it. Part of HuffPost Entertainment. 'Emily in Paris' Is As Boring And Basic As A Sponsored Instagram Story, ‘The Undoing’ Is Unoriginal But Highly Watchable, There's A Whole Lotta Girl Power On 'The Boys' Season 2. News to me. My hair follicles flinched in sympathy. Dolly, thank you. From the opening number, a jaunty ensemble performance set in the titular square, I quickly realized that what I was in for was a little bit Hallmark, sure, but also a little bit “Schitt’s Creek”-meets-Broadway. "On Oct. 2, [Parton will] release A Holly Dolly Christmas, which will include both holiday classics and originals — and duets with Michael Bublé, Willie Nelson and her goddaughter Miley Cyrus — and mark her first album for 12Tone Music Group (which licenses the music from Parton’s own Butterfly Recordings)," Melinda Newman announced in a recent Billboard cover … Netflix released the film on November 22, 2020. Lewis really took out her frustration on Baranski’s wig. It is definitely not the kind of musical that works as background noise while you’re, say, washing the dishes. What else should we expect from a movie involving a woman whose million-dollar donation to medical research reportedly resulted in a Covid-19 vaccine? Erin, that was one of the few effective jokes in the script. Allen and Parton clearly want this town to be a quaint “Gilmore GIrls”-esque snow globe, but instead, it just feels like a bunch of playacting, which makes subplots about infertility, unrequited high school sweethearts, sassy child bartenders, a cancer scare, teen pregnancy and something about a very important lantern all the more awkward. Seasonal cheer comes to a screeching halt when a cold-hearted woman tries to sell her hometown’s land. Don’t be late.” The woodwinds rise in hungry mischief to meet each “ate.”. Claire Fallon: Dolly Parton is no newcomer to holiday flicks, and last year released a Hallmark film called “Christmas at Dollywood,” so I thought I knew what to expect from her latest, “Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square.” Matt, Erin, I was wrong. This truly signals the collapse of plot coherency. But man, Fullerville was just full of drama. It’s so jarring that it feels impossible not to discuss, so, SPOILER ALERT: Late in the movie, we learn that Regina became pregnant as a teenager and was forced to give up her infant. Imagine evicting your hairdresser right before she’s about to go at you with a comb and a straightening iron. Dolly Parton is back on Netflix with Christmas on the Square, a new holiday musical that stars Christine Baranski, Jenifer Lewis, Treat Williams, and (of course) Dolly Parton. Allen’s camera is as overcaffeinated as her choreography. Dolly Parton, Christine Baranski. dolly parton's christmas on the square (l to r) christine baranski as regina and jeanine mason as felicity in dolly parton's christmas on the square cr. RIGHT. Oh, and the flashback happens while she’s getting a CT scan to see if she has a tumor. The best scenes in the film being the two-handers between Parton and Baranski. Before I start receiving nasty grams from Dolly Parton fans, please know that I’m actually a fan of Dolly Parton’s music and I’d love to visit Dollywood someday. But man, Fullerville was just full of drama. CJ: It’s a testament to the sheer overstuffedness of this movie that I forgot about the “possibly fatal tumor” subplot. Three HuffPost writers weigh in on the Netflix film. In this case, that relentless inoffensiveness gets stretched to its breaking point. Dolly Parton's. You’re right, Claire, that nothing can rob Dolly of her songwriting credentials; she’s one of the best in the business. Credit: Netflix Of course, there’s a reason for Regina’s coldness, a tragedy from her … Baranski is a chilly queen (“Regina” could not be a more fitting name for her and her Antoinette-esque character), and Lewis matches her with a fiery turn as her betrayed best friend from childhood. On Thursday, Netflix dropped the first trailer for Parton's Christmas on the Square and it's as stuffed full of festive fun as a stocking on Christmas morning. All of her pessimism and corporate ruthlessness is apparently rooted in that moment. Erin, that was one of the few effective jokes in the script. Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square will launch globally on Netflix on Sunday November 22nd 2020. She’s an angel in every sense of the word and in her Christmas movie, Dolly Parton’s Christmas On The Square, she was literally one. She’s also the director. Imagine evicting your hairdresser right before she’s about to go at you with a comb and a straightening iron. So I was IN for all the hijinks. Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square follows Regina (Christine Baranski), an embittered businesswoman who returns to her hometown to notify the residents that she’s selling the town to a conglomerate that will force the townsfolk to move and turn the land into a mall. Baranski is a chilly queen (“Regina” could not be a more fitting name for her and her Antoinette-esque character), and Lewis matches her with a fiery turn as her betrayed best friend from childhood. But she’s nothing if not earnest, and I wonder if the too-muchness of “Square” risks trying the patience of even the most open-minded Christmas junkie. EE: I have tried my best to keep from repeating it in every paragraph. But it’s also dark! Yes, this movie seems engineered to test whether a Christmas musical can be too corny. By James Kleinmann . A lot of “Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square” bears some resemblance to the familiar — greeting cards, mulled cider, Dickens, Velveeta. CF: Funding the COVID vaccine will remain Dolly’s greatest contribution to my holiday cheer. I didn’t love any of the songs. EE: The pregnancy story, in particular, really came out of nowhere for me. CF: My hair follicles flinched in sympathy. Every moment is Dolly Parton’s moment, but it’s never been more true than this week. Before hitting play, I knew I was gonna be in for a ride. And not just any old hairdresser, but your childhood friend, as we are told first in a line of dialogue and again 10 minutes later in song. Early on, the high-volume zaniness of the predictable made-for-TV holiday movie tropes offered an undeniable camp factor. What were your initial impressions? And “Christmas on the Square” is a drunk. All rights reserved. Selah Kimbro Jones as Violet in ‘Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square’. There’s a church-bound sequence in which Christian and his parishioners rail against Regina’s heartlessness, and somebody sings that “She’s cold as a witch’s —,” before everybody practically gasps and sings past her. Then, I found out Debbie Allen, one of my faves, was directing. CF: Any joy I found came in the first half of the movie, before the narrative took a running dive off a cliff, trailing broken plot threads behind it. There’s even a gauzy “Christmas Carol”-style flashback in which Regina watches her father give the baby up for adoption, finally understanding that he did so in her best interest. Complete 2020 Musical Movie. She plays Regina Fuller, the dame who arranged the sale of the town and spends the opening numbers blithely handing out eviction notices to shop owners, kids and dancers. If the documentary on Dolly Parton left you wanting more, this movie premieres Sunday November 22 on Netflix. The next is Regina, a Trumpian spin on Ebenezer Scrooge, distributing eviction notices to children. Once the halfway point of the movie arrives, dramatic reveal follows dramatic reveal, with crucial details left unexplained. Sign up for membership to become a founding member and help shape HuffPost's next chapter. So pour yourself a stiff eggnog or two, surrender to the cheesiness of it all and it might just inspire you to decorate that tree. In case you somehow missed this, Dolly Parton has been out here saving the world in 2020. 'Dolly Parton's Christmas On The Square' Is, Well, A Very Quirky Holiday Musical. I realized “Christmas on the Square” would defy all assumptions at the first sight of Dolly’s mildly smeared eyeliner, tattered gray outerwear and stringy bangs. It’s a Sucret.” Where did y’all find joy, if at all, in this musical? All of her pessimism and corporate ruthlessness is apparently rooted in that moment. But she’s nothing if not earnest, and I wonder if the too-muchness of “Square” risks trying the patience of even the most open-minded Christmas junkie.