Seriously Red Review: Dolly Parton Impersonator Drama Isn't Deep Enough [SXSW]
Seriously Red delves into the life of a Dolly Parton impersonator who is lost with regards to her own identity. The film, directed by Gracie Otto from a screenplay by Krew Boylan (who is also the lead), certainly has its heart in the right place. But despite its exploration of identity and finding oneself while taking on the persona of another, Seriously Red never gets beyond its own surface-level reading of its themes.
Raylene “Red” Delaney (Boylan) is a property adjuster, and not a very good one at that. At a company party that presents her with the clown award, Raylene — already dressed up singer Dolly Parton because she assumed it was a costume party — takes to the stage to sing “9 to 5” following a musical run by an Elvis Presley impersonator (a nearly unrecognizable Rose Byrne). However, her performance catches the eye of Teeth (Celeste Barber), a manager for a celebrity impersonator company. Raylene doesn’t take it seriously at first, but after she’s fired from her job and continues to feel like a disappointment in the eyes of her mother Viv (Jean Kittson), she takes up with the company as a Dolly Parton impersonator. But first, she must impress her boss Wilson (Bobby Cannavale) if she’s to headline tours with a Kenny Rogers impersonator (Daniel Webber), even as she grows distant from best friend Francis (Thomas Campbell) and herself in the process.
Related: Linoleum Review: Gaffigan Is Excellent In Drama About Unfulfilled Dreams [SXSW]
Seriously Red is rather predictable from beginning to end. That isn’t usually a problem, but the film itself fails to rise above its own mediocrity. The writing is especially underwhelming and, while Raylene struggles with trying to find herself and be comfortable in her own skin,
Read more on screenrant.com
