What are they? Coat of Many Colors and Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love, each 90-minutes on one disc from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
How much? $17.99 for Coat and $19.98 for Christmas
When? Now
What's the story? Both movies are tales from Dolly Parton's hardscrabble childhood in Appalachian Tennessee in the 1950s and focus on key events in her early life and on her large but close-knit family and the rural community in which she grew up.
In Coat, the Partons are rocked by a tragedy. At the same time, a new friendship and a rag coat made by her mother, Avie Lee (Jennifer Nettles), may be just what little Dolly (Alyvia Alyn Lind) needs to heal. This one is based on one of Parton's most famous songs.
In the sequel, the Parton family is preparing for Christmas and all Dolly wants is a pair of shiny red shoes and the chance to play Mary in the Christmas pageant. But as Lee Parton (Ricky Schroder) and the children work together to buy a special gift for Avie Lee, they find themselves facing some dangerous situations. And Dolly's uncle makes a suggestion that could change the course of her life.
How are they? About as sappy as you'd expect for heart-warming, feel-good holiday movies: full of nostalgia, pretty scenery, lots of sassy kids and dei ex machina. The first is better than the second, really, with a more honest, less hokey feel.
Parton introduces and narrates both films and fans of hers would probably enjoy getting a (partially fictional) look at her formative years. It's definitely family-friendly and safe for all ages. And, sappy or not, Parton is a charismatic force of nature.
The children are charming enough, even if their acting isn't exactly award-worthy. The adults are good, though, led by Nettles and Schroder with Gerald McRaney as Dolly's grandfather and Parton herself as the town's "painted lady" in the sequel.
Christmas is over. Are these still watchable? The second one is pretty Christmas-specific but it can be held over for December 2017 if you're picky. Coat is actually fairly generic, seasonwise.
Are there extras? A few, yes. Each movie has behind-the-scenes, making-of featurettes and deleted scenes. The first movie also has an alternate version.
New this week: Bones, Season 11; The Doctor Blake Mysteries, Season 3; Girls, Season 5; The Librarians, Season 2; Silk, Season 3; Sleepy Hollow, Season 3.
Next week: Archer, Season 7; Black America Since MLK: And Still I Rise, complete series; Broad City, Season 3; Homeland, Season 5; Mr. Robot, Season 2; Star Trek: Enterprise, complete series; Swamp People, Season 7.
Style on 01/01/2017