SXSW: Life as Dolly Parton in ‘Seriously Red’

By Abe Friedtanzer

Just as Patton Oswalt was a draw for another SXSW film, I Love My Dad, actress Rose Byrne getting top billing in a movie about a Dolly Parton impersonator was also an appeal. Seeing a photo of Byrne as Elvis only made it more intriguing. But this is a classic example of a bait-and-switch, albeit a productive and satisfying one, since Byrne has almost no lines and barely even appears in the film. Instead, this is a story of an Australian woman yearning to find herself who does so through her undying love for the popular country star… 

Raylene (Krew Boylan), better known as Red, is the laughing stock of her office, and it doesn’t help that she is awarded the “office clown” superlative at a party when she shows up mistakenly dressed in full Parton getup. Pressed by her overbearing mother to make something of her life, Red is introduced to the possibility that her affinity for and extensive knowledge of everything Parton might actually lead to a career path, performing opposite a man devoted to being Kenny Rogers (Daniel Webber) at all times.

While Seriously Red is all about Red discovering himself through her passion for someone else, it’s also just as much of a star-making turn for Boylan. Though she has a fair number of credits in her native Australia, appearing in several TV series and the horror film Primal, this represents an international breakthrough that shows her to be equally capable of anchoring a dramedy as Red and of putting on a convincing Parton impression. It’s easy to root for her, especially since she means so well and almost never has people take her as seriously as she wants to be taken. 

Now, back to the reason this film caught my attention in the first place: Byrne’s transformation into an Elvis impersonator is so subtle and spectacular that, if you didn’t know she was in this film, you likely wouldn’t even realize it was her. Since this isn’t her movie, Elvis does only have a few scenes, and Byrne’s real-life husband, Bobby Cannavale, has a larger part as a disgruntled manager who holds the keys to Red’s future. Those more well-known stars are merely a way to get more eyeballs to this film, one which should prove highly enjoyable for Parton aficionados but requires no previous Parton experience to enjoy and appreciate. B+

Seriously Red is a world premiere in the Narrative Feature Competition at the SXSW Film Festival.