SERIOUSLY RED
****
Director: Gracie Otto
Screenplay: Krew Boylan
Principal cast:
Krew Boylan
Daniel Webber
Thomas Campbell
Bobby Cannavale
Celeste Barber
Rose Byrne
Country: Australia
Classification: M
Runtime: 94 mins
Australian release date: 24 November 2021.
“You’ll never do a whole lot unless you’re brave enough to try” - Dolly Parton.
Many people experience an identity crisis at some point in their lives, whether it be a personal or private one. In Gracie Otto’s Seriously Red we are taken through one such crisis with a young woman who’s always tried her best to fit in at work and with her mother but her attitude to life has made it impossible. She’s a square peg in a round hole. After confrontations with her boss and her mum, she decides to change her life and head off into the unknown in an attempt to find out who she really is. What she finds, however, is that trying to be someone else isn’t the best way to go about it. As somebody once wisely said (and no, it wasn’t Oscar Wilde), “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”
Raylene, nicknamed ‘Red’ (the very talented Krew Boylan, who also wrote the film’s screenplay), is a vivacious redhead besotted by country music legend Dolly Parton, to the point where she does a pretty good impersonation of her. After getting a rousing reaction from her colleagues when she’s fooled into trying out ‘Dolly’ at a work party, she meets a talent scout (Celeste Barber) who believes that she has what it takes to make it as a professional impersonator. She encourages Red to perform at an open mike gig where she impresses Wilson (Bobby Cannavale), the manager of a look-alike artists’ agency, who’s won over by both her talent and her chutzpah, and he signs her up for a gig in Hong Kong. Also on the bill is ‘Kenny’ (Daniel Webber), a Kenny Rogers impersonator who insists on keeping his real name and backstory secret, and the pair click, both on and off stage. The relationship, however, and the fact that ‘Kenny’ is so totally possessed by his Kenny Rogers persona, makes Red question who she really is and Seriously Red takes a turn from the comic to the, well… serious.
Boylan, who played the role of Schapelle Corby in the 2014 telemovie Schapelle, is terrific in the lead role, managing to capture both the exuberance and the insecurities of her character as Red switches from confident young woman to one plagued by self-doubt. She channels Dolly with perfection (her singing is lip-synched with original versions of the artist’s famous repertoire) and she has the star’s voice down pat. Many of Dolly’s anecdotes are used, too, and at times you almost feel as if you’re watching the real Dolly. As the plot thickens and Red’s performances improve, her transformation is complete and it is only when she takes off her wig that you remember that it is all fantasy. The movie has been released too late in the year to be eligible for the AACTA Awards but, if that were not the case, Boylan would certainly have garnered a Best Actress nomination. There’s a great supporting cast, too: Jean Kitson and Tony Barry as Red’s mother and grandad, Cannavale and an unrecognisable Rose Byrne, Webber and Thomas Campbell as Red’s love interests, plus various celebrity impersonators and a clutch of drag queens.
Otto, who’s previously directed the documentaries The Last Impresario and Under the Volcano, has made a funny yet poignant film with a thoughtful message. It reminded me of earlier Australian films like Muriel’s Wedding and Priscilla: Queen of the Desert in the way it has combined humour and heart. Filmed and largely set in the northern rivers region of NSW, the set design and costumes are as colourful as many of the characters and you don’t have to be a Dolly fan to appreciate Seriously Red and enjoy its excellent production values. Still, I guarantee you’ll come out humming one of her tunes.
Screenplay: Krew Boylan
Principal cast:
Krew Boylan
Daniel Webber
Thomas Campbell
Bobby Cannavale
Celeste Barber
Rose Byrne
Country: Australia
Classification: M
Runtime: 94 mins
Australian release date: 24 November 2021.
“You’ll never do a whole lot unless you’re brave enough to try” - Dolly Parton.
Many people experience an identity crisis at some point in their lives, whether it be a personal or private one. In Gracie Otto’s Seriously Red we are taken through one such crisis with a young woman who’s always tried her best to fit in at work and with her mother but her attitude to life has made it impossible. She’s a square peg in a round hole. After confrontations with her boss and her mum, she decides to change her life and head off into the unknown in an attempt to find out who she really is. What she finds, however, is that trying to be someone else isn’t the best way to go about it. As somebody once wisely said (and no, it wasn’t Oscar Wilde), “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”
Raylene, nicknamed ‘Red’ (the very talented Krew Boylan, who also wrote the film’s screenplay), is a vivacious redhead besotted by country music legend Dolly Parton, to the point where she does a pretty good impersonation of her. After getting a rousing reaction from her colleagues when she’s fooled into trying out ‘Dolly’ at a work party, she meets a talent scout (Celeste Barber) who believes that she has what it takes to make it as a professional impersonator. She encourages Red to perform at an open mike gig where she impresses Wilson (Bobby Cannavale), the manager of a look-alike artists’ agency, who’s won over by both her talent and her chutzpah, and he signs her up for a gig in Hong Kong. Also on the bill is ‘Kenny’ (Daniel Webber), a Kenny Rogers impersonator who insists on keeping his real name and backstory secret, and the pair click, both on and off stage. The relationship, however, and the fact that ‘Kenny’ is so totally possessed by his Kenny Rogers persona, makes Red question who she really is and Seriously Red takes a turn from the comic to the, well… serious.
Boylan, who played the role of Schapelle Corby in the 2014 telemovie Schapelle, is terrific in the lead role, managing to capture both the exuberance and the insecurities of her character as Red switches from confident young woman to one plagued by self-doubt. She channels Dolly with perfection (her singing is lip-synched with original versions of the artist’s famous repertoire) and she has the star’s voice down pat. Many of Dolly’s anecdotes are used, too, and at times you almost feel as if you’re watching the real Dolly. As the plot thickens and Red’s performances improve, her transformation is complete and it is only when she takes off her wig that you remember that it is all fantasy. The movie has been released too late in the year to be eligible for the AACTA Awards but, if that were not the case, Boylan would certainly have garnered a Best Actress nomination. There’s a great supporting cast, too: Jean Kitson and Tony Barry as Red’s mother and grandad, Cannavale and an unrecognisable Rose Byrne, Webber and Thomas Campbell as Red’s love interests, plus various celebrity impersonators and a clutch of drag queens.
Otto, who’s previously directed the documentaries The Last Impresario and Under the Volcano, has made a funny yet poignant film with a thoughtful message. It reminded me of earlier Australian films like Muriel’s Wedding and Priscilla: Queen of the Desert in the way it has combined humour and heart. Filmed and largely set in the northern rivers region of NSW, the set design and costumes are as colourful as many of the characters and you don’t have to be a Dolly fan to appreciate Seriously Red and enjoy its excellent production values. Still, I guarantee you’ll come out humming one of her tunes.