Unlikely Angel

This is a sweet and happy holiday film where we get to watch Dolly in her prime working with the legendary Roddy McDowall. A fun film from the mid-90's, slightly dated due to an average film transfer but overall a nice time waster if you enjoy Christmas movies.

Rebounding from her first foray into seasonal TV-movie fare (the forgettable "Smoky Mountain Christmas" from 1986), Dolly Parton tries again with this holiday-themed, sentimental confection...and does a very commendable job. A down-on-her-luck singer named Ruby Diamond (!) gets herself into a fatal car wreck and is later turned away from Heaven by St. Peter until she earns her wings on Earth by bringing a dysfunctional family together (under the guise of a cleavage-baring nanny). The brood consists of a widower father (the eternally-constipated Brian Kerwin), his snotty teenage daughter and alienated young son (who joins Dolly in a piano-and-guitar duet on "Jingle Bells"!). Dolly doesn't have to work hard at this role--the writers have already supplied Ruby with an angelic disposition that is hard to humbug, a background in country music, and childhood memories that just reek of smoky mountain holidays in Tennessee. Director Michael Switzer keeps Dolly feisty and funny throughout, and her rapport with saint Roddy McDowall is sweet, but the movie isn't very enticing on an emotional level. The kids merit little interest, the relationships between the adults is occasionally unclear, and small details such as where Dolly hangs up her fabulous wardrobe remain sketchy at best.

Right, well I have to say that I wasn't exactly harboring the biggest of expectations to this 1996 movie, as I sat down to watch it for the first time ever here in 2024. Yeah, I just can't claim to be a fan of Dolly Parton, neither her music or acting. But with "Unlikely Angel" being a movie that I hadn't already seen, of course I opted to sit down and watch what director Michael Switzer had to offer.

The storyline was every bit as sugar-coated sweet, generic and predictable as you would expect from a movie such as this. But there still was something oddly entertaining about it. So, I guess, in a way writers Catherine Ann Jones, Liz Coe and Robert L. Freedman did actually manage to conjure up something entertaining. Sure, it was watchable, especially if you enjoy these kind of syrupy Christmas family movies.

It was nice to see an actor like Roddy McDowall showing up in a movie such as this, and he definitely added a lot to the overall impression of the movie. As for leading actress Dolly Parton, well, you know what you are getting here. But hey, on the plus side, if you are a fan of hers, then you're in for a treat with this movie. Of the entire cast ensemble, then I was only actually familiar with Dolly Parton and Roddy McDowall.

Of course there is an audience out there for a movie such as "Unlikely Angel", no doubt about that. And I am sure that to that particular audience then the movie is a great watch. I found "Unlikely Angel" to be a watchable and sort of entertaining enough movie, I will admit to that much.

My rating of director Michael Switzer's 1996 movie "Unlikely Angel" lands on a six out of ten stars.

I liked the movie. Predictable but entertaining. I'll have to admit, I'm a Dolly fan! She always plays good parts. Even in Nine to Five, she meant well in everything she did. The actors did an OK job of portraying their characters. CLEAN except for a few shots of Dolly. Language is fairly clean except for the word dam-it. Unfortunately it is all too true that the real world today focuses on the job, career, kids are left to fend for themselves, parents don't know how to be parents, etc. I would watch it again. Sometimes I think my grown up kids could learn some things, even from a simple movie like this one.

Better than some of the trash out there these days.

More for Dolly's fans than for those who crave Roddy McDowell.

Light hearted with a ton of clichés, but what part of Christmas Movie don't you understand. Ingredients include, 1 Single (widowed) Dad. 2 kids with attitude 1 Large chested country singer and a dash of Roddy McDowell as St Peter. Its predictable and almost too cute at times, and as another review suggests, Dolly's wardrobe is not exactly classic Edith Head, but it does keep her in character.

It'll leave you happier than hours of TV crime, deceit,violence, or Jerry Springer. (BUT so will Bourbon & Prozac for those who feel they are above the "Non Classic" Xmas fare)