Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square Isn’t Your Usual Holiday Movie

Dolly Parton is sporting a red gown, sitting in entrance of a meticulously embellished Christmas tree, and ready to Zoom. It doesn’t topic that it’s mid-October on the time of this interview. It’s the vacation season so far as Dolly is anxious, and she or he’s ready to unfold messages of hope and joy. 

She’s promoting her most contemporary challenge for Netflix—Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square, out November 22—a pair of effectively off and funky-hearted businesswoman (Christine Baranski) who returns to her minute fatherland to evict everyone and promote the land to a mall developer…simply ahead of Christmas. 

Dolly performs a pair diversified roles within the Debbie Allen–directed musical, however Christmas on the Square isn’t your traditional cookie-cutter vacation movie. Sure, there’s choreographed singing and dancing—including 14 well-liked songs from Dolly—and everyone is perfectly coiffed for a bustle to the close by general retailer, however it no doubt involves tune lyrics about fertility treatments and eviction notices. 

How’s that for a juxtaposition? I, for one, can’t be aware the final time I seen a Christmas movie take care of such true-existence eventualities. When I place a search info from to Parton about this, she straight away credit author and co-govt producer Maria S. Schlatter with the foundation to just a pair struggling to conceive and putting the storyline entrance and middle. “Maria addressed so many excellent things with these characters,” Parton tells Glamour. “I turn out to be as soon as accurate so proud to write the song that will perhaps possibly toughen all of that and accelerate alongside with such excellent reports.” 

Granted, it’s no longer fancy we search for stated couple accelerate to their doctor appointments and administer IVF pictures at house. (I silent are looking out to glimpse that.) Nevertheless their chase—and eventual decision to give up what’s supposed to be to a elevated vitality—is attention-grabbing to notice.

Traditionally, Christmas movies just to switch you to a simpler time. Nevertheless it’s 2020. and admittedly we’re slightly jaded. We desire escapism, however with an aspect of realism. Christine Baranski says the movie succeeds because it doesn’t skittish away from the hard stuff.

“There’s a fine line within the movie, ‘Peril is fancy with nowhere to head,’ as effectively as, ‘Whilst you happen to’re numb to the feelings of others, it’s straightforward to damage anyone,’” Baranski says. “Other folks like to melt their hearts, especially now. We are living in an age where it’s straightforward to let enrage out in opposition to other of us. Nevertheless we’d like to look at out no longer to head numb…and unfold straightforward kindness on the smallest stage. We accurate like to wait on the faith.”

Factual fancy the fictional characters in this minute metropolis attempting to construct ends meet. “Other folks are hoping for a higher contemporary 365 days,” Parton says, “so if they’ll accumulate joy in this movie and it supplies them hope, then we’ve done our job.” 

Jessica Radloff is the Glamour West Hover editor. You would modify to her on Instagram at @jessicaradloff14.