GOOD GOLLY: WHY WE LOVE DOLLY... FROM 9 TO 5!
It’s a reunion 40 years in the making! Dolly Parton will finally appear alongside her 9 to 5 co-stars, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, in the final season of their show, Grace and Frankie. When the movie hit cinemas in 1980, critics called it “stunt casting” putting the country singer in her first-ever film. But Dolly had the last laugh, recording 9 to 5’s iconic theme song and making the movie an instant classic.
Hearing about Dolly in Grace and Frankie got me thinking. After all these years, why do we still love Dolly? You have to admit, there aren’t many celebrities out there the majority of the world actually likes, let alone LOVES. With her fairy-floss wigs, face full of makeup and larger-thanlife attributes, Dolly’s a walking, talking, singing character of her own creation – one who spreads a message of kindness, hope and happiness in everything she does.
While Dolly might be as
American as pick-up trucks and apple pie, there’s something decidedly Aussie about her. It might be a stretch, but from where I see it: 1) Dolly doesn’t have a pretentious bone in her body, 2) she believes that no matter where you’re from, nobody is better than anybody else, and 3) she’s the first one to laugh at herself and give you a little stick while she’s at it. Am I right, or am I right?
In a world full of cynics, critics and trolls, Dolly is the embodiment of goodness. Every month, her Imagination Library Literacy Foundation mails out 850,000 books to kids, many right here in Oz, encouraging them to read. And when COVID first ravaged, an angel named Dolly donated $1 million to help fund research for the Moderna vaccine. Excuse me for a minute while I have a little cry. Golly, this woman makes me want to be a better human!
So if you need a little dose of Dolly and can’t wait for Grace and Frankie or for 9 to 5 The Musical to hit Australia next year, there’s always the music! With the Silly Season upon us, you have your pick of three Dolly Christmas albums to choose from.
God Bless Saint Dolly!
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