The strange and mysterious world of celebrity impersonators hasn’t been the subject of many films, so it was exciting to dip one’s toes into Seriously Red, a lighthearted Australian comedy about a woman’s journey from obscurity to fame while inhabiting country music’s most beloved icon, Dolly Parton. Directed by Gracie Otto, and penned by its star, Krew Boylan, the movie has its heart in the right place, and it’s fun to watch an ordinary office worker break the mold of her life, while donning tight bejeweled jeans, a fake bosom, and a white wig. You only wish the filmmakers peeked underneath the surface of their story a little further to discover something unique and didn’t just start tossing tired old tropes at the screen like a Bette Midler searching for a scarf.
Raylene ‘Red’ Delaney (Bolan) is a property adjuster in an office of conventional suits that don’t understand her quirky sensibilities (sometimes, neither do we). She hates her job and talks in fits and starts while spouting off Dolly Parton quotes with a rapid fire staccato. At first, her character is a little jarring, so it’s a relief when we follow her home, where she lives with her mother Viv (Jean Kittson) and hangs out with her best friend Francis (Thomas Campbell). Things at work come to a head when Raylene shows up to a company party dressed as Dolly Parton (she thought it was a costume party) and takes the stage to accept an award for “best office clown.” Instead of crumbling from the humiliation, she breaks into a rendition of “9 to 5,” which garners attention from Teeth (Celeste Barber), who manages a celebrity impersonator company.
The movie is told through an array of Dolly’s inspirational quotes which appear on screen as Raylene embarks on her journey. She soon finds herself at a club filled with other impersonators where she feels right at home. First, she needs to impress the boss, Wilson (Bobby Cannavale), a former Neil Diamond mimic who now takes his…
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