Patsy and Loretta is the story of the friendship between Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn. The film begins when they first met in 1961 and ends after Patsy Cline’s tragic death at age 30.
Megan Hilty plays Patsy Cline, who was already a star when she first heard Loretta Lynn sing. Jessie Mueller plays Loretta Lynn. Both these women are wonderful singers. They don’t try to create an exact imitation of the voices of their characters. Instead they sing in the style of the iconic voice they are representing in Patsy and Loretta. It works beautifully.
Patsy took Loretta under her wing and taught her some survival tricks. But soon enough their friendship became mutually supportive in every way.
Megan Hilty gives Patsy guts and charisma. She had ambition. She wanted to work and overcome her difficult past. Janine Turner played her mother and Kyle Schmid played her husband Charlie.
Jessie Mueller’s Loretta was unsure about her talent and not aggressive about her career. She didn’t know how to ask for what she needed. Joe Tippett played her husband.
These two women found each other in a business world full of men and shared their personal lives, their hopes and fears, their children, and their woes with their men. They loved each other and needed each other.
Their relationship was a blessing to them both, and the movie shows this in a multitude of ways. They didn’t get to be together very long, only a couple of years, but the film suggests that Patsy remains in Loretta’s heart. Loretta Lynn is now 87 and is considered one of the greatest voices in country music to this day.
Both the actresses did a wonderful job with their roles. Jessie Mueller had the job of playing a woman who is still alive and who went on to record a lifetime’s worth of songs we know and love. That would seem the more daunting task.
I enjoyed the music so much in this film. I had one small issue, but not with the music. The jumps or transitions between time periods as the two women were on the road or home were a bit awkward and jerky. That bothered me a bit.
Patsy and Loretta is a Lifetime original. If you go to the film’s website and scroll down a bit, you’ll find links to several places where you can buy the soundtrack.
Lifetime movies always come back around in the schedule, so if you missed the premier showing, keep an eye out for another airing.
Callie Khouri directed the film, which was written by Angelina Burnett.
Check out the trailer.
Have you seen the film? What did you think about the way these two musical geniuses were represented?
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