It is impossible to hear Patsy Cline sing without being emotionally involved. Few singers have this ability to transcend the Art and make it an Epiphany. Anyone who is not moved by listening to this Earth Angel's Voice is immovable. It is so Heavenly, in fact, that one might even question why a such an Inspirational Talent was taken so soon.A Diva with Talent as Divine as any Humans could be. So it was a given that no one, no matter how talented, could convincingly stand in vocally. That is one of the strengths of the Movie, the Songs, all original recordings.Also, there are three Actors that are remarkable with Jessica Lange, Ed Harris and Ann Wedgeworth all giving memorable Performances. It is top heavy on Marital Affairs and Home Life making it far too Soapy for Music and Industry Fans, because the choice here is to portray this Story like a Country Music Song. But in the end it is the Singing Voice of Patsy Cline that is absolutely unforgettable.

Let me first begin by saying I was born about eight years after Patsy Cline's death. I knew little of her growing up. It wasn't until I was watching an awards show performance of up and coming Reba McEntire singing "Sweet Dreams" that I got schooled. My mother told me that as good as Reba was, and she was great, she didn't come close to the original. Immediately radio stations were playing Cline's songs again and of course, "Sweet Dreams" came out about this time. My mother and I went to see it and I was hooked. Fourteen years old and in love with this larger than life character and that VOICE.I want to say this. I saw "Coal Miner's Daughter" and Beverly D'Angelo is a fine actress and I know it took guts to try to sing like Cline, but it backfired miserably. I see other reviewers do not agree, but how can you immerse yourself into a role AND be believable when your rendition is actually distracting? Having Patsy's REAL music as the backdrop saves this film from being worse that it could have been. It does look and feel like a made for TV movie, but with all the "GD's" etc being tossed around, it's more like made for cable. And it was produced by HBO so, I say it might have been intended for cable. Who knows...however, the music and the top notch casting make this film better than it deserves to be. Jessica Lange is completely convincing in each facet of Patsy's life they chose to show and it pains me to think that she did not walk away with the Oscar for this. She is very, very good. A step above D'Angelo both in acting, presence and her performances. PC was only thirty or so when she passed and I think people forget how young and sexy she really was. Yes, she wasn't a stick figure, but casting directors, especially in the 80's were not going to accurately portray that.My issue is, because of my obsession after seeing Sweet Dreams, I picked up several books and read about Patsy's life and the movie leaves SO MUCH OUT! I know they had to pick a time frame and stick to it and I know they chose to spotlight her marriage to mimic CMD, but come on, the real life story of Patsy deserves a better made film. And hopefully, if indeed it ever gets remade, let's hope they fact check their script and get it right. I am not so worried about the over melodramatic tone of the abusive relationship, because I am sure there was truth in that, but better writing and more details would be nice.Jessica Lange has called this one of her favorite performances and I can see why, she had great co stars and a great character. But she and Patsy deserved a more accurate, richer film. We all do. Watch this, grab one of the great books about her available and have fun discovering why this woman will never really be gone.

This is not a bad semi documentary feature. Ed Harris is particularly effective as Patsy's husband Charlie Dick. Ann Wedgeworth again plays the quirky character with which she has become so identified. Be sure and catch a rare major film appearance by Dallas' own Jerry Haynes (Mr. Peppermint) as Patsy's manager Owen Bradley. I wish they'd spent a little more time on the professional side of Patsy's rise to fame and her career rather than focus so much on the relationship with her husband which could have been virtually any John and Jane Doe story about the trials and tribulations of married life.Jessica Lange is a little stiff and over the top on her hillbilly accent and I don't believe this was a performance worthy of the Oscar nomination she received. Jessica has crafted much better characters and performances than this. Most importantly, close your eyes and you can almost imagine it's really Patsy Cline singing, which it (unfortunately) is. I don't see why the producers couldn't have found an actress who can really sing rather than lip-sync. Sissy Spacek was fantastic singing as Loretta Lynn in Coal Miner's Daughter so there was no reason to close one's eyes. Mary Steenburgen exhibited her surprising vocal skills and sang like a pro with great pizazz and sexuality in Butcher's Wife and who'd want to close their eyes with Mary Steenburgen on screen. Meryl Streep kicked butt with I'm Checkin' Out Of This Heartbreak Hotel in Post Cards From the Edge. No closed eyes for this performance as everyone in the audience were probably dancing in the isles! And last but not least, why not Beverly D'Angelo who WAS Patsy Cline in Coal Miner's Daughter and did her own singing, quite admiribly I might add. With that kind of talent available, why would they mess with the editing hassles of lip-syncing and why not an actress with talents rounded enough they can perform all aspects of the character? I suppose it's called "Box office". Another another example of Hollywood's departure from art to dollars.

SWEET DREAMS was the 1985 film biography of country and western singing legend Patsy Cline, magnificently portrayed by Jessica Lange, who delivers one of her most charismatic performances as the singing legend who rose from humble beginnings to become a country and western legend. Lange imbues a fire and spirit into Cline that is quite endearing and allows us a perhaps partly speculative look at the fire that drove Patsy to become what she did. There is a great moment when Patsy is meeting with a record producer and she is describing the kind of career she wants and he says, "Oh you want to be Kitty Wells?" and Patsy replies, "Hell no, I wanna be Hank Williams!" According to this film, Patsy didn't want to be a country singer, she wanted to BE country music. I also love the scene where Patsy is introduced to the song "Crazy" and says she can't sing this man's song and the producer explains, "Sing it the way you always do, Patsy...your way...let the words tell the story." Patsy slows the tempo, does it her way, and it became her signature song. Lange not only delivers a wonderful performance in this film, but she does one of the best jobs I have ever seen on screen of an actor lip-synching to another voice. Her lip-synching to Cline's voice is practically flawless. Lange also gets solid support from Ed Harris as Patsy husband, Charlie Dick and from Ann Wedgeworth as Patsy's mom. I don't know why this has always bothered me but I noticed that in COAL MINER'S DAUGHTER, Patsy seemed to be a major character in Loretta Lynn's story but Loretta is not even mentioned in this film. Nevertheless, this is a warm and entertaining film, definitely a notch above the average film biography, thanks mostly to an extraordinary performance by Jessica Lange.