NekoHomey Purely Joyful Movie!

Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Humaira Grant It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Staci Frederick Blistering performances.

moonspinner55 Jessica Lange doesn't do her own singing as country legend Patsy Cline, however that hardly matters because the cadences of her speaking voice are musical. Lange hits some husky, lusty low-notes as the Virginia-born singer who met second husband Charlie Dick (Ed Harris) in 1956 while performing in a local bar, later staying by him through thin times (her pregnancy forcing her off a tour, his stint in the Army after being drafted) and tentative success (a hit record, "Walkin' After Midnight", which she first performed on a TV talent program). Robert Getchell's script has some crackling dialogue, but the episodes of Cline's hard struggle for country-western success as well as her tempestuous marriage to hellraiser Dick are needlessly stretched out; there's too much struggle and too much temperament, and the film begins to seem like an uphill climb (it's exhausting). For a major production with A-list talent, "Sweet Dreams" also looks a little drab and ordinary, without the location flavor of an earlier bio-pic, "Coal Miner's Daughter". Oscar-nominated Lange matches up well with Ann Wedgeworth as her mama, and her angry love for rascal Harris is well conveyed, but the highlights of Patsy Cline's career are tucked away in the folds of the domestic dramaturgy. **1/2 from ****

treeline1 "...instead of having sweet dreams about you." Jessica Lange stars as the unforgettable Patsy Cline in this very entertaining, rags-to-riches bio pic. The story opens in the fifties, and Patsy is singing in small-time honky tonks in Virginia. There, she meets charming Charlie Dick (Ed Harris) who woos her and they soon marry. The marriage is rocky and intense, Patsy's career takes off, and her songs go national.Patsy's original recordings are heard throughout the movie and, if you're a fan, you'll absolutely love hearing them again. Lange gives a very good performance as the spirited Patsy and was nominated for Best Actress, but for me, Ed Harris steals the show. He plays Charlie as a rough and rowdy, uncouth but lovable man and is totally charismatic. Look closely and spot a thin John Goodman in a small part.Though the story is equal parts fact and fiction, it is very enjoyable with a fast-paced script and, most of all, Patsy's memorable songs. Highly recommended.

Michael Neumann This unremarkable screen biography of singer Patsy Cline is short on imagination, but it features a natural performance by Jessica Lange and some colorful country-western atmosphere. Perhaps the film's biggest problem is that Cline's turbulent life could only have been adapted to the screen as a conventional show-biz melodrama, and the result here is a more or less typical Hollywood romance, easy on the eyes even when not particularly interesting. The rags-to-troubled-riches scenario is hardly novel, but that doesn't diminish the incidental pleasures of seeing more or less the same story told for the umpteenth time.The film's soundtrack includes many of the singer's original recordings, expertly lip-synched by the cast.

Lechuguilla As a cinematic biography of country/western singer Patsy Cline, "Sweet Dreams" is fairly good. The story takes place mostly in the 50s and 60s during which time she had already begun singing in local honky-tonks. The film's plot is straightforward and easy to follow. Production design is excellent. Overall acting quality is credible, with good performances from Jessica Lange as Patsy Cline; reliable Ed Harris as Patsy's redneck husband, Charlie Dick; and wonderful Ann Wedgeworth as Patsy's mother. Profuse country/western music helps make the film even more enjoyable, though I wish they could have found a spot in the film for "Faded Love", one of Cline's most popular songs.Patsy was talented, ambitious, frustrated, determined, and outgoing. Charlie Dick comes across in the film as a jerk. And my main complaint about this film is that too much time is spent on him, rather than on Patsy and her career. The film's climax is not entirely consistent with known facts; but it is very dramatic."Sweet Dreams" will appeal to older viewers, as well as to those who like country/western music. And, of course, being a biography, the film will appeal to viewers who like real life stories.