Ask Peter 08/28/26
Ask Peter Movies Screening Room

Ask Peter 08/28/26

From subscriber David Hutchings: "We all love and miss Dolly Parton. But how would you say she was as a film actress—really?"

By Peter Travers
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From left: Dolly with Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dabney Coleman (“9 to 5”), with Julia Roberts (“Steel Magnolias”) and Burt Reynolds (“The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas”)

Let me answer your question with a story about Dolly from the set of her 1989 movie, “Steel Magnolias.” The film’s director Herbert Ross, an infamous taskmaster, flat out stopped her after a scene and rudely told her she could not act. Dolly’s reply is a flat-out classic:

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