Big Dreams & Broken Hearts: The Dottie West Story

I was never interested in country music and not familiar with Dottie West's music. I bought this movie because of Michele Lee. She is doing more than well in this movie. Michele proved again that she's a GREAT actress and such a talented singer. Not to forget, she looks fabulous, sexy & totally different from her character in Knots Landing. She was the perfect one for portraying Dottie West. After I watched the movie I had to buy Dottie's music. Michele brought her to me ! Wish I could find the soundtrack in Germany with Michele singing but it was never released here. But I can enjoy the original tracks by Dottie. For anyone who loves Dottie's music and wants to follow her career, just watch this movie and "be" a part of her world. You'll be sad that "Big dreams & broken hearts" is over in 90 minutes. You can sit there forever and keep on watching. It's worth it !

BIG DREAMS AND BROKEN HEARTS: THE DOTTIE WEST STORY is a 1995 TV movie biopic of country music queen Dottie West, a beloved star in the industry who was a major country star for nearly thirty years, racking up 16 Grammy nominations including the first win for a country female vocalist in 1964. Dottie's life was colorful and dramatic and was inevitable that a movie would be made of it, this one coming only four years after her death in 1991.

Michele Lee does a very good job in this highly sympathetic account of this lovely lady's often tragic life behind the beauty, glamour, and 100 watt smile. I like the fact that she is wise enough to sing West's hits "naturally", not with an affected southern accent. Her voice lacks the flavor of Dottie's often brilliant vocals but she's quite good. One thing I didn't like was the bad handling of the "Oui affair", when Dottie posed for the men's nudie magazine. The movie gives the impression is was a nude layout when in fact it was merely sexy cheesecake photos no bluer than the average photo session of Joan Collins, Farrah Fawcett, or other Hollywood glamour girls of the era. I also didn't care for the way they wrote Dottie in this scene bragging about her sex appeal which she would have never done and it's made worse by Michele's curiously husky, brash delivery of the lines that in no way suggest Dottie's actual speaking voice (or even Michele's voice in other scenes in the movie!!).

The cameos by other country stars (most all speaking directly to the camera and breaking the drama with comments about the real life of Dottie West) were expendable and rather badly done; I wouldn't have minded seeing them brought into the story but this is almost like they clipped interviews from a BIOGRAPHY episode and stuck them in the film.

Dottie deserves to be remembered not only for her great catalog of fine country music but her major part along with Joan Collins, Angie Dickinson, and Tina Turner in showing America in the 1980's that a woman can still be sexy and beautiful in her fifties. Today they call such women "cougars" but in the 1980's they had more grace, womanly softness, and were not really predatory, just ageless beauties who fascinated the country.

Without mentioning Dottie West's Raw talent and how her personal emotions came through each and every note, I found the movie to be thought provoking, intense at times and very moving - so much so to write this.

What I would like to know is the reason Kenny Rogers did not attend her funeral AND if he did attend a more private one or his own "recognition/acknowledgment", why was there no reference to that in the movie. I would think after all the years of working together and building a friendship, there would have been more of a "connection" there.

Also, (nothing to do with the movie. Dottie west had many friends in the "business" Loretta Lynn, Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, Patsy Cline (although deceased at the time) etc. To the average person 2 million dollars is astronomical, however to celebrities (especially a few of them), that's not only a tax write off, but change in the pocket. I don't understand why a few "friends" couldn't get together to donate/contribute/give etc. Dottie west what was needed or even have a benefit concert in her favor which would have helped considerably???

Michelle Lee did an amazing job and as far as the director, very believable! Jason J. (www.jasonj.biz)

Dottie West led a life that was straight from rags to riches, and back to rags again. She was born very, very poor. She was raped by her father, who later went to prison for it. She had 3 troubled marriages, 4 kids, world-wide fame, fortune, and terrible luck. After an amazing career, she found that she owed the IRS nearly $2 million dollars. She had to sell her home, and auction off everything she owned in order to pay the debt. She died an untimely death in 1991, with injuries that occured in a car accident. This film was amazing. Michele Lee did an outstanding job as Dottie. She looked like Dot, and sanf like her. The ending was a bit strange, because it never showed Dottie going to the hospital, or going through surgery. All in all, is you like biographies, watch this film. I give it a 9 out of 10.

Dottie West was a talented singer and a charismatic and sexy woman. It us tragic she was played by the blandest actress in the business who possessed none of Dottie's' qualities. Hopefully this can be remade on a grander scale with a good actress.