IMDb RATING
6.3/10
1.4K
YOUR RATING
Dolly Parton portrays a country-music performer who meets an untimely demise, but cannot enter heaven until she performs a good deed back on Earth: to reunite a workaholic widower with his c... Read allDolly Parton portrays a country-music performer who meets an untimely demise, but cannot enter heaven until she performs a good deed back on Earth: to reunite a workaholic widower with his children for Christmas.Dolly Parton portrays a country-music performer who meets an untimely demise, but cannot enter heaven until she performs a good deed back on Earth: to reunite a workaholic widower with his children for Christmas.
- Director
- Writers
- Stars
James Lurie
- Maitre'd
- (as James Harrison Lurie)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
I liked the movie. Predictable but entertaining. I'll have to admit, I'm a Dolly fan! She always plays good parts. Even in Nine to Five, she meant well in everything she did. The actors did an OK job of portraying their characters. CLEAN except for a few shots of Dolly. Language is fairly clean except for the word dam-it. Unfortunately it is all too true that the real world today focuses on the job, career, kids are left to fend for themselves, parents don't know how to be parents, etc. I would watch it again. Sometimes I think my grown up kids could learn some things, even from a simple movie like this one.
Better than some of the trash out there these days.
Better than some of the trash out there these days.
Dolly Parton has shown enough charm over the years to have developed a sideline as an actress. She may not have great range but films such as Unlikely Angel are a good display of her acting talents.
Ruby is a small town country music singer who dies in a road crash. At the pearly gates Angel Peter (Roddy McDowall) tells her that in order to gain her wings she must go back to earth as a nanny to help a widower and his dysfunctional family over the Christmas holidays.
The father is too busy at work, the teenage daughter is getting rebellious, the younger son spends too much time on video games.
Ruby has short time to get the family to bond but every time she thinks she has got them together, something goes wrong and its back to square one. The film really thrives on Dolly's charms and a few songs help. The Christmas setting gives it a schmaltzy feel, its a decent if predictable television film.
Ruby is a small town country music singer who dies in a road crash. At the pearly gates Angel Peter (Roddy McDowall) tells her that in order to gain her wings she must go back to earth as a nanny to help a widower and his dysfunctional family over the Christmas holidays.
The father is too busy at work, the teenage daughter is getting rebellious, the younger son spends too much time on video games.
Ruby has short time to get the family to bond but every time she thinks she has got them together, something goes wrong and its back to square one. The film really thrives on Dolly's charms and a few songs help. The Christmas setting gives it a schmaltzy feel, its a decent if predictable television film.
More for Dolly's fans than for those who crave Roddy McDowell.
Light hearted with a ton of clichés, but what part of Christmas Movie don't you understand. Ingredients include, 1 Single (widowed) Dad. 2 kids with attitude 1 Large chested country singer and a dash of Roddy McDowell as St Peter. Its predictable and almost too cute at times, and as another review suggests, Dolly's wardrobe is not exactly classic Edith Head, but it does keep her in character.
It'll leave you happier than hours of TV crime, deceit,violence, or Jerry Springer. (BUT so will Bourbon & Prozac for those who feel they are above the "Non Classic" Xmas fare)
Light hearted with a ton of clichés, but what part of Christmas Movie don't you understand. Ingredients include, 1 Single (widowed) Dad. 2 kids with attitude 1 Large chested country singer and a dash of Roddy McDowell as St Peter. Its predictable and almost too cute at times, and as another review suggests, Dolly's wardrobe is not exactly classic Edith Head, but it does keep her in character.
It'll leave you happier than hours of TV crime, deceit,violence, or Jerry Springer. (BUT so will Bourbon & Prozac for those who feel they are above the "Non Classic" Xmas fare)
This is a sweet and happy holiday film where we get to watch Dolly in her prime working with the legendary Roddy McDowall. A fun film from the mid-90's, slightly dated due to an average film transfer but overall a nice time waster if you enjoy Christmas movies.
This is a movie that is not too deep, in the literary sense, but very deep emotionally. If you have lost wife or husband (and I don't mean in the cosmetic or sporting goods section), or have gone through a traumatic experience with a wife or girlfriend, this movie will really hit home. Dolly was never my favorite actress, but she definitely came up a few notches in this movie. I started out not liking her character at all, but she later makes amends. As I said before, it's not deep, but even if you have been through a divorce and have had a tough time coping with your relationship with your kids, it will hit the buttons. Her second song made me want to right out & find it on CD. And I am NOT a country music fan.
Did you know
- TriviaAt the beginning of the movie, the sign that reads "Ruby Diamond Appearing Nightly" is missing the letters "U" and "L". This is a reference to the first and last letters of the movie's title.
- ConnectionsReferences The Sound of Music (1965)
- SoundtracksUnlikely Angel
Written and Performed by Dolly Parton
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $4,000,000 (estimated)
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content







