The sequel Dolly Parton has always longed to make: “I have been trying for years”
So many people are referred to as national treasures, but if America needs one definitive answer to this bold title, it’s Dolly Parton.
Not only has she released some unforgettable pieces of music, even writing and performing the original ‘I Will Always Love You’, but she has also endlessly donated to charity, even setting up her own Dollywood Foundation.
Funnelling her money into causes that matter, Parton has long been considered a legend, and it’s a wonder how she has had the time to achieve so much. From founding theme parks and hotels to funding vaccine research and releasing albums, she has always had plenty on her plate to keep her satisfied and going on.
For a time, this included acting, with Parton appearing in popular hits like Steel Magnolias and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, the latter of which earned her a Golden Globe nomination. Yet, none are as popular as her debut movie, 9 to 5, in which she starred alongside Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin as employees who make it their mission to get their own from their sexist boss.
Her role of Doralee Rhodes, who faces sexual harassment in the workplace, is one imbued with both pathos and humour, making her character lovable and smart, and with Fonda and Tomlin, they make an indomitable trio, leading the feminist comedy to great heights.
Parton earned three Golden Globe nominations for her performance and musical contributions to the film, as well as an Oscar nomination for ‘Best Original Song’. The Grammy-winning ‘9 to 5’ was a number-one hit, and while the song became a defining musical moment of 1980, it was also a big year for her as an actor, who showcased some impressive skills on screen.
It’s unsurprising, then, that Parton has longed for a sequel, something that has almost happened several times but never come to fruition. With the news that a Jennifer Aniston-produced remake is set to emerge sometime in the near future, the musician revealed that she always wanted to make a sequel, something that she would still be down for. “Jane, Lily and I have been trying for years to try to come up with a 9 to 5: Two through the years. It never happened,” she told HuffPost.
Back in the 1980s, there were plans for a sequel relatively soon after the release of the film, with Tom Mankiewicz on board, but Fonda wasn’t impressed, so that idea was thrown out the window and abandoned for the time being. Decades later, another sequel was reportedly in the works, and while it looked like maybe this time the trio would reunite once and for all and give fans a long-awaited follow-up, the idea fell through again.
Talking to Entertainment Tonight in 2019, Parton revealed, “I don’t think we’re going to do the sequel. We never could get the script where it was enough different than the first one, and that one turned out so good.” So, while the idea to do a sequel as recently as 2018 came about in response to continued issues of workplace harassment and disparities in equal pay, it seems like mastering a new idea with the same characters was proving too tricky, so perhaps fans shouldn’t get their hopes up yet.
