If there is any doubt that this made-for-TV movie is the authorized biography of singer Barbara Mandrell, the fact that the singer plays "herself" in the wraparound sequences should settle all bets. Otherwise, former Brady Bunch regular Maureen McCormick is seen as Barbara, whose life is chronicled from her early years as a musical prodigy (she played the accordion) to her first blush of TV stardom in the company of her sisters Irlene (played by Mandrell's real-life daughter Jaime Dudney) and Louise (Portia Dawson), moving ever forward to her solo superstardom and climaxing with her near-fatal 1984 car accident. The remainder of the drama details Barbara's spectacular post-crash comeback, which involved not only intense physical rehabilitation but also extensive spiritual therapy. Also showing up as themselves are Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers. Coproduced by Mandrell's husband Ken Dudney (herein played by Greg Kean, Get to the Heart: The Barbara Mandrell Story made its CBS network bow on September 28, 1997.
by Hal Erickson
synopsis
