Dolly or Bust

“Our family knows we’re out in Hollywood, they just don’t know we’re out in Hollywood,” said one of the Lane twins in their film, “Hollywood to Dollywood.” The movie has won 25 Best Documentary awards at various film festivals.

Gary and Larry Lane contacted me via Twitter and asked me to watch their documentary about a cross-country trek to deliver a movie script to Dolly Parton. They wrote “Full Circle” with Dolly in mind. In addition to their quest to see Dolly, the film deals with their sexuality and their desire to be accepted by their mother and other relatives they left behind in North Carolina when they moved to Los Angeles ten years ago.

The Lanes rented an RV which they named Jolene. They drove east on I-40, stopping at some roadside attractions like Cadillac Ranch and the Big Texan Steak Ranch.

The twins encounter difficulties in Nashville as they try to meet a friend who can get them VIP passes to an event with better potential access to Dolly. At the time the movie was made, there was a flood in Nashville, which closed the places they were supposed to visit.

When they arrived in Knoxville, the Lanes went to a drag show called “Night of 1,000 Dollys,” which was held the night before Dolly’s appearance at her theme park.

Once the brothers get to Dollywood, they still have to find a way to get Dolly’s attention as she is surrounded by thousands of fans. They joked that they may end up throwing their “Full Circle” script onto her float in her annual Pigeon Forge parade. I won’t tell you if they got to speak with Dolly but I will tell you that they were allowed to use her songs in the documentary.


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