By David Miller
August 29, 2026
For generations, Dolly Parton was the kind of star people felt they knew. She could make you laugh, break your heart with a song and then turn around and steal a movie scene with a perfectly timed one-liner. This weekend in Olathe, fans have a chance to experience that part of her legacy again — not on a phone or television, but the way audiences first did, on the big screen.
AMC Studio 28, 12075 S. Strang Line Road, is showing two of Parton’s most memorable films through Wednesday, Sept. 2: Steel Magnolias and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. The Olathe screenings are part of AMC’s nationwide Fan Faves tribute following Parton’s death Aug. 25 at age 80. AMC is bringing the films back to roughly 200 theaters around the country.
For many fans, Steel Magnolias may be the one that hits hardest right now. Parton plays Truvy Jones, the endlessly quotable beauty-shop owner whose salon becomes the gathering place for a group of women sharing marriages, children, laughter and devastating loss. Parton was surrounded by an extraordinary cast — Sally Field, Julia Roberts, Shirley MacLaine, Olympia Dukakis and Daryl Hannah — but Truvy’s warmth feels unmistakably Dolly.
Then there is the Dolly who could fill a screen with pure star power. In 1982’s The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, she stars opposite Burt Reynolds in a big, colorful musical comedy. The movie also gave audiences one of the most memorable film performances of “I Will Always Love You,” the song Parton had written years earlier and which would eventually become one of the most famous compositions in popular music.
That makes these screenings feel like more than an ordinary revival. In the days since Parton’s death, listeners have returned to her records, readers to her books and fans to the movies that helped turn a Tennessee country singer into an entertainer recognized almost everywhere. Now Olathe audiences can sit together in a darkened theater and hear that unmistakable voice one more time.
The two movies are scheduled at AMC Studio 28 through Wednesday, giving local fans several opportunities to see them. Because individual showtimes can change, moviegoers should check AMC’s schedule before heading to the theater.
For anyone who grew up with Dolly — or for someone discovering why she meant so much to so many people — it might be a particularly nice way to spend a couple of hours this weekend:
Buy some popcorn, settle into a theater seat and let Dolly make you laugh again.
Something Different Media Group
