The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas

1982 "With Burt and Dolly, this much fun just couldn't be legal!"
6.1| 1h55m| R| en| More Info
Released: 23 July 1982 Released
Producted By: Miller-Milkis-Boyett Productions
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Synopsis

When a big TV crusader Melvin P. Thorpe threatens to expose the Chicken Ranch to public scandal and close it down, Miss Mona doesn't go down without a fight.

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Reviews

Interesteg What makes it different from others?
Supelice Dreadfully Boring
WillSushyMedia This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.
Helloturia I have absolutely never seen anything like this movie before. You have to see this movie.
slightlymad22 In terms of box-office The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas was the most successful movie-musical of the 1980's. And I can see why, it's easily my favourite musical of all time.Plot In A Paragraph: Sheriff Ed Earl Dodd (brilliant Burt Reynolds) turns a blind eye to the fact his mistress Miss Mona (A delightful Dolly Parton) runs a brothel nicknamed "The Chicken Ranch" All is fine until TV reporter Melvin P Thorpe (Hilariously smug Dom DeLuise) decides to wage a war to close it down. Both Burt Reynolds and Dolly Parton look gorgeous and they have really good chemistry, that hints at a flirty long time relationship. It's not sizzling by any means, just a hint of smut. They're both great looking, they smile a lot, and they've been provided with good dialogue. Yet somehow Charles Durning steals the movie from out underneath them both despite less than ten minutes of screen time.Watching Durning dance up a storm as he sings "The Sidestep" is an absolute delight. He waltzes in and out of the movie, and walked off with an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Burt Reynolds my favourite actor of that era, is at his most attractive here. He has never looked better on screen than he did in this movie. We get all of Reynolds persona's here, Romantic Burt, Bad Tempered Burt, Sexy Burt, Sad & Moody Burt. For the most part his natural charm is on full display here. Dom De Luise is brilliantly bizarre as the TV reporter who wants to shut down the Chicken Ranch. There are funny jokes, some raunchy one- liners, some enjoyable songs set to nice choreography, and then there is Dolly Parton. If I were asked what image dominates "The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas," the honest answer would have to be: Dolly Parton's cleavage. I am not being deliberately crude or rude. The awesomeness of her wondrous boobs dominates every scene Dolly appears in. Musical highlights include "A Lil' Ole Bitty Pissant Country Place" by Parton,"Sneakin' Around", performed as a duet with Parton and Reynolds, and of course Parton's' "I Will Always Love You". I usually watch this movie a couple of times a year.
David Conrad There is a commitment to authenticity in film production of "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas." The people are fictional, in that no real-life sheriffs or governors or madams are depicted, but the movie is unafraid to use the names and likenesses of real, powerful Texas institutions to fill out the whorehouse clientele portion of its cast. Early on, Jim Nabors's goofball deputy explains one of the key plot points: the winning team of each year's famed football match between Texas A&M University and the University of Texas gets a free night at the Chicken Ranch, a house of ill repute west of Houston. To allege such a thing in a movie today would be impossible: the lawsuits would be swift and many. But here, it isn't just alleged—it's depicted in vivid detail and with the flamboyant abandon of a great movie musical. The sequence begins on the gridiron, with the trademarked logos of A&M and UT on proud display, and transitions to the victorious Aggies' locker room where the men do a gleeful choreographed routine and strip down to their bare asses right underneath the "Gig 'Em Aggies" sign. Soon enough they're at the Chicken Ranch, where a Senator looks on approvingly as the team and the employees dance and carry on in various states of undress. It's a very funny string of scenes, and it wouldn't have the same sense of stakes or impropriety if instead of the Aggies the team was some made-up, generic stand-in; in Texas, there is no stand-in for A&M. One wonders how the large and powerful Aggie alumni community feels about this film. The movie walks a delicate line regarding the morality of its subject matter. It satirizes politicians (Charles Durning shows himself to be a physical comedy genius in his single, show-stealing number) and condemns "gotcha" journalism (Dom DeLuise's TV investigator dandy even uses that exclamation), and these are easy targets, but its discussion of the whorehouse itself is confined to a limited set of debate parameters. The perspective of the whores themselves is mostly missing, as is the criticism of prostitution as a kind of slavery. In its place is the less troubling contest between the support of safer, legalized, pimp-free prostitution and the old-fashioned condemnation of it on religious grounds. Most modern theater- and film-goers take the former view when those are the only two options, and the movie does so as well with a compelling and well-meaning righteousness. What it lacks in nuance on the subject of paid sex, it makes up for with really touching character moments between Burt Reynolds's duded-up sheriff and Dolly Parton's dolled- up proprietress. Their relationship is kept on impressively equal footing, and it feels as real and lived-in as the footage of the Texas capitol, the small-town courthouse square, and the Texas A&M stadium.
rich-228 I didn't make it more than 30 minutes on this piece of junk. I seriously wonder why so many of the previous reviewers call it the best musical they have ever seen......... i think maybe they haven't seen many. Hold this up to any of the classic musicals of the 1950's and you'll see how truly bad it is. Not worth renting, that's for sure.Dolly is OK. Burt tries but fails. The musical numbers are mostly very badly done. The plot drags. Jim Nabors, channeling his Gomer Pyle USMC character, is very annoying. I suppose if you are in this for the titillation (I wasn't), the movie might be...... a bit titillating, but that's the only reason I can think of to watch this mess. Production values uniformly cheap.
angeliossu For those of us who really watch musicals for the music this is one of the quintessential musicals of it's time . There is in particular one song that is constantly stuck in my head from this show even 25 years after its original release. The classic " Nothing Dirty Going on" stands up well with the likes of Moulon rouge , and Chicago. Expect a bit of camp humor here as Dolly was made for this roll.It's classic dolly showing up everyone else in this over the top cast and making em all look like a bunch of fools by doing her part so well. Deloise and Reynolds are clearly struggling to keep up with her acting wise throughout the film and it's blatantly obvious Dolly had way way too much fun in this roll.A great musical on a true story that really could use a remake with the right cast .