Verdict
Summary
A spoofy musical with lively songs, if less livelier dance numbers, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas wasn’t much of a vehicle for Burt Reynolds, who sort of coasts halfheartedly through the movie in a mopey performance, while Parton gets to shine much brighter with her very attractive screen presence and singing. The closing song “I Will Always Love You” became a smash hit phenomenon a decade later when Whitney Huston sang it, but here it’s almost used as an afterthought. The movie is rooted to a place and time in the early 1980s, which is fine, but it hasn’t aged especially well, though with the passing of Dolly Parton, it will live on as part of her legendary accomplishments.
Plot:
A Texas sheriff falls for a madam of a brothel, which becomes the focal point of controversy when a tabloid journalist exposes the business.
Review:
With a history of making men happy for generations, the Chicken Ranch brothel in Texas has had zero controversy or media exposure until the day a garish tabloid journalist (played by a hilarious Dom DeLuise in a wig) exposes the business to his rabid live audience on television. In the process, he also exposes Sheriff Ed Earl (Burt Reynolds) as a complicit customer of the place, which throws the entire dynamic of the Sheriff’s relationship with the brothel’s madam Miss Mona (Dolly Parton, very foxy) into jeopardy. Here’s the thing: Ed Earl and Miss Mona are in love, but she won’t marry him because he has plans to run for office one day, which won’t look good for him if he’s married to a madam of a whorehouse. And now that the Chicken Ranch is suddenly thrust into the media spotlight, with the attention of the governor of Texas now looking to shut the place down due to demand of the public outcry, Ed Earl and Miss Mona’s relationship has consequences for the Sheriff’s plans for politics. But love endures, and there’s a happy ending … even if the Chicken Ranch doesn’t survive the struggle.
A spoofy musical with lively songs, if less livelier dance numbers, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas wasn’t much of a vehicle for Burt Reynolds, who sort of coasts halfheartedly through the movie in a mopey performance, while Parton gets to shine much brighter with her very attractive screen presence and singing. The closing song “I Will Always Love You” became a smash hit phenomenon a decade later when Whitney Huston sang it, but here it’s almost used as an afterthought. The movie is rooted to a place and time in the early 1980s, which is fine, but it hasn’t aged especially well, though with the passing of Dolly Parton, it will live on as part of her legendary accomplishments. From director Colin Higgins.
Kino Lorber’s Blu-ray edition of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas comes in a new HD master from a 2K scan, and it looks and sounds quite nice in a sharp transfer. Special features include two audio commentaries, a making-of feature, outtakes, a trailer, reversible artwork, and a slipcover.
