-via IMDb.com

The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas is a musical comedy starring Burt Reynolds, Dolly Parton, Jim Nabors and Dom Deluise, based on a stage play of the same name. This film is cheesy and that's a good thing I think, it's something I'm pretty sure couldn't be made today, unfortunately.

The story is about Sheriff Ed Earl Dodd (Reynolds) and his fight with tv personality Melvin Thorpe (Deluise) to keep the Chicken Ranch brothel open in his county. Thorpe has targeted the Ranch as needing to be closed down despite its hundred year lifespan. Parton plays Miss Mona, the owner of the Ranch and love interest of Ed Earl. There's camp, there's humour, there's singing and dancing.

The good:

Burt Reynolds and Dolly Parton are a charismatic screen couple that I enjoyed watching, especially a scene early on when they go out to the lake to look at the stars, drink some beers and just talk. They are charming and I believed their relationship. When they fight later in the film, they cut each other deep and you buy into it because of that.

Listening to the 80s All Over podcast review the other night, the podcasters mentioned the equal opportunity nudity in the movie which is a somewhat refreshing attitude to see in a movie.

I was impressed with the rather positive take on sex and sex work, something that I fear would block this movie from being made today.

Charles Durning is hilarious as the Governor of Texas and he has a song that is just brilliantly satirical and had me laughing out loud.

The bad:

The dancing sequences go on a little too long for my liking.

Dom Deluise was annoying. Granted he was supposed to be but it became grating.

Some of this film is quite dated but overall it is quite entertaining and I enjoyed it. I think you might too if you give it a chance.

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