The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas

Universal, 1982
Starring Dolly Pardon, Burt Reynolds, Dom DeLouise, and Jim Nabors
Directed by Colin Higgins
Music By Carol Hall and Dolly Pardon

This was not the musical I originally planned on reviewing tonight...but then Burt Reynolds passed away. It might seem a little strange that this was a favorite in my family in the early-mid 80's. None of us were country music fans, and my sisters and I were really too young to understand almost anything that went on in this film. We just loved Reynolds and Pardon, the energetic dance numbers, and the colorful costumes. So does this ribald western tale live up to it's scandalous reputation? Lets dance a little side step over to the Chicken Ranch and see for ourselves...

The Story: The Chicken Ranch is a beloved brothel that's an institution in the town it's in and the state of Texas. The head madam, Miss Mona (Pardon), keeps everything clean and upscale, thanks to the protection of her lover Sheriff Ed Earl Dodd (Reynolds). They're pretty happy with the situation, until nosy TV reporter Melvin P. Thorpe (DeLouise) decries the Chicken Ranch and what it stands for on live TV. Dodd losing his temper and cursing at him in front of his cameras when he films in town only makes things worse, especially given he wants to get into politics. He convinces Mona to shut down for two months, but Mona makes an exception for the winners of a big Thanksgiving Day college football game. The party's a success, but Thorpe catches wind and raids the Ranch. Now Mona is facing having to shut down for good, unless Dodd can shuck his good-old-boy image and convince the conniving Governor (Charles Durning) to keep her open.

The Song and Dance: Pardon and Reynolds may have had trouble with each other during filming, but they make well-matched pair on-screen, especially in their sparring matches later in the movie after the Chicken Ranch is threatened. DeLouise is appropriately slimy as Thorpe, the kind of moralistic creep who would probably thrive on the Internet nowadays, and Nabors basically carries his aw-shucks persona over from TV. It's Durning, despite his small role, who walks away with the film (and got a supporting actor Oscar nod) as the politician whose only loyalty lies with the polls.

Favorite Number: Speaking of Durning, he gets a great song during the end of the film, probably the movie's single best song, "Dance a Little Side Step," which pretty much describes how he manages to avoid making a statement about anything to the press. "The Aggies Song" before and during the party is a terrific chorus number with some nifty choreography, especially in the locker rooms. Reynolds and Pardon have a cute duet early on where they describe their relationship and themselves, "Sneaking Around."

The only standards from this movie (and the show) are two slower ballads from the finale. "Hard Candy Christmas" has become a popular country holiday song (Pardon did an excellent recording of it on her own that year) since the late 70's. Pardon added her own 1974 hit "I Will Always Love You," making it a smash all over again. (It would be an even bigger hit for Whitney Houston in 1992.)

What I Don't Like: This is another movie that I wish had kept more of the songs from the original show, including two good ones for Miss Mona's girls and one for Dodd's other girlfriend Doatsie Mae (Lois Nettleton), instead of only letting the leads (and Charles Durning) sing. It also shares another problem with Grease: the last-minute ending feels tacked-on here, too, mainly to give a bittersweet story an obvious happy ending. (And it's not for people who don't like country music, Texas, modern westerns, or Pardon in general.)

The Big Finale: This was a big hit in 1982, one of the biggest hit musicals of the 1980's, and I can mostly understand why. For teen and adult fans of country music, Pardon, or dance, this spirited sex romp is definitely worth checking out.

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