Straight Talk (1992)
Honest and straightforward small-town Shirlee Kenyon chucks her boyfriend and heads for Chicago. Accidentally having to host a radio problem phone-in show, it is clear she is a natural and is hired on the spot. But the station insists she call herself Doctor, and as her popularity grows a local reporter starts digging for the truth. Problem is, the more he is around her the more he fancies her.
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So much average
Save your money for something good and enjoyable
Best movie ever!
Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable
Shirlee Kenyon (Dolly Parton) leaves her small town and deadbeat boyfriend (Michael Madsen!) for the big city (Chicago). She loves giving advice to people. She accidentally gets on the radio one day and starts giving callers her honest, kind advice about their love lives and such. She is immediately a hit (just like real life huh?) and becomes wildly popular. Investigative reporter Jack Russell (James Woods--yes THAT James Woods) starts looking into her past and slowly starts to fall in love.The story is ridiculous and familiar at the same time but I DID like this movie. Parton's charm and acting (I think she's good) carry this film through its rough spots. The story moves quickly and (if you don't think about it TOO much) it's actually not too bad. Also Parton sings a few nice (if unmemorable) songs. The title track was supposed to be a hit but didn't make it. The only negative thing about this is Woods. Now, he's a great actor but casting him as a romantic lead just doesn't work. He's uncharacteristically frantic and seems uncomfortable. Still he does try. Casting Madsen as Parton's boyfriend was another bad choice. Look for a young Teri Hatcher at the beginning before she hit it big with "Lois and Clark". I was one of the few people to see this in a theatre. There was virtually no advertising and the movie disappeared quickly. The studio dumped it completely...but it's not THAT bad. If you hate Parton steer clear of this. But, if you like her, you'll get a kick out of this. I give this a 7.
Advertised as a "date movie", this comedic vehicle for Dolly Parton is really full of chick-flick clichés, hopefully the last gasp for the Cinderella Specialty. Parton plays a country bumpkin named Shirlee who relocates from the sticks to Chicago, inadvertently landing a job as a talk-radio psychologist (when asked about her education, Shirlee tartly replies she graduated from "Screw U"). Corny, old-fashioned in the worst sense, and just plain stale. James Woods and Griffin Dunne are both highly inappropriate male leads for Dolly, whose natural effervescence is apparent but not utilized to any advantage. Parton also performs on the soundtrack, with the title cut being one of her very weakest songs. *1/2 from ****
This is frankly one of the worst films ever made. Dolly should stick to singing instead. The story is weak, so weak that a 5 year old could have written it - it's overly emotion, trying to twang the heartstrings of every viewer - if I want to be emotional I'll watch Lassie. The dialog is patronising and irritating - something which might have been better if they'd increased on what seems to be a cast of 1.The film presumably exists to con simple folk out of their dollars, so that media moguls and Dolly can afford lavish lifestyles. I'd recommend that you watch Amelie, Fightclub, The Eternal Sunshine of the Beautiful Mind or American Beauty instead.
I really enjoyed the movie. I though Dolly Parton did a great job. James Woods was good too. The part I really liked when she was on the talk show with the expert and she made the doc look like a fool. I love the part where she told this women "to get off the cross we need the wood".