Straight Talk (1992)

To me, this movie is perfection.

Thanks for the memories!

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Shirlee Kenyon (Dolly Parton) loses her job for talking too much with the dance students. She loves giving advice. She is tired of her small town and her dismissive unemployed boyfriend Steve (Michael Madsen). She packs up for Chicago. She's trying to retrieve $20 she dropped on a bridge when reporter Jack Russell (James Woods) mistakenly jumps in to save her thinking she's trying to jump. She gives Janice (Teri Hatcher) advice which she uses to break up with boyfriend Jack Russell. Next, Shirlee gets a radio station receptionist job. She is mistaken for the new radio talk show doctor that manager Alan Riegert (Griffin Dunne) had hired. Riegert fires both Shirlee and the producer. Her small town charm makes her a big success and Riegert has to rehire her but only if she pretends to be a doctor which the owner demanded.The story is a bit hokey but Dolly Parton has that sweet aw-shucks personality. It works for her. It has her down home charms. The movie has some light fun. It doesn't have big laughs but it's a sweet rom-com.

As a fan of Dolly's who's grown tired of her over-the-top antics over the last few years, I find myself going back to this film to remind myself of why I liked her all those years ago. Underneath the outrageous clothes and makeup and the outrageous personality, I always felt there was someone a little more down to earth and sweeter than what we get on stage. Well, this movie keeps her out of those terrible clothes and keeps her mouth from going overboard and what comes across is a sweet, gentle, down-to-earth lady who gives the best acting performance of her career. There are times when the movie feels like more of a predictable made-for-TV film than a theatrical release, but there are times of comedy and drama and heartfelt emotions that make it a very sweet feel-good movie. Leaning more towards westerns and war movies, film noir and science fiction, I rarely find this sort of movie appealing. In this case, the entire cast, especially James Woods, does a fine job, and Dolly charms. Holy moley!

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.

Some might dismiss this as a "feel good" movie and indeed it is. But it's a lot of fun and a bright vehicle for the always delightful and vivacious (bodaceous?) Dolly Parton. Sure, the plot is predictable from the first scene. But there are a lot of laughs and good moments on the way to the trite happy ending. But the measure of a movie is whether you enjoy it and this is a wonderfully honest and enjoyable picture.