Product Description

Jake (Dolly Parton) is a down-home Country singer with enormous talents. Nick Martinelli (Sylvester Stallone) is a New York City cabbie with an even bigger attitude. But when Jake bets her sleazy manager everything – and she means everything – that she can turn anybody into an overnight sensation, that somebody turns out to be Nick. Now Jake must haul Nick back to the hills of Tennessee for a two-week crash course in how to walk, talk and sing like a genuine Country star. Can a tough talkin’ hillbilly gal with everything to lose and a slick city guy who hits all the wrong notes finally find a way to make beautiful music together? Ron Leibman (NORMA RAE) and Richard Farnsworth (THE STRAIGHT STORY) co-star in this wild comedy from the director of PORKY’S and A CHRISTMAS STORY, co-written by Sylvester Stallone and featuring a hot soundtrack of songs written and performed by Dolly Parton.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #45601 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-03-22
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 111 minutes

Customer Reviews

What you see is what you get!
Ok, first of all, I have been a fan of this movie since it came out. I always liked the soundtrack and actually bought that before I was able to see the movie. Maybe that's why my opinion of the movie is what it is. The movie itself though is no great surprise. Dolly Parton is basically playing herself, Stallone is also basically playing himself. Everyone writes at how horrible Sly's singing is, no kidding, it's supposed to be bad! The premise of the movie is Dolly is an adored country singer in a club, she makes a bet that she can turn anyone into a country singer. Enter Stallone as a New York cab driver. She takes him back home to Tennessee and tries to teach him how to be "country". He struggles with the whole concept, the walk, the talk, the singing. At no point during the movie are you supposed to believe that he CAN sing, nor are you supposed to believe that he's become "country". If you like Dolly, you will love her in this movie. She pretty much just plays herself thruout. Her songs are great, she wrote all of the songs in the movie with one exception. The only song she didn't write is the wickedly funny "The Day My Baby Died" which is also a favorite of mine. Look, the movie is no "Gone With The Wind", it doesn't pretend to be. It's just Dolly doing a lot of singing and Sly trying to keep up, nothing more, nothing less.

Time has been kind to this musical/comedy
Twenty-plus years has left this movie with a nice glow, my pee-ers. In 1984, two years after back-to-back hits "Rocky III" and "First Blood," and only one year after his triumph writing and directing the "Saturday Night Fever" sequel "Staying Alive," the moviegoing public was not highly anticipating a flat-out comedy from the buff stud muffin. But that's what they got that summer. I, for one, was thrilled because I remembered Sly's rendition of the main theme from "Paradise Alley" - my man can sing! The idea of pairing him with country-queen Dolly Parton was a masterstroke.

The story couldn't be simpler: Dolly wants out of her contract with a sleazy manager - he agrees to release her, IF she can train a "regular person" of his choice to be a country singer. The regular person turns out to be the New York City cab driver played by Sly. She has two weeks to prepare him for his NYC debut on amatuer night at a rowdy country bar - he only needs to get through one song without being torn apart by the merciless crowd.

The screenplay, co-written by Stallone (as he wrote or co-wrote most of his films from this era), is loaded with knee-slappers. One of the funniest parts is when Stallone wants to show Parton his "really big organ" (sounds dirty, but isn't). Some of my favorite supporting characters are Freddy Ugo - Parton's sleazeball manager, and especially BARNETT CALE, who is a country singer and just an overall weird guy. Oh, and the late Richard Farnsworth is excellent as Parton's dad.

I wish the soundtrack was available on CD, as there are some very good songs from both Ms. Parton and Mr. Stallone. I also wish there were some bonus features on the DVD, but sadly there are not.

It is very funny, maybe by accident, but funny!
This is a very funny movie. Sylvester Stallone and Dolly Parton have really good chemistry, and seem to like to be around each other.
The thought of Stallone as a country singer is hard to take serious. And maybe it's just me, but that is what makes the movie so funny. Too se Stallone on stage, in various outfits, singing country tunes with a huge smile on his face, makes me laugh out loud.
I love this movie!