Common Sense Media Review
By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Dated musical debate on closing a brothel; nudity, language.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 14+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
THE BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS is run by the beloved Miss Mona (the sparkling Dolly Parton). She runs the title's Chicken Ranch with empathy and discipline. She has health and hygiene rules, dignity and decency rules, and comportment rules, recounted in glorious song. Part of her earnings go back to the community in the form of large charitable donations to local organizations. She is a model citizen—even the wives of her clients appreciate and respect her. Sheriff Ed Earl (Burt Reynolds) is Mona's longtime consort and, given his personal connection and the economic boost Mona and her business provide to the town, he looks the other way. The Chicken Ranch hums along for years with the unspoken support of politicians until a showboat TV reporter named Melvin P. Thorpe (Dom DeLuise) takes up the cause of closing the place down for its illegality and immorality. What will happen to the ranch?
Is It Any Good?
This film is a strange artifact from a time that was in some ways more judgmental and in other ways less judgmental than the times we live in now. But its saving grace is that it tries to elevate the women who work at the Chicken Ranch to a level of dignity. The movie tells us that Mona is a high-minded woman with a sense of civic duty, who believes there is nothing "dirty" about what she and her employees provide. That message is packaged as a fluffy, mocking antidote to morality slingers, hypocritical politicians, the double standard in law enforcement, and the sensationalism of television news.
In the service of that mockery, the movie oversimplifies just about everything. Mona is a competent, self-made, empowered woman, but the unintended message is that sheriffs, mayors, newscasters, and governors are all men, and they make the decisions that affect these hardworking women. The sheriff makes a personal plea to the governor to keep the Chicken Ranch open, and they speak as "men of the world," who know that sex-for-pay will go on, whether or not the Chicken Ranch stays open. Note the Broadway musical was nominated for a Best Musical Tony award. Parton and Reynolds make an attractively bantering couple. Charles Durning is light on his feet as the double-talking, singing, dancing governor, and was Oscar nominated for Best Supporting Actor.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the way the community views the brothel of the title. Why do you think the men and women of the town support it?
In what ways does this film feel dated? In what ways is it still relevant?
How does the movie handle the fact that everyone who makes a decision about the future of Mona and her hardworking employees is a man?
If you could remake or reimagine this film, how would you do it?
Movie Details
- In theaters : July 23, 1982
- On DVD or streaming : January 1, 1992
- Cast : Dolly Parton , Burt Reynolds , Charles Durning
- Director : Colin Higgins
- Studio : Universal
- Genre : Musical
- Run time : 114 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : sexual references, language, and thematic elements.
- Last updated : September 22, 2026
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