40
Metascore
10 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 63The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Jay ScottThe Globe and Mail (Toronto)Jay ScottEntertainments like this are what Hollywood is said to be all about: larger than life personalities redeeming material smaller than a breadbox. [23 July 1982]
- 60The New YorkerPauline KaelThe New YorkerPauline KaelDimples, wigs, bazooms, and all, Dolly Parton is phenomenally likable as the madam; her whole personality is melodious, and her acting isn't bad at all, even though the director, Colin Higgins, has made her chest the focal point of her scenes.
- 50Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertIf they ever give Dolly her freedom and stop packaging her so antiseptically, she could be terrific. But Dolly and Burt and Whorehouse never get beyond the concept stage in this movie.
- 40Time OutTime OutThe dialogue is Texas crude, the sentiment Bible Belt coy, and the songs conveyor-belt Broadway: stale air on a G-string.
- 40NewsweekNewsweekThe singin' and dancin' ain't much to write home about; you'd reckon that some $30 million would buy you somethin' with more pizzazz than an Amarillo road-show version of Oklahoma. Reckon again. [26 July 1982, p.79]
- 37Washington PostGary ArnoldWashington PostGary ArnoldYou're obliged to take your fun where you can find it during this coyly coarse-minded, near-wreck of a musical, and there's precious little to be found watching the costars gather moss in each other's uneasy company. [23 July 1982, p.D3]
- 30The New York TimesJanet MaslinThe New York TimesJanet MaslinThis film lacks even the inadvertently buoyant awfulness that makes some bad movies fun. It's just plain dull.
- 25TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineAll the tunes are forgettable, and Reynolds and Dom DeLuise, who plays a crusading moralist, ham it up mercilessly.
- 25Washington PostWashington PostThe Best Little Whorehouse in Texas isn't a movie about human nature at odds with itself, but a witless and unwitting mirror for Hollywood's worst instincts and onanistic conceits. [23 July 1982, p.11]