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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good back-story, and good acting
Absolutely amazing
Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable
Blistering performances.
'Straight Talk' is a passable romantic-comedy, that has fairly entertaining moments. The Performances, especially by, James Woods, is Superb! 'Straight Talk' Synopsis: A woman ditches her small town life for big city Chicago, where she becomes a sensation as a radio show host.'Straight Talk' is an Ideal Lazy Sunday-Afternoon Watch. It's one of those romantic-comedies that delivers fair entertainment. Craig Bolotin's Screenplay is decent, but it could've been tighter. Barnet Kellman's Direction, is above-average. Cinematography, Editng & Art Design, are functional.Performance-Wise: As mentioned, Woods is superb & stands out, like always. Dolly Parton acts & sings well. Griffin Dunne is good. Michael Madsen has a bit role. Others lend support.On the whole, 'Straight Talk' is passable.
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.
this is the best dolly parton movie ever.she is great in it along with james woods griffen dunne and teri hatcher.it tells the story of the woman who sent to go to chicago but got more.i loved this movie ever since it came out and i watched at least once a week.i give this movie two thumbs up.
This is a really engaging story, but it's held back by some questionable casting. Dolly Parton is as completely winning as usual, but she remains a bit too "larger than life" for a regular everyday story. You love her and want the character to be happy just like you'd expect, but you can never forget it's Dolly Parton you're watching. A bigger problem than that, however, is the utterly miscast James Woods. He gives it a game try, but he just doesn't fit in this fluffy-light romantic comedy (paired with Dolly Parton!) any more than he would in a needlepoint class. It's bizarre enough to make one wonder whose goofy decision it was to cast him.