Straight Talk

Scuzzy Chicago news-hound Jack Russell (Woods) is ordered to sniff out the truth about radio agony aunt Doctor Shirlee Kenyon (Parton). Shirlee isn't really a doctor, merely a simple country girl with a blouse full of straight-talkin', homespun advice. Russell's editor wants Shirlee nailed, and soon Russell's penis shares a similar goal. Sharply written by Craig Bolotin and Patricia Resnick, this sassy comedy has musical aspirations, with diphthong-clanging Dolly numbers offering a running (if unnecessary) commentary. But the film's success rests squarely upon the efficacy of the Woods-Parton double act, an amiable partnership of mismatched, seasoned troupers. Only in the third act, with its 'on-air confession' denouement, do things take a gushing, sentimental nosedive. Otherwise it's a tongue-in-cheek romp with far less hog-washing than you'd expect.