Love Ranch (2010) User Reviews (21)

Engaging Story, Well-acted, High-concept Production Values

[stoughs · 7/10 · 12 November 2010]

The film has two sags: One very early on in Act I and another late in Act II. In observing a small private audience that was viewing this film, they were all very much engaged in the drama and the action throughout, but they were nearly lost during the two sags. If it were not for those, the film might have attracted a larger audience.

This is not the story of the Mustang Ranch, per se, but rather the story an ambiguous love triangle. (I am thoroughly aware of the Mustang Ranch story, and know Joe Conforte's attorney and best friend, Virgil Bucchanieri, quite well). For example, the film does not use the gimmick of trying to exaggerate the characters that inhabit the brothel, and resists the temptation of trying to replicate the exotica of the Star Wars bar scene.

The real test for a film with this class of story arc is the degree to which we care about the characters mid-way through Act II. Do we care what happens to them in Act III? I and the other audience members all agreed that we did and we shed the expected tears in a tense moment between the dreamer, played by Joe Pesci, and the determined pragmatist, played by Helen Mirren, in the penultimate scene. None of the central or supporting roles were in any way "cardboard" characters.

The production values were quite high and the number of technical errors were minimal (three errors with production sound that really should have been fixed in post plus a couple of continuity errors). Music was very subtle to the point of vanishing at times. There was no attempt at creating a photographic theme: it was all shot color-balanced at neutral without any exaggerated focus-pulls, odd camera framing or moves (but a lot of crane rentals were involved), Pro-mist filters, or too many magic hour shots. That is, the cinematography did not draw attention away from the drama.

The film resolves unambiguously with a shock ending that is well worth waiting for. My final test of entertainment value is: "Are there any scenes in this film that I will remember and repeat in my mind's eye the next day?" I would say that there are such scenes, and I therefore give this picture a 7 out of 10.

Postcards from Reno .............

[merklekranz · 6/10 · 11 September 2013]

The thing that stands out immediately in "Love Ranch" is not the girls, not the 1970s clothes, but the amazing photography. Almost every outdoor scene could be the vista for a postcard. The story itself seems to drag in places, and then suddenly rush to a conclusion, with narration to tidy up the ending. The acting by Helen Mirren and Joe Pesci is terrific as expected, and a small scene with Harve Presnell a pleasant surprise. What is not a surprise is the tale of the Mustang Ranch on which the movie is based. It's tough to overcome the familiarity of a story often aired on cable over the last two decades. - MERK

great actors in weak movie

[SnoopyStyle · 5/10 · 15 July 2016]

It's 1976. Married couple Grace (Helen Mirren) and Charlie Bontempo (Joe Pesci) own the Love Ranch outside of Reno. Irene (Gina Gershon), Mallory (Taryn Manning), Christina (Scout Taylor-Compton), Samantha (Bai Ling), and Alana (Elise Neal) are some of the girls working at the ranch. Charlie is unstable and recruits boxer Armando Bruza to train out on the ranch. His criminal background forces Grace to be Bruza's manager. He controls the local police and faces an effort to criminalize prostitution.

This is a mess of stories. It can't be the actors because there are some great ones here. There is probably too many story elements going on. It's in the writing itself. It should concentrate on Mirren and Pesci. It should also get somebody bigger than Sergio Peris-Mencheta. The movie seems to struggle for an identity. It's a waste of great talents.

No raunch in this ranch makes movie a dull boy

[dfranzen70 · 4/10 · 26 June 2011]

Love Ranch fooled me but good. For some reason, I was picturing a raucous, raunchy comedy about a legal brothel run by Joe Pesci and Helen Mirren. But it's not really that way at all; no, this is a standard-issue melodrama about an abusive misogynist who runs his part of the world, his steely wife who runs the business side of the things, and the hapless pro boxer who gets mixed up with them. It's not funny because it's not supposed to be, and that's kind of sad; there's potential for laughs, but in the end all you get are clichés and bad character choices.

Charlie (Pesci) and Grace (Mirren) Bontempo open up the first legal brothel in Nevada. She's the daughter of a prostitute, he's done a stretch in San Quentin. It's the 1970s. They have a pretty good setup for themselves; good-looking women, steady clients, and the law on their side (and in their pockets). They don't want for much, seemingly. Then Charlie, a hotheaded tempest in a teacup if ever there was one, gets the idea that they'll garner more respect (or, more accurately, he will) if they own a successful professional boxer. So he buys the contract of one Armando Bruza, an up-and-coming Argentinian, much to Grace's chagrin. Charlie's banking on his guy doing well in his next fight, based on the rumor that Muhammed Ali would take on the winner.

Here, Pesci plays a slightly watered-down version of Tommy DeVito from Goodfellas. He's foul mouthed, ill tempered, not very bright about a great many things, and seems to survive on chutzpah and the good grace of, well, Grace. Naturally, being the proprietor of a brothel has its privileges, and Charlie samples the wares with some regularity, an occurrence that Grace idly tolerates. When she's asked to become Bruza's manager - as a felon, Charlie can't get a license - she's reluctant, but the swarthy boxer has other ideas. And so it goes.

Now, there's nothing inherently wrong with predictability. If I expect A to happen, and A happens, that's okay - as long as A wasn't spelled out as a fait accompli. If I expect A to happen, but B happens, that is also okay - as long as B is plausible. Here, I expect A to happen, and A happens, and it's obvious from almost the start of the movie that A will happen. This extends to character development as well. If a character does something, say, out of character (!), that's fine - as long as it propels the plot AND makes some bit of sense. Otherwise, it's just a ploy to get me to keep watching. In this movie, Charlie's character is so one-dimensional that when he makes an attempt to be lovey-dovey with Grace it's not even remotely believable. I can blame Pesci a little for this, but it just seem as if he had much to work with.

And for a movie that uses a brothel as its main background, there's very little naughty stuff going on; they may as well have set it in a video store, if those still existed. There's a side plot about some high-and-mighty moral compass waging a war against the legal brothel, but it's barely touched upon, pardon the pun. (The other puns are unpardonable.) The plot just bounces around from issue to issue, circling the main story threat of Bruza, Grace, and Charlie. The result is sometimes maudlin and hackneyed and other terms writers use to describe crappy writing.

CLASSY MIRREN

[nogodnomasters · 6/10 · 4 December 2018]

Joe Pesci is typed cast as a New Jersey thug. He plays the co-owner of the Love Ranch (Mustang Ranch) Charlie Bontempo (Joe Conforte in real life). His co-owner wife, Grace (Sally Burgess) is played by the classy Helen Mirren. They had owned illegal brothels, which appears to have been easier than the headaches associated with legal ones and having to deal with "25 psychotics," as Grace puts it.

The movie captured the bikini clad girls of the era. There is brief nudity and sexual situations as one would expect from such a movie, but it is minimal considering the topic. Of course Pesci drops the f-bomb like only Pesci can. The movie failed to capture the frequent celebrity appearances at the ranch. Rather it focuses on the year 1976. Grace finds out she has cancer and maybe six months to live. She tries to tell Charlie, who is too busy with the talent. Charlie gets an idea for Argentinian boxer Bruza (Oscar Bonavena) to train at the ranch to attract clients. While at the ranch Bruza and Grace have an affair. The movie is based on a true story and did a fair job in following it. The closing dialogue of the movie implies that the ranch's tax problems came shortly after the shooting of Bruza in 1976. That is not true. It wasn't until 1990 that the IRS took over the Ranch and Joe Conforte fled to Brazil. The Mustang II ranch shown at the end of the movie was erected in 1982.

Two legs down.

[mark.waltz · 2/10 · 17 July 2022]

Considering that's the way that you have to enter the Nevada desert bordello, I can't think of a better way to describe this that also reflects my rating. Helen Mirrren and Joe Pesci are the most unlikely screen couple, and both appear very aware of that She looks like a weather-beaten version of Angelica Houston's character from "The Grifters", while he looks like he's dressed as Liberace auditioning for a horror movie. This may be based on a true story about real people, but as entertainment, I found it most repulsive and exploitive, not people I wanted to spend 2 hours with and certainly not a way to waste my time.

It seems that every time a client chooses one of Mirren's girls, there will be a follow-up scene with a fat naked hairy man on top of her, so it's a good idea to watch this if you must on an empty stomach. Sergio Peris-Mencheta does give the film a boost of energy as the South American boxer they decide to manage, but it's obvious that the barely alive Mirrren (complete with cane which is supposed to give her class but fails) will fall for the much younger man, and just the thought of them having love scenes makes me put away the lunch I prepared to have after heading to the initial sex scenes that had me gagging.

With Bryan Cranston, Gina Gershon and Harve Presnell in supporting roles, you'd think there'd be a little bit of class in this very unappealing movie. Pesci, who won an Oscar simply based on the fact that he was quite different than any character actor seen up to that time, is just horrifying to watch, his squealing rants headache inducing. When you have leading characters in a movie that are just awful to watch, the bulk of the audience is going to tune out. Sometimes reality is better left where it belongs, on the cover of trashy scandal rags that readers will use to line their bird cage or clean out their cat litter box.

OK Movie

[ken-790-402669 · 6/10 · 13 July 2010]

The movie entitled "Love Ranch" is a drama based on The world famous brothel located near Reno called the Mustang ranch. The storyline is a thinly disguised telling of the relationship between the Brothel owner Joe Conforte, His wife and a boxer named Oscar Buenovena. Vicki appeared as an extra in street and casino scenes filmed in downtown Reno.

The film scheduled to be released in theaters on Sept 16th stars Joe Pesci and Helen Mirren and takes place here in Reno and at the ranch east of Reno (Ranch scenes for most part were filmed in Albq, NM).

Last night we attended a special screening of the film prior to its release hosted by the director Taylor Hackford (Ray, Proof of Life and others) The film while not as good as I hoped also was not as bad as some rumors had it. Overall if you get a chance worth seeing . The negatives I saw were considerable license took with the facts of the real story and the music used was terrible. Living in Reno the NM set fell short of the real location but if one not familiar with the territory it will pass. Pesci and Mirrin did a decent job of portraying the conforte couple was good I wasn't quite as impressed with the Boxer

What a waste

[treeline1 · 25 November 2010]

The year is 1976, and Grace and Charlie Bontempo operate a legal brothel in Reno. Ever the hustler, Charlie buys an up-and-coming boxer from Argentina whom Grace at first dislikes, but later comes to love.

The movie, based on a true story, is tawdry and unpleasant, loaded with profanity and so tedious it was hard to finish. Helen Mirren looks like she hates being in every scene and her innate dignity doesn't fit the low-life character she plays. As her husband, Joe Pesci is repulsive and hard to watch while Sergio Peris-Mencheta lacked charisma as the boxer.

The whole story seems as dry and pointless as the Reno desert landscape. The movie isn't entertaining, it's just a boring story about unsympathetic people.

Silly misdirection of focus.

[vitaleralphlouis · 4/10 · 3 July 2010]

The focus is in the wrong place. Who cares about the owners. The real stories are what went on between the girls and their customers. There's where the action, emotion and conflicts happen. So many, and so interesting, I wrote a novel about it all.

Incidentally, the summary says the ranch was closed by the IRS. True and double-true. The IRS first closed the place in 1995, for a few days; then it was re-opened under IRS management. The IRS likes to deny they actually operated a brothel for profit, but the eyewitnesses and newspaper accounts say otherwise. The IRS actions were shameless. They actually confiscated the personal effects (clothing, teddy bears, hairbrushes, etc) belonging to the girls who worked there, sold these for chump change. This despite the fact that their claim was against the owners, not the girls.

CBS News and other coverage of the closing was laughable. It showed girls saying they were taking up sewing et cetera. In fact, the adjoining brothel (0.1 miles away) suddenly had an increase of dozens of new girls who simply moved to a new location.

When the property was auctioned, a lone bidder got the property for 10 cents on the dollar and he secretly represented the original owners. Re-opened without IRS, they operated for a few years until the second and final IRS closing. Old Joe ought to have paid his taxes.

There are still legal brothels in Nevada, but sharp increases in prices has taken away the casual fun atmosphere and customers are few and far between. Love Ranch? Not anymore.

The little fun house on the desert

[jotix100 · 6/10 · 14 August 2012]

Something went wrong with this Taylor Hackford film which showed on cable recently. It boasts a good cast and it is a story based on a true story. The right elements should have come together to make this entry worth watching. The culprit seems to lie in the screenplay written by Mark Jacobson, which does not take advantage of the subject he was treating.

The story of Grace and Charley Bontempo, the owners of the brothel in the Nevada desert, lent itself for a lot more than comes out in the story. The owners had apparently a good relationship, although it becomes apparent there was no love left between them as the story begins. Charley had been cheating on Grace with anyone of the prostitutes in the place. Grace, the brain behind the business, finds out about the cancer she had to deal with, something that evidently has an effect on her dealings with their business.

Charley, a first class wheeler-dealer, sees an opportunity when Armando Bruza, an Argentine boxer, he discovers with a potential to go places. Grace did not appreciate that Bruza will move to the Love Motel, as Charley wants. Bruza develops an affection for the older woman, who takes the plunge, falling in love with the boxer, something that will lead into fatal consequences.

The main reason for watching "Love Ranch" is Helen Mirren's performance. She makes a case for Grace, the jaded madam of the house of ill repute. At times she seems not to be comfortable with her character, the way the script asks her to play her. Joe Pesci does his routine of being a wise guy. It is fun to watch him utter those four letter words he spices his vocabulary with. Sergio Peris-Mencheta is Bruza, the boxer who fell for the older woman. Gina Gershon does not have much to do.

Unfairly overlooked, interesting human story for grown ups!

[HillstreetBunz · 8/10 · 11 November 2013]

I sought this movie out on DVD because it's cinema release was negligible, and anything with Helen Mirren will have some merit. I can only imagine it's almost invisible release was due to the inability of the youthful marketeers to easily identify the box in which to place it, romance, thriller, gangster flic? For those of us who don't care about such trite labels, this is an interesting movie, characters with some depth, it's not really about goodies or baddies, or even right or wrong, it's a story, with some romance, some humour, some sex, some drama, great performances from stalwarts and what should have been a launch pad to international stardom for the young Spaniard...fear not Sergio, we will see you again. I liked it a lot and really recommend it to people who enjoy films about other people rather than machines and/or concepts!

Cut version!!!

[elo-equipamentos · 6/10 · 3 July 2017]

Somehow my disc has a cut version of this movie, just 67 minutes, therefore the judgment was harmed, nevertheless l'll leave here some impressions from the movie that suppose to be a true story, Joe Pesci plays the same character in Goodfellas and Helen Mirren which l placed as one of most sexy women of all time, talking about twenty years before of course, made a fine acting on this movie, sadly my short version didn't allow me say nothing more than this, I have been looking for the full version ahead !!

Resume:

First watch: 2017 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD-R / Rating: 6.5

Excellent movie: fine acting, great story, and massive pathos

[palmmgt · 10/10 · 7 January 2011]

Over the years, I haven't agreed with a lot of the reviews on this site, and this is the case with this movie. I just never bothered to sign up to contribute until now, after just watching this movie.

The film starts out drab, with unsympathetic characters on dead end story arches, which is exactly how it fools the viewer. By the middle of the movie, you realize your notions about them and their journeys were wrong, and in the end, you know there's a reason the movie is loaded with high caliber talent.

And considering it's based on real events, it's all the more interesting and compelling.

A Movie That Could Have Been 9 or 10 Rating

[Morpheus911 · 8/10 · 14 November 2010]

I guess I cannot agree with the ratings here on IMDb every time.

For example I just saw Scott Pilgrim vs. the World rated 8.0 then I seen this movie, Love Ranch only 5.3 -- and while the general public still seems to be in love with the youthful glee based in symbolic fantastic fake X-box gaming TRONlike facade of Scott Pilgrim, they seem to rank an incredible life scenario reality based movie, Love Ranch which is based on a couple in their sixties based on a true story, as it were borderline doggy do. Once again, I guess most movie goers would rather not handle the truth.

I must admit, when I was watching Love Ranch, I was reminded of the movie Papillon, in which they tried to fit a two week read into a two hour movie. I thought I was watching the same kind of movie making from a book being made into 2 hour script reducing it to bits and pieces of condensed scenes. But I guess it was merely a rushed screenplay and not a condensed book when I read about it on IMDb. I suppose part of the problem could have been the spontaneous direction in the seemingly rushed storyline.

Other than that I would give this movie with better editing and direction of script a 9 or 10 rating because the intense reality and grip of the characters like between Helen and the boxer. This was incredibly well done... may sometimes been kind of unbelievable, but in the end their impeccable acting crafts both pulled together a gripping story.

I think without a doubt it could and should have been handled better through production, but the movie itself is infinitely more meaningful than a teeny love triangular crap as in the movie I spoke of earlier.

All in all a great movie that needed to be nurtured a lot more to be made into a fantastic movie.

GT

Snooze through the first half, Wake up for the Second Half

[gradyharp · 8/10 · 7 October 2010]

LOVE STORY is a peculiar movie. It is based on the true story of the notorious Mustang Ranch just outside of Reno, Nevada, a brothel that was world famous run by a couple by the name of Joe and Sally Conforte who had chutzpah and an ongoing run-in with the IRS and the law in bringing in boxer Oscar Buenovena as an addendum to their game of wealth. The facts of the brothel's existence are true as are the characters portrayed in the film, but a considerable amount of artistic license as to dates and chronology of event were taken by writer Mark Jacobson. The result is a strange conglomeration of a story, boring as roadkill during the first half but awakening into a rather tender melodrama in the second half. And it is worth the wait. Taylor Hackford directs his wife Helen Mirren, and as we have come to expect, anytime Mirren is in a film there is at least a modicum of fine acting.

The Confortes become the Bontempos for LOVE RANCH (aka Mustang Ranch of history) and Joe Pesci as Charlie Bontempo is an ex-con with a potty mouth who married Grace (Helen Mirren) 20 some years ago, and together they have built the world's largest brothel - the first legal one in Nevada. Grace at first is cheap and tacky, walking with a cane and constantly reminding Charlie of her importance: her character changes a it when she is diagnosed with terminal cancer by her doctor (Broadway singing star Harve Presnell in a tiny and last role; he died in 2009) . Charlie beds all the women who work at Love Ranch and Grace is aware of it. Grace befriends her 'staff' - Gina Gershon, Ling Bai, Taryn Manning, Scout Taylor-Compton, Elise Neal among others - and Charlie tends to the business of promoting the Ranch as well as taking chances with other projects, such as tempting famous Argentine boxer Armando Bruza (Sergio Peris-Mencheta) to move to the Ranch for training in preparation for a fight with (supposedly) Muhammed Ali. Bruza arrives and insists Grace be his manager and she reluctantly accepts out of a sense of being attracted to Bruza. Her girls, especially Irene (Gina Gershon) encourage Grace to live for the moment and give in to the desire for an affair with Bruza. Grace and Bruza do indeed find each other's soft core and fall in love. Bruza is prepared for a fight, but in the fight he staggers through the first rounds only to win by a late surprise knockout: Grace rushes Bruza to the hospital because of his unstable status and there she discovers Bruza suffered a previous brain injury years ago resulting the placement of a metal plate in his skull. This discovery and the events that it initiates bring the film to a tender but tragic end - on many levels.

The cinematography by Kieran McGuigan is splendid when surveying the beauty of the land around Reno but uncomfortably monochromatic through most of the rest of the film. The musical score by Chris Bacon (who has many fine credits for other films) is almost unbearably bad. Joe Pesci, made up to look very old, is in this viewer's opinion miscast: he rarely gets beyond being a screaming filthy mouthed moron. Helen Mirren transforms Grace from a tawdry Madame to a truly beautiful but tired partner for Charlie, opting to spend her few final days with one who can demonstrate his care for her. Sergio Peris-Mencheta manages to make his blustering character one of compassion and vulnerability.

In all this is a movie that, once over, seems well worth watching as the credits reveal all the facts about the destinies of everyone involved in the story. Get past the first half hour or so and you're in for a fine film.

Grady Harp

Focus on character, not history, wins the day

[mckn · 8/10 · 4 July 2011]

Picture a caricature of everything that America, at some level, holds dear, yet despises. Think bling, brash, frantically optimistic and determinedly selfish, and you have the main character typecast by a weathered Joe Pesci. Add to the mix an insecure, yet intelligent and reasonably efficient brothel "madam" who is trapped by economics and an irresponsible, hyperactive, and deliberately delusional husband, and. you have a marriage which must resonate across the globe.

The film opens with an ironic and trite hope for the future. Auld Lang Syne is sung at a New Year's Eve party, which Robert Burnes, no stranger to joys of the flesh himself, would possibly have avoided. A stark naked man who has transcended the bounds of good taste, and possibly the law, is driven by the "Madam" (Helen Mirren) into the waiting furniture wielded by her husband, Pesci. The tame police in attendance remove the problem and the party continues.

Gradually the dynamics of the Pesci/Mirren relationship are revealed. She actually likes her charges and comforts herself in the knowledge that she is keeping them off the streets.

He struts around like a dove with an over-inflated breast, a disgustingly showy car with the vanity plate "LUV SEX", and the nickname of "Mr Good Times". He is a man whose very posture suggests violence, and he has only to threaten to smash the home telephone, her link to the outside world, to ensure that her timid attempt at rebellion turns into a whimpering desire to please him.

Pleasing him in the only way he understands is not that easy as she is older than the available nymphets and is very aware that his sudden business calls are not to any office block. The marriage of financial and social convenience could, theoretically, have lasted for years, as many convenient couples will attest, but reality has the unpleasant habit of intruding. A visit to the doctor and plastic convenience is stripped away. The selfishness of her husband is expertly conveyed in his answer to her questioning his love for her. "I *** love you," he says, "I could have never found a woman as loyal as you to take my s***." It says everything that he is totally unaware of the egocentric nature of his declaration of love.

Later, when their world is falling apart, and she is experiencing loss, and almost claustrophobic grief,he rails at her that she doesn't know what the **** he went through all night.

The tragic moment which announces the end of the film is justified by the quality of the acting. Yes, this could happen, and be a small article on the front page of the morning newspapers, but the film has made its point before the actual violence. It is all about self, the need for self-validation at the expense of others, the need to be desirable, the need to be in control, and even the need to be physically dominant while all these have inevitably and irrevocably been taken away by time.

It is a film worthy of a second viewing, if only to enjoy the performance of Pesci (which he has reprized from Goodfellas) and the revelation which is Helen Mirren. That she could go from the ultra- British role as the Queen to this, without a trace of genteel accent, but retain all the pathos of a woman who wants to love her husband and her life, is remarkable. Even the director gives her credit in an in- joke. When her husband dons a hat in keeping with his personality, she asks him who he thinks he is, 'Clint Eastwood'. He replies: "Who do you think you are? The Queen of England?"

Eminently watchable, character-driven, and filmed with an understated slickness, this is a film which might, regrettably, not set the box office alight, but which is very worth viewing for so many reasons. True, there are elements that echo events in some well-known films, which my spoiler-conscience prevents me from naming, but it is safe to say that this film strips the sentimentality from such and is the better for it. Taylor Hackford, I look forward to your next.

loved this ranch

[edwbur · 9/10 · 28 May 2011]

finally Joe pesci has come back to Hollywood. his last movie was lethal weapon 4 as i recall and we haven't seen him in a movie since. but he has come back for love ranch. . this movie i think is completely underrated. its box office material. Joe gives a great performance and steals every scene he is in and is the key performance in the movie. this movie is about a short tempered business man Charlie running a prostitute organization with his wife grace. being very controversial Charlie (Joe) decides to find a boxer to sponsor and make money off of. Sergio Peri's-mencheta plays the boxer. soon after grace

feels Charlie doesn't love her anymore, ignores her, and uses her. she then falls for Bruza and haves an affair with him. now in this movie at least in my opinion don't really feel that bad for grace. she is very depressed in her marriage but at the same time shes a character that you wouldn't like. she can be very stubborn. and Sergio's character is the one character that you feel sorry for. Charlie is a character that makes your emotions go wild. sometimes you like him and sometimes you don't. but Joe makes every character he plays likable. at least to me. so the whole movie i was rooting for Charlie. even when he had his anger moments. this is a well acted, interesting story, highly entertaining straight to DVD movie. I'm happy to see that Joe is back in Hollywood and going back to mob films. he will be doing a mob film called the Irishman starring himself, AL pacino, and Robert deniro.directed by martin Scorsese. Joe pesci is also doing a movie called got ti the next generation also starring himself, AL pacino. also starring john travolta, Lindsay lohan, and Kelly Preston. directed by martin Scorsese. which i cant wait to see. back to this movie. you wont regret buying this. see it.

What A Surprise

[TRussellMorris · 8/10 · 30 May 2020]

My GYAD what a suprise. I bought the movie because I'm a sucker for almost anything with Helen Mirren in it, and had not heard of this. I'm not sure what I expected, a sort of comedic docu-story I guess, As the minutes ticked by I became enthralled with how the story began to take this turn to an amazing love story, I had no idea. It had some powerful and expected moments and by 3/4ths of the way through the film I was commenting to myself, what a great movie this was. I'd urge anyone tempted to watch it, for whatever reason, to grab it and enjoy. It's just amazing through and through, sad, cry-worthy, yet joyous and celebratory...leaving one thinking "oh my, to have someone love me like that!". Flawless performance from Mirren and totally unexpected depth and sincerity from the boxer love interest. I can't recommend it enough!

well done. based on the true events

[ksf-2 · 8/10 · 25 March 2022]

The trivia tells us that this was loosely based on events which happened at the mustang ranch back in the 1970s. Stars mirren and pesci as the married owners of nevada's first, fully legal brothel. Kind of an odd pairing, but mirren doesn't pick a bad film. When a wild boxer comes to the ranch, their small problems become big problems; charlie and grace were already in a battle for power, and having the fighter around magnified their troubles even more. No big surprises, but it's pretty well done. Small role for leslie jordan. Directed by taylor hackford, who happens to be married to helen mirren ! They have worked together on a bunch of films. And both oscar winners! Story by mark jacobson.

Very underrated movie.

[randychenault · 8/10 · 13 January 2022]

I find it hard to believe this movie has such a low rating. It can seem a little slow, probably because it is based on a true story. Its got a brothel, its got boxing, and maybe a little bit of love story. Joe Pesci and Helen Mirren do an awesome acting job. Just give it time, if you watch it...

Some facts

[ayante_hdc · 10 November 2011]

Boxer name, Bruza, no doubt is linked with almost mythical boxing manager Amílcar Brusa, who trained some good boxers, among them the big Carlos Monzon. Amilcar Brusa passed away a couple of weeks ago.

HTTP://tinyurl.com/c7zdzbh

The first fight in the movie I believe is inspired in one of the best fights I've even seen: Victor Galindez (the real and unique "Toro salvage De las Pampas) Vs. Richie Kates. It worth to be some scenes of the match, if you like boxing:

HTTP://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SXXwnFhdKY I can't see the rest of the movie.

Helen Mirren there along with Joe Pesci...I don't know. Also, the "Argentinian" way of the character...I guess they should be some Argentinian actor to work in the movie...