We might never find out what prompted Sylvester Stallone to star in this abomination: it may have been a vanity-project, a desperate attempt to prove himself capable as a comedian. Or maybe it was one of those instances, where the cinema-gods have whispered the occasional bad idea into the actor's ear. Like it happened to John Travolta, when one of those voices must have told him, "Hey, John, why don't you buy the rights of a third-class Science-Fiction-novella and turn it into a multi-million-dollar flick? What could go wrong?" Well, Sylvester Stallone trying to be funny, that's one thing that could go wrong, for example. It's not that Stallone would be free of all comedic talent. On a limited extend, and usually in an ironic context. Here it's clearly a case of "trying too hard". As an obnoxious Italo-American cab driver he comes across as annoying and as a "stranger in a strange land", on his way to become a Country Music musician, it turns more toward the direction of embarrassment. At the latest, when he "performs" the song "Drinkenstein" or trying to make it look funny when he's dunking some form of biscuit or pudding into some form of mush (I guessed potatoes, but I could be wrong), one cannot help but to think: "What on earth is the man doing?" As far as Dolly Parton goes: I'm sure she has her fan-basis in those parts and sure has some appeal on the screen. But that's purely based on her visual impression – the art of acting itself doesn't seem to be her strong side.
That's not to say that "Rhinestone" is without redeeming factors. The beast has its moments. For example, the performance of "The Day My Baby Died" was rather hilarious (and in my opinion, was even funnier in the dubbed German-version, where the singer croons about his car, since the original joke would have gotten lost on the foreign audience) and especially Ron Leibman as club-manager 'Freddy Ugo' was so deliciously slimy, that one couldn't help but to like the scoundrel. Not to forget Tim Thomerson and the unforgotten Richard Farnsworth, both as reliable as ever in their supporting roles. And perhaps, if you're a fan of this kind of music, the soundtrack contained some catchy tunes. I couldn't tell since, like I have mentioned, I haven't grown up with this sound, the songs all sound very similar and very monotonous to me. But that's just a matter of personal taste.
But as it is, in its essence, we're talking "so bad it's good" among the realm of Ed Wood and similar illuminates of trash cinema. Which is a good think if you're into cinematic trash (which I am!), and hence give it a 5/10, but if I'd judge it on quality, I'd probably have to give it much less.
That's not to say that "Rhinestone" is without redeeming factors. The beast has its moments. For example, the performance of "The Day My Baby Died" was rather hilarious (and in my opinion, was even funnier in the dubbed German-version, where the singer croons about his car, since the original joke would have gotten lost on the foreign audience) and especially Ron Leibman as club-manager 'Freddy Ugo' was so deliciously slimy, that one couldn't help but to like the scoundrel. Not to forget Tim Thomerson and the unforgotten Richard Farnsworth, both as reliable as ever in their supporting roles. And perhaps, if you're a fan of this kind of music, the soundtrack contained some catchy tunes. I couldn't tell since, like I have mentioned, I haven't grown up with this sound, the songs all sound very similar and very monotonous to me. But that's just a matter of personal taste.
But as it is, in its essence, we're talking "so bad it's good" among the realm of Ed Wood and similar illuminates of trash cinema. Which is a good think if you're into cinematic trash (which I am!), and hence give it a 5/10, but if I'd judge it on quality, I'd probably have to give it much less.