A sex ranch in the Nevada desert will probably be a tacky place, and there was no tackier time to visit one than New Year’s Day 1976—the opening of Love Ranch. Joe Pesci is in his comfort zone as the brutal, philandering, conniving, foul-mouthed and—yes—tacky owner of the prostitution corral at the end of the desert road. To make matters funnier, he’s an East Coast hood who affects a bollo tie and the hop-along airs of a pint-size western star. His long-suffering wife, play by Helen Mirren, is the anchor of the operation. She’s tough but kind and conscientious, looking after “the girls” as if they were boarding school students. Naturally, she falls in love with the romantic outlaw Argentine boxer (Sergio Peris-Mencheta) her husband introduces to the compound. All in all, Love Ranch entertaining, hold your attention cable fare, out now on DVD.
