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.
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.