With a title like “The Ranch”, one might make the mistake of imagining a movie where Robert Redford raises horses in order raise money to fight leukemia in unwed mothers, only to find out that he has fallen in love with one of them (the unwed mother, not the horse) and that no matter how much money he raises or how many times he washes her hair in the river, she will still pass away leaving him an empty shell. This movie of course, would also have an interspersing storyline where evil land developers are trying to take the Ranch and turn it into a Las Vegas style casino. This is where the film’s second star, The Rock, comes in. Of course, one look at the cover of the new DVD release of “The Ranch” will tell you that this is not at all the type of movie you’re about to see. The sight of six lovely women in all manner of dress (and undress) sitting under a glittery sign gives the viewer a more accurate picture of the story held within.

Well, that is if the viewer is at all familiar with the infamous ‘Bunny Ranch’ bordello in Nevada. That’s right; “The Ranch” is about the goings-on behind closed doors and behind the scenes of a fictional bordello loosely based on the one I mentioned before.

“The Ranch” stars Amy Madigan as the ‘madam’ of the Diamond Ranch, which is THE place to visit for a good time (and you know what I mean by a good time…). The film is full of episodic stories of each of the girls that inhabit “The Ranch”, from one who is about to quit to get married to those who are forced into a life of prostitution by all manner of circumstance. It is this episodic feel that is ultimately the film’s undoing.

While watching “The Ranch”, I could catch the unmistakable style of director Susan Seidelman as each of the girl’s stories is told with a layer of wit and wisdom, but most of the stories felt unfulfilling, as if they were unfinished. I’m wondering whether or not the premise of “The Ranch” was originally supposed to be used as a series for one of those cable movie channels, and was perhaps dropped as a project. Admittedly, it seemed as though it would have worked better as a series as the stories would have had more of a chance to develop and have some sort of resolution.

This nitpick aside, the DVD version I saw was the ‘Unrated and Uncut’ one, and it delivered its fair share of titillation (if that in fact is what you are in the market for). For the most part, it’s very soft core and the sequences are short, but in some cases… sweet.

There are no extra features to speak of, which is kind of a shame. I actually would have been interested to find out a little more about the history of the film. It might have answered a lot of the questions that were raised by watching it.

Directed by: Susan Seidelman
Starring: Jennifer Aspen, Giacomo Baessato, Jessica Collins, Samantha Ferris, Nicki Michaeux, Paige Moss, Ty Olsson, Bonnie Root, Carly Pope, Amy Madigan
Specifications: Full Screen
Studio: MGM
Release Date: 11/23/2004
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website

We'll give The Ranch a C.