Watch Love Ranch

In the 2010 film Love Ranch, we follow the story of Grace Bontempo (Helen Mirren) and her husband Charlie (Joe Pesci), who run the first legal brothel in Nevada, called the Love Ranch. The movie is set in the late 1970s and follows the Bontempos as they navigate the ups and downs of running a brothel in a small town. They have a good business going, with a group of young and attractive girls working for them. However, they start to encounter problems when one of their girls, Christina (Scout Taylor-Compton), starts a relationship with a boxer named Armando (Sergio Peris-Mencheta).

As they sneak around behind Grace and Charlie's back, tensions rise, and the Bontempos' relationship becomes strained. But that's just one of the many problems they face in Love Ranch.

Throughout the film, we learn about Grace and Charlie's background and how they got into the brothel business. Grace is a businesswoman with a tough exterior, but she's also desperately seeking love and affection. Charlie is a retired boxer with a hot temper, who's in love with Grace but struggles to show it. Their relationship is complicated, to say the least, and it's put to the test when a powerful and charismatic South American businessman named Luis (Gina Gershon) arrives in town and throws his weight around.

Against the backdrop of their complicated personal lives, the Love Ranch is also facing scrutiny from the authorities. The FBI starts an investigation into the brothel, and the Bontempos must figure out how to escape prosecution.

Overall, Love Ranch is a character-driven drama that explores the complexities of human relationships and the challenges of running a business outside of society's norms. It's a gritty, realistic portrayal of life in the late 1970s and the challenges faced by those who run brothels in rural America.

The film is directed by Taylor Hackford, who previously worked with Helen Mirren on the acclaimed biopic "The Queen". Hackford brings a sensitive touch to the material, and his direction is supported by a strong screenplay by Mark Jacobson.

The performances in Love Ranch are uniformly excellent, with Mirren and Pesci delivering powerful and nuanced performances. Mirren, in particular, shines as Grace, imbuing the character with strength, vulnerability, and a palpable sense of loneliness.

Sergio Peris-Mencheta is also excellent as Armando, bringing a vulnerable and sympathetic quality to the role. He and Scout Taylor-Compton have believable chemistry together, and their relationship adds an additional layer of complexity to the film.

The film's production design is excellent, capturing the look and feel of small-town Nevada in the late 1970s. The costumes and makeup are also impeccable, contributing to the film's sense of authenticity.

In conclusion, Love Ranch is a well-acted, well-written drama that examines the lives of those on the fringes of society. It's a fascinating and compelling film that offers a realistic portrait of life in a small-town brothel. If you're looking for a thought-provoking, character-driven drama, Love Ranch is well worth watching.

Love Ranch is a 2010 drama with a runtime of 1 hour and 57 minutes. It has received mostly poor reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 5.6 and a MetaScore of 37.