# Rhinestone (1984 film)
**Rhinestone** is a 1984 American musical comedy directed by [Bob Clark](https://www.edgepedia.org/bob-clark), starring [Dolly Parton](https://www.edgepedia.org/dolly-parton) as country singer Jake Ferris and [Sylvester Stallone](https://www.edgepedia.org/sylvester-stallone) as Nick Martinelli, a New York City cab driver she bets she can turn into a country singer. It was released by 20th Century Fox on June 22, 1984, and is loosely derived from the 1975 song hit "Rhinestone Cowboy," written by Larry Weiss and sung by Glen Campbell.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/57181) The film was a critical and commercial failure, grossing about $21.4 million against a budget of roughly $28 million, and it received eight Golden Raspberry Award nominations, winning two.[2](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0088001/) • [3](https://themotionpictures.net/2014/06/29/classics-of-the-corn-rhinestone-1984/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | June 22, 1984 (United States), distributed by 20th Century Fox[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/57181) |
| Director and writers | Bob Clark; screenplay by Phil Alden Robinson and Sylvester Stallone[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/57181) |
| Cast | Dolly Parton (Jake Ferris), Sylvester Stallone (Nick Martinelli), Richard Farnsworth, Ron Leibman, Tim Thomerson[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/57181) |
| Budget and gross | About $28 million budget; $21,435,321 domestic, 100% of worldwide gross[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088001/) • [2](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0088001/) |
| Opening weekend | $5,459,726 in 1,630 theaters, 25.5% of the total gross[5](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Rhinestone) |
| Critical reception | 18% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (17 reviews); Metascore 36 on Metacritic[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rhinestone) • [7](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/rhinestone/critic-reviews/) |
| Razzie Awards | Eight nominations; wins for Worst Actor (Stallone) and Worst Original Song ("Drinkenstein")[3](https://themotionpictures.net/2014/06/29/classics-of-the-corn-rhinestone-1984/) |
| Music | 14 new songs written by Dolly Parton for the soundtrack[8](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/80s/1984/BB-1984-06-16.pdf) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
In New York City, Jake Ferris is a popular country and western singer at the [Rhinestone](https://www.edgepedia.org/rhinestone) club. Leaving the stage after a performance, she fends off flirtations from her business manager, Freddie Ugo ([Ron Leibman](https://www.edgepedia.org/ron-leibman)), and wants out of the three years remaining on her contract. After she protests that Freddie has no ability to spot talent and insists she could make anyone into a "Rhinestone cowboy," he proposes a bet: should she manage to transform an ordinary individual into a vocalist able to get through a single number without the club's rough crowd jeering, he will free her from the contract.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/57181)
The next person Jake sees is Nick Martinelli (Stallone), a cocky New York cabbie who cannot sing a note and, in the script's framing, "hates country music worse than liver."[9](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1984/06/22/a-wretched-rhinestone/b2bf6725-a219-4d45-ab0f-0434aa471c8a) She takes him to her tiny Tennessee hometown to train him in all things country, while her ex-boyfriend Barnett Kale ([Tim Thomerson](https://www.edgepedia.org/tim-thomerson)) tries to win her back.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rhinestone) [Richard Farnsworth](https://www.edgepedia.org/richard-farnsworth) plays Noah, Jake's father.[5](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Rhinestone)
## Development and production
The project began as an adaptation of "Rhinestone Cowboy." According to a 1984 Hollywood Reporter article cited by the AFI Catalog, songwriter Larry Weiss took out trade-paper advertisements in 1977 announcing the film's development. Over the following years the project passed through several hands: British producer Laurence Myers and GTO Film Productions took it on in 1978 with [Glen Campbell](https://www.edgepedia.org/glen-campbell) approached for the lead; in 1979 television producer Quinn Martin included it in a $42 million, seven-film production slate; AVCO [Embassy Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/embassy-pictures) acquired it in 1981 and abandoned it after an ownership change; and Twentieth Century-Fox won the property by outbidding [Paramount Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/paramount-pictures).[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/57181)
Phil Alden Robinson wrote the original screenplay, which placed more emphasis on the woman's role, and Dolly Parton signed on in the fall of 1982. Once Stallone was cast as Nick, the actor allegedly rewrote the entire script on his own. Robinson was then instructed to "restore the charm, the humor, and fix the structure" while retaining Stallone's dialogue for his own character. The two never collaborated, and Robinson later regretted not removing his name from the writing credit, saying the completed film did not represent his contribution.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/57181) A scholarly account of 1980s Hollywood describes the change as converting a small movie about a strong-willed Southern woman determined to own a Manhattan restaurant into a *Rocky*-inspired tale of a cabbie's victory in a country bar singing contest, made over Robinson's objections.[10](https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED473801.pdf)
Production began on October 17, 1983, based in Nashville with location work in nearby Williamson County, Tennessee. Don Zimmerman was announced as director, but after three weeks of filming he left the production, reportedly over tension with Stallone, and was replaced by Bob Clark. Most of Zimmerman's footage was discarded. Cold weather in Tennessee caused continuity problems, so the production relocated to Los Angeles, using the [San Fernando Valley](https://www.edgepedia.org/san-fernando-valley) for reshoots. Robinson put the budget between $20 and $30 million, and Stallone's salary was reported at $5 million.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/57181) Parton and Stallone spent several extremely cold weeks filming outside Nashville that winter.[8](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/80s/1984/BB-1984-06-16.pdf)
## Music
Parton served as the film's musical supervisor and composer, and RCA prepared a soundtrack album of 14 new Parton compositions written for the movie.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/57181) • [8](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/80s/1984/BB-1984-06-16.pdf) The songs include "Tennessee Homesick Blues," the film's theme, which Parton performed on *The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson* in June 1984; "Drinkenstein" and "Be There," performed by Stallone; and duets with Parton and Stallone such as "Stay Out of My Bedroom (If You Can't Take the Heat)" and "Woke Up In Love." Family members also appear: [Randy Parton](https://www.edgepedia.org/randy-parton) performs "Too Much Water," Stella Parton performs "Goin' Back to Heaven," and Floyd Parton performs "Waltz Me to Heaven."[11](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088001/soundtrack/) Parton later said her work on the soundtrack was some of her best.[12](https://www.dollyparton.com/news/rhinestone-feature-film)
## Release and box office
The film opened in Los Angeles and New York on June 22, 1984, with a Los Angeles world premiere on June 10 and a Nashville industry screening at Opryland's Acuff Theatre.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/57181) • [8](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/80s/1984/BB-1984-06-16.pdf) It opened in 1,630 theaters and earned $5,459,726 on its first weekend, ranking fourth. Weekly grosses then fell steeply, dropping 35 percent in the second weekend and 55 percent in the fifth, and the film finished with a domestic gross of $21,435,321, with no international release recorded.[5](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Rhinestone) • [2](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0088001/) Against an estimated $28 million budget, the film lost money in its theatrical run.[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088001/) • [13](https://theboot.com/hollywood-country-rhinestone/)
## Reception
Critics were largely negative. The film holds an 18 percent Tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes and a Metascore of 36 on Metacritic, categorized as generally unfavorable.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rhinestone) • [7](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/rhinestone/critic-reviews/) Roger Ebert, film critic of the *Chicago Sun-Times* from 1967 until his death in 2013, gave it one star, writing that the movie was "so thin they both seem curiously absent" and that the story was [Pygmalion](https://www.edgepedia.org/pygmalion-play) in country-music clothing.[14](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/rhinestone-1984) Janet Maslin of *The New York Times* was more measured, crediting Bob Clark with treating the material good-humoredly and noting a funny supporting cast.[7](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/rhinestone/critic-reviews/) Variety called the film "as artificial and synthetic a concoction as has ever made its way to the screen," and Rita Kempley's Washington Post review was titled "A Wretched 'Rhinestone'."[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rhinestone) • [9](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1984/06/22/a-wretched-rhinestone/b2bf6725-a219-4d45-ab0f-0434aa471c8a) At the [Golden Raspberry Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/golden-raspberry-awards) the film received eight nominations and won two: Worst Actor for Stallone and Worst Original Song for "Drinkenstein," written by Parton and performed by Stallone.[3](https://themotionpictures.net/2014/06/29/classics-of-the-corn-rhinestone-1984/)
## Afterlife
The film has had a modest afterlife. Stallone turned down the male lead in *Romancing the Stone* (1984) to make it, a decision often cited in retrospectives of his career.[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088001/) In 2026, marking Dolly Parton Day on September 25 after Parton's death that August at age 80, Stallone wrote on Instagram that "Rhinestone is my favorite film I've ever done - besides Rocky, of course! Because it's the one where Dolly and I just had a ball," and noted that the film was not available on any streaming service.[15](https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/sylvester-stallone-celebrated-dolly-parton-giving-rhinestone-major-compliment-streaming) Parton herself, weeks before her death, recalled the film's June 1984 release as "one of the best experiences" she had had making a movie.[16](https://as.com/meristation/cine/antes-de-morir-dolly-parton-recordo-asi-la-pelicula-que-hizo-con-stallone-fue-una-de-las-mejores-experiencias-f202608-n/) Parton and Stallone had received their stars on the [Hollywood Walk of Fame](https://www.edgepedia.org/hollywood-walk-of-fame) in 1984 in a rare dual ceremony tied to the film.[17](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/dolly-parton-memorial-site-hit-with-shocking-vandalism/)
## References
1. [Rhinestone (1984), AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/57181)
2. [Rhinestone (1984), Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0088001/)
3. [Classics of the Corn: Rhinestone (1984), The Motion Pictures](https://themotionpictures.net/2014/06/29/classics-of-the-corn-rhinestone-1984/)
4. [Rhinestone (1984), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088001/)
5. [Rhinestone (1984), The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Rhinestone)
6. [Rhinestone, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rhinestone)
7. [Rhinestone critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/rhinestone/critic-reviews/)
8. ['Rhinestone' Benefit, Billboard, June 16, 1984](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/80s/1984/BB-1984-06-16.pdf)
9. [A Wretched 'Rhinestone', The Washington Post, June 21, 1984](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1984/06/22/a-wretched-rhinestone/b2bf6725-a219-4d45-ab0f-0434aa471c8a)
10. [Race and Class in 1980s Hollywood, ERIC](https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED473801.pdf)
11. [Rhinestone (1984) Soundtracks, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088001/soundtrack/)
12. ['Rhinestone', DollyParton.com](https://www.dollyparton.com/news/rhinestone-feature-film)
13. [Country Music Memories: Parton, Stallone's 'Rhinestone' Released, The Boot](https://theboot.com/hollywood-country-rhinestone/)
14. [Rhinestone movie review, RogerEbert.com](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/rhinestone-1984)
15. [Sylvester Stallone Just Celebrated Dolly Parton By Giving Their Movie Rhinestone A Major Compliment, CinemaBlend](https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/sylvester-stallone-celebrated-dolly-parton-giving-rhinestone-major-compliment-streaming)
16. [Antes de morir, Dolly Parton recordó así la película que hizo con Stallone, MeriStation (AS)](https://as.com/meristation/cine/antes-de-morir-dolly-parton-recordo-asi-la-pelicula-que-hizo-con-stallone-fue-una-de-las-mejores-experiencias-f202608-n/)
17. [Dolly Parton Memorial Site Hit With Shocking Vandalism, The Daily Beast](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/dolly-parton-memorial-site-hit-with-shocking-vandalism/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Musical and music films (individual works) › Musical films of the 1970s and 1980s*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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