It was 1984. Sylvester Stallone was the biggest action star on the planet, fresh off bruising everyone’s ribs in Rocky III and First Blood. Dolly Parton was, well, Dolly—a rhinestone-encrusted force of nature who had already conquered Nashville and Hollywood. When news broke that these two were teaming up for a musical comedy called Rhinestone, the industry didn't just tilt its head; it nearly snapped its neck.
People expected sparks. They expected a box-office explosion. Instead, they got a movie where the man who played Rambo wears a sequined neon-orange jumpsuit and sings a song called "Drinkenstein."
Honestly, the story of Dolly Parton and Sylvester Stallone is one of the weirdest, most baffling chapters in 80s pop culture. It’s a tale of a "fuck bet," a "large organ" joke that wouldn't die, and a friendship that somehow survived a production that Stallone later said "shattered his internal corn meter into smithereens."
The Bet That Started the Chaos
The plot of Rhinestone is basically My Fair Lady if it were set in a sleazy New York country bar and everyone was hitting the whiskey a little too hard. Dolly plays Jake Farris, a singer stuck in a predatory contract with a club owner named Freddie.
To get out of the deal, she makes a bet: she can turn any "regular Joe" into a country music sensation in just two weeks. If she wins, she’s free. If she loses? She has to spend a night in Freddie’s bed.
Freddie picks Nick Martinelli (Stallone), a loud-mouthed, tone-deaf New York cab driver who hates country music more than he hates traffic.
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It’s a premise that feels like it was written on a cocktail napkin during a particularly wild night at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Stallone actually turned down Romancing the Stone to do this. Think about that for a second. He walked away from a massive hit to play a singing cabbie.
When Rocky Met Dolly: The Vibe on Set
You’d think putting two massive egos in a room would lead to a total meltdown. Surprisingly, that wasn't the case. While the movie was a disaster, the relationship between Dolly Parton and Sylvester Stallone was actually pretty sweet.
Dolly famously said she loved him "instantly." She called him "pretty"—probably the only person in history to use that word for the man who played Marion Cobretti. She’s told stories about how he made her laugh so hard she couldn't even get through her scenes. They kept her genuine laughter in the final cut because, frankly, the scripted jokes weren't landing.
Sly was equally smitten, though in a more "protective brother" sort of way. He once remarked that Dolly was the kind of woman who could have crossed the country in a wagon train, fought off enemies, given birth, and still found time to play the guitar.
"She knew something about everything," Stallone once told Ain't It Cool News. "She was the most amazing person I'd ever spoken to."
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But while the leads were getting along, the production was falling apart. Stallone, ever the auteur, started rewriting the script. The original writer, Phil Alden Robinson (who later wrote Field of Dreams), was so horrified by the changes—like the addition of those "large organ" jokes—that he tried to get his name taken off the movie. Stallone wanted it to be a broad, silly comedy. Robinson wanted something with heart. The result was a mess that satisfied nobody.
The Infamy of "Drinkenstein"
We have to talk about the music. Dolly wrote the entire soundtrack, and for her, it actually worked. She landed two Top 10 country hits from the movie: "Tennessee Homesick Blues" and "God Won’t Get You."
Then there’s Sly.
If you haven't seen the "Drinkenstein" scene, your life is arguably better, but your education in cinematic weirdness is incomplete. Stallone, dressed in a cowboy outfit that looks like it was designed by a color-blind disco enthusiast, growls his way through lyrics like, "Budweiser, you've created a monster, and they call me Drinkenstein!"
It’s bad. It’s "won a Razzie for Worst Original Song" bad. It’s "Roger Ebert called it a nightmare" bad.
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Stallone later admitted that his singing was "abysmal." Producers originally wanted to dub his voice with a professional country singer, but Sly insisted on doing his own vocals. That kind of confidence is usually reserved for people who actually have a melody in their soul, but in 1984, nobody was going to tell the man who beat Mr. T "no."
Why Rhinestone Still Matters (Kinda)
The movie bombed. It made about $21 million against a $28 million budget, which, back then, was a serious hit to the wallet. Stallone considers it one of the worst things he’s ever done. He’s gone on record saying it was "maybe one of the worst films in the entire solar system."
But here’s the thing: Dolly Parton and Sylvester Stallone proved that even a career-killing flop can't kill a genuine connection. They remained friends for decades. Dolly even wanted to record a duet she wrote for the movie, "Stay Out of My Bedroom," with Tina Turner years later because she still believed in the music she wrote for that disaster.
There’s a lesson in there somewhere. Maybe it’s about the power of friendship. Maybe it’s about knowing your limits (like, don't sing if you're Rambo). Or maybe it’s just that Dolly Parton is the only person on Earth who can walk through a burning wreckage like Rhinestone and come out smelling like roses and hairspray.
What You Should Do Next
If you’re feeling brave—or just want to see a piece of Hollywood history that most people have tried to forget—track down a clip of the "Drinkenstein" performance on YouTube. It’s a fascinating look at what happens when a studio gives a superstar too much power and not enough boundaries.
More importantly, take a leaf out of Dolly’s book. She took the heat for a bad movie, kept her friendship with Stallone intact, and still walked away with a couple of hit records. When your "internal corn meter" shatters, just keep singing.
- Watch: Find the Rhinestone trailer to see the jumpsuits in their full, neon glory.
- Listen: Check out "Tennessee Homesick Blues." It’s a genuinely great Dolly track that deserves better than the movie it came from.
- Research: Look up Stallone’s list of "regret movies." It’s a surprisingly honest look at a guy who knows he’s made some real stinkers.