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"She's a girl from the big city. He's a
reckless soldier of fortune. For a fabulous treasure, they share
an adventure no one could imagine... or survive."
Synopsis: A drab, but very successful romantic
novelist, Joan Wilder (Kathleen Turner), begins to experience
the adventure she writes about, when she travels to Colombia in
search of her kidnapped sister, Elaine (Mary Ellen Trainer). She
finds herself encountering jungle danger, in the form of the murderous
Zolo (Manuel Ojeda I), rebels, and a dashing mercenary, Jack Colton
(Michael Douglas), who reluctantly comes to her aid. There's also
a valuable map that leads to a gem that everyone involved is pursuing,
which is the "stone" referred to in the movie's title.
Robert Zemeckis does his usual fine job in directing
this exciting film, which shows in the pacing, and the performances
of this terrific cast.
Kathleen Turner really shines as the shy, unworldly
romance novelist. She has great chemistry with Douglas, and really
helps carry the storyline.
In the supporting cast, Danny DeVito, who plays
one of the kidnappers, Ralph, is a hoot as a greedy, whiny treasure
hunter.
Zack Norman (Ira), the cousin of Ralph, is great
as the slimy, head kidnapper, a real sweetheart of a guy, who
has pet alligators, and is willing to use kidnapping and coercion
as a way to make a living.
Manuel Ojeda plays a great, evil black heart,
Zoro, who is a merciless, corrupt bad guy who will kill anyone
who gets in his way, in his efforts to get what he wants. His
black soul is shown to the audience, earlier in the story, back
in New York.
This entertaining screenplay was written by Dianne
Thomas, who was a waitress in Malibu, which was her only produced
screenplay, prior to her untimely death in an auto accident.
This screenplay is riveting, exciting, as well
as fun and witty. It feels like a good old fashioned adventure
movie, but has all the visual beauty of today's lush, visual photography
and on location magic. Romance grows in between the exciting sequences.
Favorite scenes:
1) Jack rescues Joan from the clutches of Zolo,
in the middle of a jungle road, after the bus Joan mistakenly
got on, thanks to Zolo, crashes into Jack's Jeep, which is full
of wild birds. The bus's occupants inadvertently leave her alone
with the murderous Zolo, when they start walking toward the
nearest town.
2) The sequence of scenes with Juan, the drug
kingpin, are very entertaining. This time, it's who Joan is
that saves Joan and Jack from Juan and his gang, turns Juan's
attitude around toward Jack and Joan, and inspires Juan to help
them later in their wild escape by using Juan's Jeep, "Little
Mule."
3) Danny DeVito's hilarious scene in the police
station is a great comedic bit.
4) The showdown between the good guys, the
kidnappers and Zolo, with alligators, knives and such. This
sequence of scenes is an example of life imitating art.
5) The last scene in the film is a real crowd
pleaser. Without giving away the ending, if you like romantic
novels, or romantic movies, the end will please you, AND your
date.
This is a great date movie because it's all about
romance, adventure, and about finding love in the most unlikely
places. Hey, you might find love on your couch (or change under
the cushions). Who knows?
If you enjoyed ROMANCING THE STONE, you may like
"Jewel of the Nile," "Raiders
of the Lost Ark," "Back to the Future 3," "The
Mummy," "The Mummy Returns," "The African Queen,"
and/or "Empire Strikes Back."
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