Romancing the Stone (1984)
Romancing the Stone (1984)
1984’s Romancing the Stone is truly a silly, but entertaining adventure. People view this movie as a Raiders of the Lost Ark rip-off, but this movie deserves that statement but in a positive way. It captures the sense of adventure and the humor the Spielberg movie has, although it’s not as good as that classic. It helps that there is intense, sparkling chemistry between Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner. It’s one of those movies that shock you when you find out these two actors are not committed to one another in real life, because the chemistry between the two stars is fire!
The man behind the camera is Robert Zemeckis. Zemeckis is now seen as one of cinema’s greats especially when it comes to his Back to the Future trilogy. First, he had to prove himself and he certainly did so here. I find it funny that 20th Century Fox, the film’s studio, thought this film would bomb so hard, so hard that they fired Zemeckis from their next big-budget sci-fi picture. Ironically, this film was the studio’s only major hit of 1984 and it allowed Zemeckis to direct the much-loved Back to the Future. It helps that he did a good job directing the film. The actors grew frustrated with him at times as a young film school graduate obsessed with camera angles and the like, but he held his own for his first major Hollywood picture.
The film has a unique premise that was written into a screenplay by Diane Thomas, which was sadly her only Hollywood screenplay because of an untimely car accident death. What if a romance author lives out her stories she became famous for? I thought it was really cool and for the most part, the film captured this sense of uniqueness with its fun adventure sequences and sparkling romance.
Joan Wilder (Kathleen Turner) is this aforementioned romance author who has written many, many romantic novels set in adventure settings. One day, she receives a treasure map in the mail from her murdered brother-in-law; a treasure map leading to a green stone with unlimited value. Her sister, Elaine (Mary Ellen Trainor) is kidnapped by the short, measly Ralph (Danny DeVito) and his associate. Joan is forced to go to South America to trade the map for her sister but is taken herself by a corrupt cop named Zolo (Miguel Ojeda) who wants the map for himself. Lost in the jungle, she is rescued by the dashing Jack Colton (Michael Douglas). He agrees to take her back to civilization. It seems like Joan may be living out one of her adventures!
The stars Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner are front-and-center and the film takes advantage of that. They exchange barbs and witty dialogue on a consistent basis and its very amusing. I also like how Douglas makes Turner his equal. In films of yonder, women were very tender and needed to be rescued without having any sense of strength. Luckily, Zemeckis does away with that silly trope. Danny DeVito admittedly got on my nerves from time to time, but maybe it’s because his attempt at being a villain is pathetic (in a good way).
Kathleen Turner later admitted after the film’s release that she grew frustrated with Zemeckis’s style of direction. They often clashed on set due to their old school versus new school differences. I found it amazing considering Turner did an amazing job with her performance. Zemeckis must have agreed because he later casted her as Jessica Rabbit in 1988’s Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
Don’t get me wrong. Romancing the Stone is not going to win Best Picture and its not one of those artsy flicks. Yeah, the dialogue can be corny, and the events can be unbelievable. Honestly, do we even care? The sense of fun has no boundaries here. I can watch these types of movies time after time and never grow bored. Sure, it’s no Indiana Jones, but it does not need to be! As long as you are in the mood for a fun adventure, then I can recommend the film for you.
My Grade: B
1984’s Romancing the Stone is truly a silly, but entertaining adventure. People view this movie as a Raiders of the Lost Ark rip-off, but this movie deserves that statement but in a positive way. It captures the sense of adventure and the humor the Spielberg movie has, although it’s not as good as that classic. It helps that there is intense, sparkling chemistry between Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner. It’s one of those movies that shock you when you find out these two actors are not committed to one another in real life, because the chemistry between the two stars is fire!
The man behind the camera is Robert Zemeckis. Zemeckis is now seen as one of cinema’s greats especially when it comes to his Back to the Future trilogy. First, he had to prove himself and he certainly did so here. I find it funny that 20th Century Fox, the film’s studio, thought this film would bomb so hard, so hard that they fired Zemeckis from their next big-budget sci-fi picture. Ironically, this film was the studio’s only major hit of 1984 and it allowed Zemeckis to direct the much-loved Back to the Future. It helps that he did a good job directing the film. The actors grew frustrated with him at times as a young film school graduate obsessed with camera angles and the like, but he held his own for his first major Hollywood picture.
The film has a unique premise that was written into a screenplay by Diane Thomas, which was sadly her only Hollywood screenplay because of an untimely car accident death. What if a romance author lives out her stories she became famous for? I thought it was really cool and for the most part, the film captured this sense of uniqueness with its fun adventure sequences and sparkling romance.
Joan Wilder (Kathleen Turner) is this aforementioned romance author who has written many, many romantic novels set in adventure settings. One day, she receives a treasure map in the mail from her murdered brother-in-law; a treasure map leading to a green stone with unlimited value. Her sister, Elaine (Mary Ellen Trainor) is kidnapped by the short, measly Ralph (Danny DeVito) and his associate. Joan is forced to go to South America to trade the map for her sister but is taken herself by a corrupt cop named Zolo (Miguel Ojeda) who wants the map for himself. Lost in the jungle, she is rescued by the dashing Jack Colton (Michael Douglas). He agrees to take her back to civilization. It seems like Joan may be living out one of her adventures!
The stars Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner are front-and-center and the film takes advantage of that. They exchange barbs and witty dialogue on a consistent basis and its very amusing. I also like how Douglas makes Turner his equal. In films of yonder, women were very tender and needed to be rescued without having any sense of strength. Luckily, Zemeckis does away with that silly trope. Danny DeVito admittedly got on my nerves from time to time, but maybe it’s because his attempt at being a villain is pathetic (in a good way).
Kathleen Turner later admitted after the film’s release that she grew frustrated with Zemeckis’s style of direction. They often clashed on set due to their old school versus new school differences. I found it amazing considering Turner did an amazing job with her performance. Zemeckis must have agreed because he later casted her as Jessica Rabbit in 1988’s Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
Don’t get me wrong. Romancing the Stone is not going to win Best Picture and its not one of those artsy flicks. Yeah, the dialogue can be corny, and the events can be unbelievable. Honestly, do we even care? The sense of fun has no boundaries here. I can watch these types of movies time after time and never grow bored. Sure, it’s no Indiana Jones, but it does not need to be! As long as you are in the mood for a fun adventure, then I can recommend the film for you.
My Grade: B
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