Romancing the StoneIt's one thing to write about adventure and romance, it's another to actually live it. Joan Wilder (Kathleen Turner) is a bookish romance novelist, whose idea of celebrating the completion of another novel is to feed her cat "the good stuff" with a sprig of garnish. It seems a far cry from the protected comforts of her city apartment and the wild jungles of Colombia, but that's exactly what the future has in store for Joan. When her sister Elaine (Mary Ellen Trainor) is kidnapped by a group of crooked treasure hunters, the ransom is for her to bring them a map, one which will lead to "the heart".
|
|
Romancing the Stone is, like Joan Wilder's fiction, a story of action and suspense, of romance and adventure, filled with gunfights, swinging across chasms on vines, digging up buried treasure, and even deadly crocodiles. The film is self-aware of the conventions of the romance novel--it even affords us a dramatization of one of Joan's works featuring her sultry protagonist, Angelina, united with her flame, Jesse, right at the onset. The scene is played a bit for laughs, as Angelina is barely contained in her flimsy blouse and Jesse's aim with a rifle is unparalleled, not to mention when he hefts her and himself up on that horse; but this is Joan's dream, and one that is at odds with her medicated, insulated life. Stalked by an assassin with his own private army, Zolo (Manuel Ojeda) pursues and redirects Joan to get her alone in the jungle...only to be saved by a "real life Jesse", the adventurer into shortcuts, Jack T. Colton (Michael Douglas). The two start out together under mercenary terms--Jack is hired by Joan to take her to a town to call her sister, to explain why she is off-track. However, the two find themselves beset by Zolo, and fleeing through the jungle for their life. As they are forced to survive in one another's company, they begin to open up to one another, and though they seemed to share little in common, their friendship and romance begins to blossom. Jack's great dream is to make enough money fast to buy that sailboat he's always wanted. When he begins to suspect that Joan's treasure map might actually lead to treasure, he suggests that they circumvent simply handing the map over, and doing a little prospecting of their own.
What makes Joan such an identifiable character is how plain she seems at first, but how her transformation physically into a stunning beauty mirrors her own emergence from her mousy shell. Her adventures with Jack--and life--imbue her with a vivacity which makes her into her very own "Angelina", although arguably more conservatively dressed. And Joan's reputation and experience as an author serves her and Jack on their journey through the rough country of Columbia, just as his does for them...albeit under differing circumstances. As a moviegoer--and writer--it's a kind of escapism watching Romancing the Stone, wanting to be a part of those far off places and exciting adventures you only write about, to live that kind of waking dream which fills your notebooks, typewriters, and more. It is no coincidence that the treasure which Joan and Jack--and really, everyone--seeks is called "El Corazon"...the heart. Joan discovers her own heart on this journey, and is almost unrecognizable at the end from her sniffling introduction. Moments in the film which would ordinarily seem implausible are acceptable, because Romancing the Stone coyly exploits those expectations of the pulp adventure and romance milieu, yet is engaging and avoids overplaying its hand. Deftly maneuvering between moments of comedy--humorously done by Danny DeVito as one of the inept kidnappers--to action, romance, et cetera keeps the film from getting too comfortable in one place at a time. Like Joan Wilder's metamorphosis from timid, ingenue scribbler to a empowered, sophisticated writer, the combination of these styles--and not getting too comfortable with just one thing--makes the film so exciting and fun.
Recommended for: Fans of a fun and exciting adventure through South America, fighting wild reptiles, corrupt police, and braving treasure caves. Filled with romance and comedy, drama and suspense, the film promises a lot and delivers.
What makes Joan such an identifiable character is how plain she seems at first, but how her transformation physically into a stunning beauty mirrors her own emergence from her mousy shell. Her adventures with Jack--and life--imbue her with a vivacity which makes her into her very own "Angelina", although arguably more conservatively dressed. And Joan's reputation and experience as an author serves her and Jack on their journey through the rough country of Columbia, just as his does for them...albeit under differing circumstances. As a moviegoer--and writer--it's a kind of escapism watching Romancing the Stone, wanting to be a part of those far off places and exciting adventures you only write about, to live that kind of waking dream which fills your notebooks, typewriters, and more. It is no coincidence that the treasure which Joan and Jack--and really, everyone--seeks is called "El Corazon"...the heart. Joan discovers her own heart on this journey, and is almost unrecognizable at the end from her sniffling introduction. Moments in the film which would ordinarily seem implausible are acceptable, because Romancing the Stone coyly exploits those expectations of the pulp adventure and romance milieu, yet is engaging and avoids overplaying its hand. Deftly maneuvering between moments of comedy--humorously done by Danny DeVito as one of the inept kidnappers--to action, romance, et cetera keeps the film from getting too comfortable in one place at a time. Like Joan Wilder's metamorphosis from timid, ingenue scribbler to a empowered, sophisticated writer, the combination of these styles--and not getting too comfortable with just one thing--makes the film so exciting and fun.
Recommended for: Fans of a fun and exciting adventure through South America, fighting wild reptiles, corrupt police, and braving treasure caves. Filled with romance and comedy, drama and suspense, the film promises a lot and delivers.