True RomancePopcorn, gunfire, drugs, and Elvis--True Romance is a movie about two young lovers whose paths cross, finding a kind of mutual reclamation with one another, trying to stake out a better life when the opportunity comes knocking; in other words, love. Clarence (Christian Slater) is an "everyman" kind of loser (speaking as one), who loves kung fu movies, Elvis is his hero, and he even works in a comic book store--doesn't pay well, but that's not the point. When Alabama (Patricia Arquette) spills her popcorn over Clarence, and suddenly starts cozying up with him, things seem too good to be true. Maybe it is...but then there's that rare time when it isn't too good to be true...it's just true.
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The thing is that Alabama--our sometimes narrator, whose delivery (as well as the musical score) mirrors Terrence Malick's Badlands--has a sordid past. She's an amateur call girl who just quit her job after her monogamous love for Clarence forces her into an early retirement, but when she lets it slip that she had a rather wicked pimp, Drexl (Gary Oldman), Clarence takes it upon himself to deliver justice to the thug under the auspices of retrieving Alabama's things from her previous residence...a mission imparted to Clarence by the highest authority, the King Himself (that's Elvis). For a guy who seems a little weird--but not psychotic--it's pretty odd that Clarence gets messages from a ghost in gold lamé. But then Clarence lives in a fantasy world; he's been weened on the kinds of hero fantasies where the good guy (that's him) has to defend his little lady against the bad dudes in the world. His impression of what it is to be a man comes from newsprint issues of Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos, from Sonny Chiba's The Street Fighter, and many more. In his mind, it would be irresponsible to let a pimp like Drexl get away with the kind of evils he does to women--in all fairness, Drexl is a scumbag. When Clarence does deliver his own brand of heroic justice, what does Alabama do? She declares that it is "so romantic". Alabama is a kind of male fantasy, perfect in every way, but she has some aptitude for it, given her erstwhile (if brief) profession. But for the most part, what appears to be 'Bama stroking Clarence's ego is in fact more true to who she is than not. When she goes to work on Clarence, she knows just what bait to dangle, such as her double entendre about getting some pie after she sees a movie. So when Alabama's past comes out in her confession to Clarence, he goes with it. Maybe he isn't into judging others, but he takes her, baggage and all...or at least he's unwilling to let it be a deal breaker.
From the cold, wintry backdrop of Detroit to the glitz and sun of Hollywood, Clarence leaves his old life behind with his new wife, on a quest to sell the accidental bounty of stolen cocaine Clarence lifted from Drexl. The problem is that Clarence is hardly a professional criminal, leaving clues behind with disregard, and letting the Sicilian mob get a whiff of his scent, tailing him all the way. True Romance is filled with bravura moments with a great cast of recognizable actors; one of my favorites include an interrogation with Clarence's dad, Cliff, (Dennis Hopper) and his "Sicilian" speech, who turns the table on the self-professed living lie detector, a lieutenant in the mob tracking his son, Don Vincenzo Coccotti (Christopher Walken). Another great moment is when Alabama is forced to confront one of the mob thugs, Virgil (James Gandolfini) in her hotel room; she attempts to misdirect the goon (like they all do), but Virgil doesn't bite. Virgil and Alabama play cat-and-mouse for a bit, but inevitably the violent thug begins to attack, and Alabama is forced to choose her moments to get the upper hand. It is a tense moment, and one which serves as a sobering revelation for Clarence in the aftermath, ideally helping to rein in his bit of a "hero complex". There is a strong sense that although Clarence is looking to sell his loot to get a better life for him and his wife, one has to wonder if he isn't just doing it to prove something to himself, living up to that perfect "king" image of his idol from Graceland. It is unsurprising that Clarence's instinct on where to go to get rich is to go to Hollywood, where he has seen some of his favorite stories come to life. When Clarence discovers that his buyer for the drugs is a Hollywood producer, he puts on a routine which is decidedly honest-sounding and cagey enough to make the offer appealing, like he was pitching a movie, using words like "distribution" and referencing Cannes, et cetera. This is the image of the big leagues for Clarence, and so selling drugs or making movies, it's all Hollywood, so why should the diction be any different? Clarence's passion for the movies he loves colors everything he does, living up to ideals which may be noble, but are artificial. He references countless films in passing, and even molds his own life around these exciting thrills, which--although not included in the films named by Clarence throughout--reminds me a bit of Double Indemnity; even Alabama's hair seems about right. Keep living the dream, Clarence.
Recommended for: Fans of an exciting tale of action and romance, where two struggling lovers pursue their dreams with a burning fervor. For those keeping count at home, True Romance is also an early cinematic contribution by Quentin Tarantino, who wrote the screenplay.
From the cold, wintry backdrop of Detroit to the glitz and sun of Hollywood, Clarence leaves his old life behind with his new wife, on a quest to sell the accidental bounty of stolen cocaine Clarence lifted from Drexl. The problem is that Clarence is hardly a professional criminal, leaving clues behind with disregard, and letting the Sicilian mob get a whiff of his scent, tailing him all the way. True Romance is filled with bravura moments with a great cast of recognizable actors; one of my favorites include an interrogation with Clarence's dad, Cliff, (Dennis Hopper) and his "Sicilian" speech, who turns the table on the self-professed living lie detector, a lieutenant in the mob tracking his son, Don Vincenzo Coccotti (Christopher Walken). Another great moment is when Alabama is forced to confront one of the mob thugs, Virgil (James Gandolfini) in her hotel room; she attempts to misdirect the goon (like they all do), but Virgil doesn't bite. Virgil and Alabama play cat-and-mouse for a bit, but inevitably the violent thug begins to attack, and Alabama is forced to choose her moments to get the upper hand. It is a tense moment, and one which serves as a sobering revelation for Clarence in the aftermath, ideally helping to rein in his bit of a "hero complex". There is a strong sense that although Clarence is looking to sell his loot to get a better life for him and his wife, one has to wonder if he isn't just doing it to prove something to himself, living up to that perfect "king" image of his idol from Graceland. It is unsurprising that Clarence's instinct on where to go to get rich is to go to Hollywood, where he has seen some of his favorite stories come to life. When Clarence discovers that his buyer for the drugs is a Hollywood producer, he puts on a routine which is decidedly honest-sounding and cagey enough to make the offer appealing, like he was pitching a movie, using words like "distribution" and referencing Cannes, et cetera. This is the image of the big leagues for Clarence, and so selling drugs or making movies, it's all Hollywood, so why should the diction be any different? Clarence's passion for the movies he loves colors everything he does, living up to ideals which may be noble, but are artificial. He references countless films in passing, and even molds his own life around these exciting thrills, which--although not included in the films named by Clarence throughout--reminds me a bit of Double Indemnity; even Alabama's hair seems about right. Keep living the dream, Clarence.
Recommended for: Fans of an exciting tale of action and romance, where two struggling lovers pursue their dreams with a burning fervor. For those keeping count at home, True Romance is also an early cinematic contribution by Quentin Tarantino, who wrote the screenplay.