ROMANCING THE STONE. Directed by Robert Zemeckis; written by Diane Thomas; produced by Michael Douglas for Twentieth Century-Fox. Starring Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas. Rated PG (minimal vulgar language, some comic-book style violence).
More reviews by —
TITLE:
RATING:
Who can resist a treasure hunt? Especially one complete with map, clues and dastardly villains on your tail? There may be those who can, and those poor souls may not enjoy Romancing the Stone. But the rest of you should find it delightful entertainment.
Joan Wilder (Turner) is a romance novelist who writes preposterous adventures, but has never had one. Then her sister is kidnapped by some hoods looking for treasure in Colombia. The sister's husband mailed a map to Joan before he was murdered. Now the thugs threaten to do the same to her sister unless Joan brings them the map.
Once she gets to Colombia, a host of complications make appearances, including a truly despicable secret policeman (Manuel Ojeda) and Jack, an appealing if reluctant hero (Douglas).
Giving the plot summary from this point would not only spoil some fun surprises, it would also be practically impossible. Just let me say that there is plenty of excitement, a little standard romance, a lot of exotic jungle scenery and only incidental correspondence to the real world.
Joan is the focus of the movie, and Turner makes her a believable character that holds our interest from the beginning. That in itself is quite an acting feat, in the midst of such goings on. But besides being an intelligent and quite appealing actress, Turner also has the advantage of a witty script. It fulfills some of our romance/adventure expectations, while turning others on their heads.
Having a female main character in a movie like this is refreshing enough. But we're actually given an interesting person as well. She grows and changes during the course of the movie (quite a rarity in adventure movies). In the clever beginning segment, Joan is presented as a klutzy, shy and sheltered type. But by the end, she has become a woman who can take care of herself quite nicely when matched up against forbidding terrain or powerful, evil villains.
Jack's character is not as successful as Joan's. Douglas looks just fine as a romantic hero, but his personality doesn't fit the demands of such a lightweight story. Indiana Jones is obviously who he is modeled after, but he doesn't have Harrison Ford's gift for the tongue-in-cheek. Since Joan holds center stage throughout the movie, however, Douglas' shortcomings aren't too important.
Among the minor characters, Danny DeVito is a real gem, worth at least as much as the giant emerald everyone's after. He is one of the kidnappers, the legman of the team who goes after the map while his cousin guards Joan's sister. His perpetual exasperation and marvelous body language are as much a treat on the big screen as they were on TV's "Taxi."
Romancing is a good family movie, with a couple of warnings taken into consideration. There is a fair amount of rude language, but it's pretty mild by today's cinematic standards. One of the bad guys also meets a graphic and gory (although well-deserved) end. These scenes might bother some kids, or their parents. One reason this violence stands out, however, is that most of the other inevitable mayhem is handled tastefully.
Not being a reader of romances, I can't say if Romancing the Stone is as good as a good Harlequin. But I suspect it's better. It doesn't take itself too seriously, for one thing. And it has a real star going for it in Turner. She has displayed quite a range in her movies so far (Body Heat and Man With Two Brains). I can hardly wait to see what she tries next.
April 18, 1984
You can read my review of the sequel, Jewel of the Nile, here.