Viewed in
2012
Formats
HDTV
Premise
Kathleen Turner plays an American romance novelist who finds herself in Colombia to save her kidnapped sister, where she teams up with a low-life (Michael Douglas).
Liked
Charming cast, cute silliness.
Thoughts
Goofy but entertaining.
I had only known Kathleen Turner for her steamy performance in Body Heat, so I was pleasantly surprised by her comedy chops here. She was very funny and likable as the fish out of water American in the Colombian jungle, though the movie never hesitated to show of her assets. Michael Douglas was also very likable, and frankly, very handsome while rocking the 1980's mane of hair. They made a cute couple.
At times, the slapstick was eye-rolling-ly dumb, but the cast sold it well enough to illicit chuckles with the occasional laugh out loud's. Turner got the biggest laughs from me, once from trying to steer a car that's been washed away in a river, and another time attempting to fight a bad guy a la her novels.
Like I said, the whole thing was rather stupid, with unrealistic coincidences, bumbling bad guys, borderline racial stereotypes, confusing complications, and predictable romantic-comedy schtick. But, all of the silliness came off as earnest, so after awhile, I didn't mind tagging along for the ride.
As a light-hearted action-comedy-romance, it worked. It's full of charm and void of cynicism. If you needed something on in the background on TV, Romancing the Stone would fit the bill.
Personal
Having some experience in film-making, I can't imagine how miserable the shooting experience was. Logistically, we're talking about mountains, rain forests, rapids, mud, rain, all sorts of animals including crocodiles, guns, and vehicle stunts. Mad props to people with the patience to deal with that stuff for weeks.
