Directed by Robert Zemeckis
Written by Diane Thomas
Starring Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, Danny DeVito
Runtime: 106 Minutes
Released in 1984
Summary: A romance writer from New York jets to Columbia in hopes of saving her kidnapped sister. Along the way, she finds herself on a wild adventure of thrill and romance!
Do I love this movie? No.
Is it fun? Sure.
Is this the most average title for an exciting picture like this? Absolutely.
So, I’ve been on a romance kick lately. It’s probably because, subconsciously, I am looking to fall in love. Whatever the reason, this routine has led me on a Michael Douglas binge. I’ve already written about BASIC INSCT and now I want to have a gab about ROMANCING THE STONE.
Released in 1984, just three years before I arrived out of my mother, the film tip toes behind similar plot scenarios we’ve seen before; single woman is living alone in search of a fairy tale kind of love. ROMANCING THE STONE contains elements of fun adventure movies like RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK with hints of humor and spirit.
Also, when you’re traveling from New York City, there’s no better place to find love than Columbia with all the marijuana and drug lords you can dream of! Additionally, there are mud slides, endless gun shots, swinging vines and human eating alligators. And… to top it off, there’s sexy American men who pose as the ultimate desperado.
Michael Douglas plays a witty, adventurer; the prototype any single girl would want in their bed. I know I would. He’s confident, he’s sexy and he knows how to weed whack (and I don’t mean in that sense, perverts!). As we watch these two characters walk through tall plants, JACK COLTON (Michael Douglas) whacks down the branches that stand in their way to clear the path ahead.
What I did appreciate about ROMANCING THE STONE, is that this wasn’t the average demeaning “man saves woman” kind of story. In the actions sequences displayed, Jack Colton was not always leading Joan Wilder (Kathleen Turner). Sometimes, she helped him out too and I don’t think the viewer would necessarily expect this. We’re used to a Superman / Louis Lane situation. Superman saves Louis and that’s that.
I think both characters in ROMANCING THE STONE needed rescuing in some way, so their relationship stood on equal ground. They were both lost in their own world; alone and lonely. Finding one another was the common denominator that defined their romance.