Romancing the Stone

Ah, who doesn't love an 80's action adventure? Action, adventure, and humor blends to perfection in this 80's classic.

'Romancing the Stone' certainly is a fun ride - from beginning to end. They just don't make them like they used to. The chemistry between Douglas and Turner is wonderful, and is the key element to making this good old-fashioned romantic adventure comedy work. Funnyman Danny de Vito was also wonderful!

Being a comedy, not everything has to be realistic and justified. There are instances when they dodge bullets or escape when it shouldn't be possible, but in the name of adventure one can easily overlook these flaws. 'Romancing the Stone' is a feel-good, laugh-out loud, hold on to your seat adventure ride to enjoy again and again. I absolutely love this!

Years later and a knowing glance or a strong saxophone riff will take you back to the eighties. Small cast with solid performances by all and it really was a joy to watch all over again.

I love this movie. I'm sure that it's in my top-ten somewhere, because ever since I was a kid, I've never gotten sick of watching it. The premise is one of those that's just so damn crazy it actually works. It starts with a successful romance novelist, Joan Wilder, who has just finished her last book, but lacks the sort of love-life that she writes about. When she learns that her sister has been kidnapped and is being held hostage, she takes off to South America to help her out. It seems that the kidnappers want a treasure map that is in Joan's possession. Joan is very much a city girl and doesn't fully realize the bind that she and her sis have gotten themselves into. Once in South America, she takes the wrong bus, which breaks down in the South American jungle. When she's held up by a corrupt Police Chief, a very rugged, unshaven, shot-gun toting, Michael Douglas (Jack Colton) shows up and kicks some ass. See, Jack is a bird-trapper who wants nothing more than enough cash to buy himself a yacht. Realizing that Joan is lost in the jungle and fully incapable of surviving on her own, Jack agrees to take her to the nearest town for $300 in travellers' checks, so off they go. By now, we've learned that besides the two goons who've kidnapped Joan's sister (one of which is Danny DeVito in one of his funniest roles EVER) the South American police are after the map as well. Everyone wants what's at the end of the map. What follows for the next hour and a half is one of the most exciting and funny action/adventure movies ever filmed. Michael Douglas is absolutely perfect in the role of Jack Colton and delivers some of the funniest one-liners I've ever heard. Kathleen Turner is equally great as the naive romantic and, as always, she looks great. A great script is brougth to life perfectly by Robert Zemeckis and his direction is air-tight. Please go watch this movie, even if you've seen it a hundred times already......"Oh YEAH!!!! Now that's a campfire!!!!

"Romancing the Stone" came out just 3 years after "Raiders..." and in my mind is cemented as one of the great "watchable" movies, one of the very best "adventure/comedies" of all time. The on-screen chemistry between Michael Douglas (39 during filming) and Kathleen Turner (29 during filming) is wonderful, both playing their parts flawlessly. It is most likely the movie that made Douglas a big star. I can't tell you how many times, with my children, I watched this movie, and still when I watch it alone, almost like it was the first time.

Probably my favorite moment is when Joan and Jack are in the small village and surrounded by Columbian thugs with guns and he says, "OK Joan Wilder, write us out of this one." As soon as they recognize Joan Wilder as the author they love, for her romance novels, they are welcomed into the group.

The movie was directed by Bob Zemeckis who also did 'Forest Gump' and the 'BTTF' movies, among others, and he is just good at adventure types of entertaining movies.

Years ago I wanted to own the DVD and now I do.

Edit: 2019 - Now owning the DVD and I have continued to watch it every two or three years, something about it never gets old or tiresome.

Edit: 2024 - My wife and I just watched it again, part of what makes this such a good movie is each section is like a very short movie in itself and strung together to tell an exciting story. And the final scene is just so perfect considering everything that came before it.

Great action comedy adventure from the mid 80's starring Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner and Danny De Vito. Douglas and De Vito are great but to me the film belongs to Kathleen Turner, she's fantastic and looks absolutely stunning. Its also very well directed from the future director of Back to the Future and Forrest Gump amongst others. Its often mentioned as a rip off of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom but I don't really think it is that apparent, the scenes in the Jungle at the start of the film are really good especially when they find the crashed plane "There's nothing like a good fire"!!!. Danny De Vito is really funny as the comic relief and his cousin has some funny lines "Look at them snappers, would ya". My only small complaint is the romantic stuff is a little corny but I suppose thats for the female audience. They followed this up with "Jewel of the Nile" just a year later! Sadly like most sequels it wasn't nearly as good as this, actually its not really worth bothering about unfortunately, Douglas, Turner and De Vito also teamed up again in another film "War of the Roses" but that film has no connection with this or Jewel of the Nile. So if you haven't seen Romancing the Stone look out for it, it's excellent.