Diane Thomas wrote the screenplay and it was not just her first screenplay but apparently her first real attempt at writing. There’s not much chance of a first-time screenplay getting picked up by a major studio but somehow Michael Douglas got to read it and fell in love with it. At the time Douglas was concentrating on his career as a producer and he knew he just had to produce this movie.
Then came another stroke of good luck. He could not persuade any actor to take the lead role so he was forced to play the role himself. Of course he turned out to be perfect and this movie established him as a very major star.
Getting Kathleen Turner as his co-star was a definite bonus. Hiring Robert Zemeckis to direct proved to be a smart choice.
Now she gets involved in an adventure of her own. Her sister is being held hostage in Colombia. The kidnappers don’t want money. They want a map that is in her possession. It is a treasure map. Joan will have to deliver the map to her sister’s captors.
She arrives in Colombia and everything goes wrong. It’s bad enough being up against ruthless kidnappers but she is also up against an evil secret police chief. Everybody wants the treasure (which turns out to be a gigantic priceless emerald).
Joan quickly finds herself in big big trouble and she is stranded in the jungle. Luckily a rescuer appears just in time. His name is Jack Colton (Michael Douglas).
All sorts of dangers and mayhem and narrow escapes follow. Joan and Jack get some help from a friendly cocaine dealer who happens to be a huge fan of Joan’s novels.
Joan and Jack get chased all over the countryside, they fall off cliffs, are swept away by waterfalls, they have to dodge hungry alligators and they get shot at. They get shot at a lot. The action doesn’t let up. I’m not a fan of Robert Zemeckis as a director but this is the sort of thing he could do well.
Douglas’s old buddy Danny de Vito is great fun as one of the kidnappers.
Kathleen Turner is terrific. Joan starts out very demure and very mousey and very nervous. She gradually becomes more confident and glamorous, as you’d expect since she’s now met a handsome hero. Turner is charming and amusing and very very likeable.
The best thing about this movie is the overall concept. Joan writes adventure romances. Suddenly it’s as if she’s living one of her books, and at the end she does in fact turn her real-life adventure into a bestselling romance novel. This is most definitely not one of those movies in which we’re told at the end that it was all a dream. This adventure does happen to Joan. But of course this is a movie and movies are make believe. So it’s like we’re in an alternative reality which is just like an adventure romance novel. We don’t care that the story is far-fetched. That just adds to the fun and the romance.
There’s mayhem but no graphic violence. There’s one very very tame bedroom scene. This is a movie aimed squarely at family audiences and I have no problem with such movie as long as they’re as enjoyable as this one.
It’s a wildly romantic movie but it has enough action and adventure (and humour) to ensure that every viewer is satisfied.
This is just such a fun feelgood movie. Highly recommended.
No comments:
Post a Comment