Romancing the Stone - PG
Common Sense Note
Parents should know that kids will witness plenty of violence, profanity, sexual situations, and disparaging depictions of and references to Latinos in this otherwise well-written adventure movie. The baddest of the bad guys has his hand bitten off by a crocodile which is then completely devoured (off-screen) by a pit full of crocodiles. There's also plenty of swearing, a couple stabbings and gun fights. Breasts are visible through a wet cotton top, and there is a good deal of sexual innuendo. The two leads end up together in bed, though there is no nudity. Latinos are the swarthy, nasty bad guys. The term "Spico" is used by one character to describe Latin Americans.
Families who watch this movie might discuss how stereotypes are used in film. Why are Latinos stereotyped as nasty bad guys in this movie? What effect did their stereotyping have on how you perceived them? How are stereotypes useful to filmmakers? How are they harmful to the groups being stereotyped? Even if you are aware that characters are being stereotyped, do you think seeing those portrayals impact how you perceive those groups?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Randy White
This well-written action-adventure movie is laced with a sharp sense of humor. The score is also fun, if a bit heavy-handed in a 1980s, "Miami Vice" sort of way.
Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas play a mismatched couple who discover love and fortune in the jungles of South America. The leads have real on-screen chemistry and the movie has just the right amount of rough-and-tumble action. This one is for both action-adventure fans and those who like their stories peppered with passion.
Joan Wilder (Kathleen Turner) is a famous romance novelist, starved for adventure and love in her own life. When her sister is kidnapped, Joan heads to Columbia on a rescue mission and meets Jack Colton (Michael Douglas), a gruff adventurer who helps her escape the various bad guys who want her for a treasure map her dead brother-in-law sent her.
As they make their way through the jungle, Jack romances Joan, but his intentions are dubious because he wants the treasure for himself. The two find the buried treasure, only to have Ralph (Danny Devito) and corrupt police officials hot on their trail. Joan heads for Cartegena to save her sister and Jack shows up, as promised. A battle ensues between the various factions, and Jack swims off to retrieve the jewel. Joan returns to New York, thinking she'll never see Jack again.
With jungle vine swinging and mudslides down mountainsides, this is a rough and tumble action-adventure story in the spirit of Raiders of the Lost Ark. And for those who want just a little more, Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas generate plenty of sparks.
The movie also has a delicious tongue-in-cheek quality, with plenty of hilariously incongruous moments. In one segment, Jack and Joan are nearly killed in a small Colombian village, only to be treated like royalty after the head bad guy discovers that she is the Joan Wilder, his favorite author.
Kathleen Turner is great as the mousy woman with a hidden spirit of adventure. One 13-year-girl loved her and greatly enjoyed the movie overall. The action kept her glued to the screen and she thought the romance was "fun, not sappy." Michael Douglas is equally strong as the handsome rogue who does the right thing by Joan despite his self-preservationist instincts. The jury is still out on Douglas's dancing abilities.
It's also nice to see two leads who look great, but don't possess super-human, sculpted physiques. If this movie had been made in the 1990s, these two actors would have been required to spend many more months in the gym prior to filming.
Turner and Douglas were reunited in Jewel of the Nile, the weak sequel to Romancing the Stone.
Rate It!
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Sexual ContentBreasts visible through a wet cotton top. A good deal of sexual innuendo -- like a man's face landing in a woman's lap. The two leads end up together in bed -- no nudity. |
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ViolenceA couple stabbings and plenty of gun fights. The baddest of the bad guys has his hand bitten off by a crocodile which is then completely devoured (off-screen) by a pit full of crocodiles. |
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LanguagePlentiful swearing, including "gd," "bastards," "j-c," and the b word. |
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Social BehaviorLatinos are the swarthy, nasty bad guys. The term "Spico" is used by one character to describe Latin Americans. |
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Drug/Alcohol/TobaccoBurning marijuana to keep warm and jokes about smoking pot back in college. |
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