Romancing the Stone

Today’s quick review: Romancing the Stone.  A shut-in romance author (Kathleen Turner) is dragged into a world of adventure when her sister is kidnapped.  While traveling to Colombia to deliver the ransom, she finds herself lost in the jungle with only a chance acquaintance (Michael Douglas) to help her.  As the two try to get back to civilization and deliver the ransom, they wind up involved with the search for hidden treasure and the criminals who are after it.  Romancing the Stone is a pleasant blend of romantic comedy and light adventure.  The characters are enjoyable, the premise is just absurd enough to be fun, and the parallels between the author’s life and her romance novels are amusing to watch develop.  The movie dabbles in both of its genres, so don’t expect it to veer too far in either direction.  The romance is gradual, and while it forms the core emotional arc of the film, it is mostly played for comedy.  There is a decent amount of action, but nothing particularly mind-blowing or violent.  Dan DeVito also does a good job as the more sympathetic of the two kidnappers and offers a glimpse into just how badly their own schemes go awry.  Overall, Romancing the Stone is a pleasant watch for a rainy day when you are looking for something light, or when you are looking for a compromise movie to appease a significant other (“Look, honey, it has romance/treasure in it!”).  6.9 out of 10 on IMDB.

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