Today’s quick review: True Romance. Clarence Worley (Christian Slater), a comic book store clerk with an impulsive streak, meets the love of his life when he bumps into Alabama Whitman (Patricia Arquette), a call girl with the same taste in movies and music. Hoping to make a fresh start for both of them, Clarence kills Alabama’s pimp Drexl (Gary Oldman) and steals a suitcase full of uncut cocaine that will be worth a fortune—if they can sell it.
True Romance is a crime drama and romance about a newlywed couple with half a million dollars in stolen cocaine. Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette star as Clarence and Alabama, whose good chemistry and bad judgment land them at the center of a web of crime and violence. True Romance is a chaotic crime saga with a wry tone and undercurrents of love and loyalty. Its distinctive characters and writing make it a fun pick for the right viewer.
True Romance has the same sprawling plot and skewed perspective as a Tarantino movie, but with a greater sense of restraint. Clarence and Alabama are nobodies until their resourcefulness, their love for each other, and a little bit of luck gives them a shot at happiness. The story follows them as they dabble in drug dealing, shake off the police, and try to stay one step ahead of the mob as they follow their dream.
True Romance handles itself well. The pieces it has to work with are modest: a little love, some quirky dialogue, and characters who are more unhinged than they first let on. The movie’s skill lies in assembling those pieces into a cohesive whole. Clarence and Alabama are easy to like in spite of their bad decisions, and while the scope of the plot isn’t as grand as some crime movies, it’s interesting to watch the threads come together.
The result is an oddly charming movie for viewers who don’t mind a bit of violence. True Romance combines the visceral appeal of a crime drama with the lighter flourishes of a romance or a comedy, yielding a story that’s hard to predict but easy to watch. Fans of violent but upbeat crime movies will find True Romance to be a worthy pick. Sensitive viewers or fans of more conventional heroes will find it a little too far afield.
For a much more violent, surreal movie about a pair of criminals in love, try Natural Born Killers. For a sprawling crime saga in a similar vein, try Jackie Brown, Pulp Fiction, or Way of the Gun. For an action movie with some of the same quirkiness, try Desperado. For a crime comedy with an even more chaotic plot, try Snatch or Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels.
[7.9 out of 10 on IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108399/). I give it a 7.5 for likable characters and a strong plot.