Rating: 
Summary: Movie and DVD Review.
Review: "Romancing The Stone" is a fantastic movie that is hilarious, romantic, and action-packed. Kathleen Turner stars as Joan Wilder, a romantic novelist who travels to Colombia to find her kidnapped sister, but met and fell in love with Jack Colton, a fortune seeker played wonderfully by Michael Douglas. Danny DeVito is amusing in his supporting role as Ralph, one of the villians from the movie. The picture and sound quality from the DVD are very good, however, there are no extras except for the trailer. I hope that someone will re-release it on the Special Edition or maybe the Ultimate Edition with a lot of features including the commentary, the featurette, the documentary, the deleted scenes, and the photographs. But anyway, it's a fantastic movie. Followed by a great sequel.
Rating:
Summary: gets better every time
Review: I first saw this movie when I was about 10 and the babysitter was flipping through channels. Needless to say, I still love it, and I decided to buy it because there's only so many times you can borrow a movie from the library. Adventure! Danger! Comedy! Romance! What else is there to say?
Rating: 
Summary: Dated ,but fun and memorable
Review: I saw this film for the first time when I was 10.I loved it and seen it thousands of times! However,as the years went by,I do not enjoy it at the same level I did then,but I have to mention that this is a picture I have respect for.This picture delighted millions of moviegoers. This film had many immitators like MIRACLES and JAKE SPEED(which is the most obvious example).This kind of explains the fact that ROMANCING THE STONE seemed to have started the trend for all those typical 80s adventure movies.The plot is about Joan Wilder(Kathleen Turner), a romance novelist,who goes to Colombia to ransom her sister with a map that leads to a jewel.There,she meets Jack Colton(Michael Douglas),an adventurer and free spirit.He helps her get to her sister and,naturally,they fall fall in love,and run into all sorts of trouble.Danny DeVito is hilarious as Ralph.People who have never seen this film will probably enjoy it.Good perfomances by all three leading actors.Besides,this film is superior to those imitation films that did not remain memorable.This one,although dated,is well known as "the film with the crocodiles and the green stone".Followed by THE JEWEL OF THE NILE.
Rating:
Summary: Is this the bus to Car-ta-hay-na?
Review: I'm busy reviewing all my 5-star movies, and this is definitely one of them! In my book, any movie that involves a gem, a jewel or a stone, whether it be stealing one, looking for one or just plain wearing one is a great movie! (Just think of the ones you know!)
Michael Douglas, refreshingly, plays Jack "Trustworthy" Colton, a romantic hero, of sorts (instead of his usual oversexed baddish good guy,) who, for $375 in traveler's checks (as long as they're American Express) agrees to help Kathleen Turner as Joan Wilder, a hopeless romantic romance novelist who is just waiting for her romantic hero to arrive, follow some sort of Columbian treasure map to the El Corazon stone before all the bad guys hurt her sister!
But, really, the best part of this movie, other than "El Corazon," are all the other guys, bad and good, and there's lots and lots of them! Starting with Gloria, Joan's publisher. What a woman--the scene in the bar where Gloria and Joan are drinking 'grasshoppers' of all things, and Gloria is perusing the available men--absolutely funny! And when she tries to persuade Joan from going to Columbia--really, really good! Then, there's Danny DeVito and his cousin Ira--"they're not two people, they are...one...person." Then there's Zolo, "the butcher" who killed Joan's sister Elaine's husband. What a meanie! And he gets what he deserves, don't worry! And lastly, there's Juan, the Bellmaker ("Bellmaker, my as*! You know that fuselage we slept in last night? That was probably one of ol' Juan's lost shipments.") He just loves Joan Wilder and reads all her books, with many copies, hates phones, but sets out to help Joan and Jack in his "lil' mule, Pepe!" What fun!
Probably my only gripe about this movie/DVD (and I owned and watched the VSH version many times before upgrading to DVD) is that there are three scenes in the original movie that had subtitle translations (two scenes where Zolo is talking to his men and a particularly funny line when Zolo is talking to DeVito's character about the French.) Now, if you don't know what these guys are saying because you can't translate the Spanish or the French, then it's really lost here. I find this to be a gross deletion on the DVD! It's like bleeping out a few lines...and who wouldn't consider that defective and flawed. I would even buy a re-release of this DVD if they would just put those subtitles back in!
But that complaint aside, this is definitely a 5-star romantic treasure-seeking funny adventure that you can re-watch a hundred times and really enjoy it!
See also: The sequel "Jewel of the Nile" is not as good, with a nice twist on "the jewel," returning characters of Gloria and DeVito, and Joan is pretty over-the-top ditzy, but it's worth seeing and maybe owning if you absolutely love "Romancing the Stone." It does have a very Middle Eastern flavor, so if the terrorist attacks of 2001 have you a bit uneasy, this may not be a good one to see.
Rating:
Summary: Great movie!
Review: Joan Wilder, romance novelist, is on her way to Columbia after obligating herself to free her hostage sister at the price of a Columbian treasure map. After arriving in Columbia and taking the wrong bus, which then crashes and whose passengers leave without her, Joan finds herself lost and at the mercy of a man who wants her dead. Rescused by Jack Colton, a rough and jaded man working for his lifelong dream, Joan offers all she has in exchange for his help. After many rip-roaring adventures through Columbian countryside and city -- chasing after expensive stones, dodging private armies, and searching for Joan's sister -- Joan finds herself falling in love with Jack, only to find that in the end his "charm" might have been all a romantic trick of Jack's scheming in order to get the treasure for himself...
Pros:
- The main characters are really believable. Their personalities are realistic and they develop throughout the film. Joan is a girl who has only ventured to dangerous missions via her novels and is forced to learn how to adapt to new changes. Luckily, she invokes a wit she once reserved only for her writing and pulls through very nicely. Jack is a fairly greedy, raw, and jaded man without much respect for anyone. Somewhat caustic but somehow charming, Jack learns how to share his dream with Joan, a somewhat kindred spirit.
- Joan is a great female lead. She has her share of the action, she's intelligent, and she's brave despite her lack of experience.
- The humor is well-done -- the movie is more action / adventure-based than humor, but there are some hilarious scenes woven in that have me laughing everytime I watch the movie.
Cons:
- The romance happens a little too quickly. I understand that it has to happen or else -- wow, no movie -- but it was a little patchy / iffy and the development was way too fast. I would have rather had a longer movie or the same movie divided into two longer halves.
- Some of the scenes are a little predictable, but even then I'd say they're pretty good.
Overall Review: The movie starts off in a sequence of one of Joan's books, instantly giving the watcher a view on Joan's character without boring explanations or drawn-out cuts. From that the movie switches into several more scenes during which one gets to know Joan, her life, and her work before seamlessly fading into the action. Once Joan introduces herself to Columbia and her ineptness at meshing into the culture there -- even for the excuse of finding her sister -- Joan continues to be her headstrong self and convinces Jack to help her, despite the sacrifice she makes. Bound and determined, Joan makes her way across Columbia all the while executing fun -- somewhat predictable -- action and learning how to trust Jack despite her fear of being abandoned.
The action isn't quite as riveting and epic as, say, Indiana Jones, but then again the characters are well done and one of my favorite points of this movie is that the hero is a fairly average and very clever female rather than the typical witty, godlike male hero. The characters are easy to connect with, the plot -- albeit fairly simple -- is fun and easy to grasp. I laughed more than once, "awwed" more than once, and watched more than once. This movie is definitely worth buying.
Re-watchable?: Yes!
Rating:
Summary: "Ahhh! God D*** it, the Doobie Brothers broke up!"
Review: Not much of a fan of either Douglas or Turner, but the "suits" could not have made better choices in their stars. As usual, Danny DeVito takes his part, makes the most of it, and pretty much owns whateve scene he is in. Much better than the sequel, it's worth seeing and owning.
Rating:
Summary: It Deserved More Oscar Nominations
Review: ROMANCING THE STONE is a movie about a writer of romance novels who lives alone with her cat in New York City. She is summoned to Columbia to deliver a package which will save her sister from kidnappers. Soon after she arrives in South America she is rescued during a jungle shootout by a daring American expatriot.From that point on the excitement begins in earnest.Kathleen Turner plays the part of the writer and Michael Douglas has the role of her knight in shining armor. Danny Devito gives one of his best performances as a kidnapper. The cast also includes Zack Norman, Alfonso Arau, Manuel Ojeda, Holland Taylor and Mary Ellen Trainor. The director was Robert Zemeckis and the screenwriting was handled by Diane Thomas. Neither one repeated for the sequel, THE JEWEL OF THE NILE, which was not quite as good in my opinion. ROMANCING THE STONE received only one Oscar nomination and that was for Best Editing. I was surprised because I thought it was one of the most entertaining movies I ever saw. The big winner of Oscars in 1984 was AMADEUS. Diane Thomas received a Writers Guild of America Award for her work on ROMANCING THE STONE. Ten years later Robert Zemeckis finally won a Best Director Oscar for FORREST GUMP.
Rating:
Summary: Mis-treated Gem
Review: Romancing The Stone is one of the best romantic comedies to come out of the 80's. Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner are perfect in the lead roles of novelist Joan Wilder and adventurer Jack T. (trustworty) Coleton. The story takes us from the streets of New York to the jungles of South America ... The trip is anything but smooth, but the laughs are plenty as Danny DeVito playing the much abused kidnapper keeps thing stirred. The DVD looks really good, however there's missing sub-titling... Also, this film should have been given more extras. I'm sure that there was some footage left for a gag reel, especially with Danny DeVito and a commentary would have been nice too. Maybe Fox will see the error of it's ways and do a special edition of a sleeper hit that has retained all it's lustre.
Rating:
Summary: Romantic Comedy Adventure: Turner And Douglas
Review: This 1984 film was the first that brought together the incredible on-screen chemistry of Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas. The film, a romantic and comic version of the Indiana Jones films, involves a romance novelist (Kathleen T) and how she gets wrapped up in a hunt for a rare and valuable diamond. As her love interest and her partner in the search is Michael Douglas. At first, the two don't get along very well. Their fighting and bickering as well as game-playing (they each plan to dump the other and take the diamond for themselves) is only an overture to the subsequent romance and passion that overwhelms them. At the end of the movie, they are on a boat on top of a car in New York City headed for a romantic world travel adventure. This movie also stars Danny Devito (this team- Turner, Douglas and Da Vito would later make War Of The Roses which was a darker comedy about a nightmare divorce). Danny DeVito is hilarious as he is a shlemiel. The location was shot in South America, specifically Columbia, and the lush scenes of photographic landscapes - jungles, rivers, waterfalls, rapids and villages, make this a very engaging adventure story. Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas are really great together and it is the real salvation of the movie. For Turner's character, her life becomes an adventure and a romance as any of the novels she has written. Highly enjoyable, very comedic and never aging, this movie is a welcome fill for any space in your DVD collection. On DVD, it's even better. Greater color and sound, picture quality and bonus feature such as insight on the film, the actors and commentary.
Rating:
Summary: A Happy Time at the Movies
Review: This film from director Robert Zemeckis (Contact, Forrest Gump) is about as much fun as you can have at the movies. Like the underrated "High Road to China" it is old-fashioned 1930's style adventure. We don't see this kind of film getting made anymore, so luckily this one is readily available. It's fantastic. It's a comedy/adventure with something for everyone. New York novelist Joan Wilder (Kathleen Turner) writes these grand adventure stories for women with heroines who always seem to meet that perfect adventure minded hero she can not. When her sister is kidnapped in Columbia she attempts to ransom her with a treasure map to a fabled green jewel. In doing so, she enlists the aid of real action adventurer Jack 'Trustworthy' Colton (Michael Douglas). But Jack isn't quite like the heroes of her books! Douglas is terrific as the crude and jaded 'hero' and con man who really wants that map! The trouble is, so does his rival Ralph. Danny DeVito is very funny as the all so slimy Ralph, who will stop at nothing to get that map. Jack may really want it, but Ralph really, really wants it! Add the very sexy Turner into the mix, sprinkle in a dash of romance, and you have a very entertaining film for everybody. Though this movie was actually filmed in Mexico you'd never know it. The jungles are lush and wondrous, a veritable cornucopia of tropical beauty. Turner is gorgeous, Douglas is rugged, and DeVito is, well, DeVito in this really fun film. There is a great "feel" to this film we don't get anymore at the movies. The only thing you need to beware of when buying this one is the bad guys and the Crocs!
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