‘Romancing the Stone’ Review: Movie (1984) - Dongguan Island Paradise Group

On March 30, 1984, 20th Century-Fox unveiled Robert Zemeckis’ adventure film Romancing the Stone in theaters. The film, starring Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito, went on to gross $75 million-plus during its theatrical run. The Hollywood Reporter's original review is below:

One of the nicest things about Michael Douglas’ production of Romancing the Stone is that it never pretends to be more than it really is — a rip-roaring adventure yarn with plenty of action, plenty of thrills, a lot of laughs, a few surprises and a pleasantly predictable romance. What makes it several notches superior to most of the competition is that everyone involved seems to have had a particularly clear idea of what he's doing and the determination (and skill) to do it better than just about anyone else. At its core, Romancing the Stone is just a big, dumb movie but, as Pauline Kael might say, it's a movie-movie, telling its tall tale with all the verve and invention that used to keep audiences coming back for more. It's a B movie on a big budget, but for once you have the feeling that not a penny was wasted.

You can tell you’re in for a good time when, as the credits are still being unfurled, we watch what appears to be a parody of a western movie. We soon discover that these are the final pages of a new romantic novel written by our heroine, an eminently successful pulp authoress (Kathleen Turner). We also learn that the lady's love life has been confined to the printed page, her lusty heroines being merely projections of her own dreams and longings. But having established this immediately, screenwriter Diane Thomas plunges her into an adventure of her own. Her sister has been kidnapped and is being held in Cartagena; the ransom is the treasure map which Turner must bring at once to Colombia — or else. … Even before she leaves her New York apartment, it's evident that there are other ruthless killers after the same map.

Once in Colombia, things get rapidly worse. She's directed onto the wrong bus by the sinister Zolo (Manuel Ojeda), and would have been left to perish in the wilderness were it not for the timely arrival of our hero (and producer) Michael Douglas. With diminutive Danny DeVito as a disaster-prone kidnapper, and Zack Norman as his saturnine accomplice who loves crocodiles, it's obvious that one is expected to take these adventures with a ton of salt — all of which will promptly melt away in a ceaseless torrential rain. In Colombia, apparently, it never rains, but it pours.

Director Robert Zemeckis (Used Cars) not only has a total affinity for this sort of nonsense, but delights in adding to it. Romancing the Stone is Zemeckis’ first crack at the big time, but it certainly won't be his last.

Topping the cast, Michael Douglas works with a comic bravado that reveals a range well beyond the intense roles we have come to expect from him and Danny DeVito, as the hood from Brooklyn, is given his first chance on the big screen to deliver in depth his special blend of swagger and frustration. But the real revelation is Kathleen Turner, the sultry, duplicitous siren of Body Heat and Steve Martin's hilariously sexy wife in The Man With Two Brains. Here she changes from a timid, reclusive New York career woman into a daring, resourceful and dauntlessly independent spirit.

Production values for this 20th Century-Fox release are uniformly high, topped by Dean Cundey's often breathtaking photography, whether shooting in Mexico or Manhattan. His final shot of a boat sailing south on Park Avenue must be seen to be believed. Alan Silvestri has contributed a jolly, jazzy score, but one that turns effectively ominous or romantic as required; while the editing, credited jointly to Donn Cannbern and Frank Morriss, flows swiftly and smoothly from one tension point to the next. Credit also production designer Lawrence G. Paull for the film's truly sumptuous look. With Fox already giving Romancing plenty of hard sell, it has every possibility of going through the roof this spring. — Arthur Knight, originally published on March 26, 1984.