True Romance (1993)

"Today Ain't White Boy Day Is It?"

Tony Scott's "True Romance" (1994) is a cocktail mixture of action, drugs, sex and violence rollicking with the heedless enthusiasm of a newborn puppy in a Christmas box. The plot is a miasma of over-the-top situations centering on a comic store clerk and a call girl who fall in love and set about making their mark in the world. The murder of the call girl's pimp and the re-appropriation of his drug stash allow this dynamic duo to attain their dreams, but not without some bumps along the way.

Scripted by Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avary, the film exists in a high-octane and bullet-riddled universe where paper-thin characters thrive with no sense of nagging morality or long term purpose. The viewer never knows what Clarence (Slater) or Alabama (Arquette) want to be, other than a mad dog killer and a gorgeous hooker, or even what they want to do, other than have sex in phone booths and watch Kung Fu movies. In fact, their long-term goal of "getting far, far away" throughout the film is revealed as spending money, making love and lying around on tropical beaches. Does this make the film not worth seeing? No: Quite the opposite.

Once the viewer realizes he is not watching a realistic film but instead a film written for twenty-something college dorm inhabitants, the film can be enjoyed for what it is: an entertaining action movie with lots of crazy dialog, fast-paced antics and bloody situations.

The two stars, Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette, are ideally cast for their roles. Slater effortlessly conveys the bored-out-of-his-mind young man who hasn't grown up and spends his time clerking at a comic book store. As the peppy hooker, Arquette's performance encapsulates the Playboy nymph of a male teendom's dreams: the breezy gal you hope would crash at your pad for a week in Daisy Duke Shorts and halter tops.

The best performances in the film are by Val Kilmer, unrecognizable as the imaginary Elvis, and Brad Pitt, who bumbles along as the stoned-beyond-all-reason roommate that is all too eager to give directions. Dennis Hopper gives a mostly by-the-numbers performance with the exception of a tense yet hilarious speech delivery on Sicilian genetics. Christopher Walken instantly tops the speech and calmly egresses with his usual cool. The icing on the cake is the talented Gary Oldman as a psychotic drug-dealing wacko-path who rants about White Boy Day and is the epitome of urban mayhem.

If you are bored on a Saturday night then I suggest you rent "True Romance" and let the chaotic genius of Tarantino Land wash over you.

Film Rating: **** (four) out of ***** (five) stars. October 3, 2008

the best movie ever

stop reading this review and go and watch the best movie i have ever seen......... September 27, 2008

A good escape from reality movie.

Now that I can go back and watch this movie over and over I can see how utterly ridiculous the plot of the movie is.
I won't give anything away but this movie is so unrealistic it's almost unwatchable.
Why am I giving it four stars then?
Its fun, it's fast, it's got some great actors.
Gary Oldman anyone?
One of his best roles ever as the drug dealer Drexel.
The action is almost nonstop and the script is fast paced, exciting and funny in some places.
Is it a romance movie???
I'd say...........NO!!!
There's nothing romantic about this movie, so for everyone who is saying this is the best romantic movie they'd ever seen????
If this movie is what you consider romantic then your personal lives must be VERY scary indeed!!!
That and I could have done without the OVERUSE OF HOMOPHOBIC SLURS!!!!!!!!!
That is really what kills me most about this movie.
It's old, it's tired, shut it already!!!
I'll recommend this movie for action fans, and people who are not easily offended as there is a ton of violence and gore and well........everything else that offends is in there too.
Oh and one more thing,Brad Pitt is amazing and DID NOT get enough screen time. Otherwise......
A classic? No.
Worth a rental?
Yup.
July 9, 2008

"You are so Cool!!"

"Quentin carried the screenplay for this gem for something like 7 years before he sold it and still my favorite work from him. Everyone cool is in this film, no directing from our Pulp Fiction friend, but I got to read a copy of his screenplay (complete with typos!) while watching it. Spot-on!!"PILATE: A Brutal Bible Tale June 14, 2008

WOW!

It had been quite a while since I had seen True Romance - my VHS tape warped - and I had forgotten just how good it is.
That said, those who have never seen it should be warned that the film is what a friend of mine calls "HARD R-rated". In other words, it is explicit in every sense of an R-rated movie.
The director's cut has few changes that I noticed from the VHS edition I had, with one very noticeable and effective change in the final shootout scene. It is a decided improvement,
The best thing about the two-disk set is all the special features. Those who do not enjoy commentary won't have a lot to cheer about but those who do will be ecstatic. After watching the movie straight through the night the package came in the mail, I went back and watched the individual commentaries on specific scenes by some of the stars-in-smaller-roles such as Val Kilmer and Brad Pitt. Then I watched the deleted or altered scenes with commentary by director Tony Scott. That was terrific. I loved hearing him say things such as, "I wish I'd left that in." A couple of times I wished he had, too.
Then I went back and picked scenes to re-watch with commentary by Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette. Every minute of sleep lost to this marathon was worth it.
Once again, this is not a film for anyone who is offended by four-letters words, graphic violence or blatant sex. I wish that it were less in-your-face R so that I could recommend it to a wider audience. Nevertheless, the acting is flawless, direction on target and some scenes are absolutely brilliant. The sheer number of talented actors whose screen time is minimal is enough to make it worth the running time for serious aficianados of film. April 19, 2008

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