‘There are schedules to be maintained, even in Colombia….’
There is a reason that the 80s adventure film Romancing the Stone isn’t fondly remembered in the same way as Back to the Future or The Goonies. And that reason is Indiana Jones. Romancing… came out three years after Raiders of the Last Ark and suffers heavily in comparison (as does almost every film in this genre aside from The Princess Bride). Both films contain the search for a priceless artefact. Both films feature a wise cracking male protagonist with a female sidekick (although the roles are arguably reversed here). Both films boast a will they/won’t they romance. The difference is that Michael Douglas is no Harrison Ford and Robert Zemeckis is no Steven Spielberg…
When romance novelist Joan Wilder (Kathleen Turner) finds out her sister has been kidnapped by some foreigns, she must reluctantly trek to Colombia to get her back. On the way she enlists the help of grizzled badass Jack Colton (Douglas) to traverse the jungles of South America. Danny DeVito is also there.
So, to address the elephant in the room, yes this film is similar to Raiders and yes it’s nowhere near as good. The only way to truly enjoy this film is to totally disregard Indiana Jones and enjoy Romancing… for what it is – a lovely slice of 80s nonsense with crocodiles and car chases and all that lovely stuff. Nobody should be thinking too carefully about a film entitled Romancing the Stone. Just watch it. Enjoy it. And never think of it again. That’s great cinema.