I’ve been meaning to write about this film for ages. The trouble is where do I start? Possibly one of my all time favourites, the diversity of True Romance is impressive, wandering off in so many directions it was made to be watched several times over to appreciate it fully. This is categorised under crime and thriller but it’s also a good showcase of black comedy. AGH stop waffling Jenny and get on with the plot.
SETTING THE SCENE ==================
The film kicks off with ‘Alabama’ who recently moved from Florida to Detroit as a call girl, working under the sleazy no morals Drexl. Soon enough, she gets set up for a date with lead character ’Clarence Worley’ for his birthday, a Billy-no-mates-Elvis loving-comic book worker. They go to the cinema, eat some pie, spend the night together and both live happily ever after.
Well, not quite. They do fall in love, but when Clarence finds out about Drexl the pimp, he goes straight to Drexl’s brothel empire to grab Alabama's stuff so they can get the hell out of there and start a new life together. Drexl is not a happy bunny about this and after a few bloody (but comical) scenes, Clarence runs off with Alabama's suitcase only leaving his drivers license in the hands on a less than happy Drexl. D’oh!
So, the happy love story soon turns nasty. You
see Clarence picked up the wrong suitcase, only to find out it’s crammed with cocaine. This happens to belong to a circle of gangsters with a highly respected leader ‘Vincenzo Coccotti’. D’oh again. Intent on making their fortune, the happy couple make their way to L.A. unaware of the people that are literally after their blood. To top it off, the police get wind of the goings on and join in the party. The film becomes a roller coaster of a ride, with Clarence and Alabama trying to make contacts in the film industry to sell the troublesome case of cocaine. With the inclusion of ‘Dick Ritchie’ the wannabe actor, ‘Elliot Blitzer’ the bumbling movie agent and a film guru, everyone's lives are at stake, most of them unaware as they get caught up in the complex world of the film.
Come on, I can’t reveal any more than that, you just have to see it to believe it and appreciate the madness. There’s no way I can do this film justice. Especially when Clarence occasionally gets a visit in the bathroom from Elvis in times of crisis.
ROLL THE CREDITS =================
Wow, what a cast. Whoever did the casting deserves a medal. Each actor seems perfect for their chosen role. Leading the line up are Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette as the innocent Clarence and Alabama who only want a better life. One of my favourite actors Gary Oldman plays the evil Drexl, he may be typecast as the bad guy, but who cares when he does it so convincingly? Blimey, with those dreadlocks and jewellery you can barely recognise him. You even get Dennis Hopper playing Clarences dad, how’s that for value for money?
For the L.A. scenes, you get the hilarious dope smoking bum ‘Floyd’ perfectly portrayed by Brad Pitt, adding a lot of the comic elements to the film. Feared gangster boss Vincenzo is none other than Christopher Walken. There are not enough scenes with Walken for my liking, but you can’t have everything. If you’re lucky you might even spot the cameo appearance from Samuel L. Jackson near the beginning as ‘Big Don’ before he meets his fate. Who plays Elvis? Val Kilmer. Of course. Even though you can’t see his face. Moving on swiftly...
See I told you the line up was impressive and there are no duds there, all the acting is top notch in my opinion. The script is actually by none other than Quentin Tarantino (hence the violence). Apparently he sold the script to fund the equally brilliant ‘Pulp Fiction’. Just a useless bit of trivia there for you.
As for directing, Ridley’s brother Tony Scott (‘Top Gun’, ‘Last Boy Scout’) takes the lead. Well Tony, you did a good job. The soundtrack is a mixed bag of tracks by Soundgarden, Charles and Eddie (eek) and a xylophone score by Hans Zimmer (responsible for the soundtrack to ‘Gladiator’).
ALL IN ALL...... ==========
......a superb example of no-brain-required pure entertainment. True Romance manages to keep you hooked all the way through, has its ups and downs in the emotions department managing several laughs, several ‘oh my God’ surprises and you really get attached to the good guys. They’re not nauseatingly perfect, they’re just you’re average couple in love who get caught up in a dangerous world unknown to them. There are so many personality clashes making the story complex so that’s why I advise to watch this more than once. It’s a case of the more you watch it, the more you notice. Violent yes, but in the end lovable. Even the cheesy sunset ending is forgiven as it leaves you with that feel good factor we all need once in a while.
I’m sure you’ve heard this before in other opinions, but the scene that stands out from the crowd has to be the one on one conversation between Walken and Hopper. Walken is just about to kill Hopper, who knows this and decides to really get on the mob boss’s nerves by stating that his Italian roots are based around ‘niggers’ (his words not mine!).
I’m going to have to go and watch it now, I need a laughter injection. Administered by Floyd no doubt.
Production Year: 1996 - Action/Adventure - Director: Tom Clegg - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring:Daragh O'Malley, Oliver Cotton, Jason Durr, Sean Bean, Allie Byrne
Production Year: 2002 - Action/Adventure - Director: Vincenzo Natali - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring:Lucy Liu, David Hewlett, Anne Marie Scheffler, Joseph Scoren, Matthew Sharp, Jeremy Northam
Production Year: 2008 - Action/Adventure - Director: Christopher Nolan - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring:Maggie Gyllenhaal, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine
Production Year: 1977 - Action/Adventure - Director: Clint Eastwood - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring:Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Pat Hingle, William Prince, Bill McKinney
Production Year: 1964 - Action/Adventure - Director: Cyril Endfield - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Michael Caine, Nigel Green
Though these sort of films aee not my first choice to watch but some of them do stand out but anyway another good OP
PS as for the tittle would I xxxxx Elvis - No but if someone can arrange it with Gillian Anderson then please let me know ASAP!!
wiggglypufff 04.09.2001 17:50
Well written and very enjoyable op. I enjoyed this film, but then again, anything with Christian Slater in it goes down well with me. Thanks, karen
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![True Romance (1993) [DVD]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78537458.jpg "True Romance (1993) [DVD]")
Aug 29th, 2001
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