True Romance (1993)

Dir: Tony Scott

Starring: Christian Slater, Patricia Arquette, Dennis Hopper, Gary Oldman, Brad Pitt, Christopher Walken, Samuel L. Jackson, James Gandolfini

More Info: IMDB

Tagline: Stealing, Cheating, Killing. Who said romance is dead?

Plot: Clarence marries hooker Alabama, steals cocaine from her pimp, and tries to sell it in Hollywood, while the owners of the coke try to reclaim it.






My Rating: 8/10
Would I watch it again? Yup.

I watched this once before probably 12 years ago and I really only remembered one thing: Gary Oldman, Dennis Hopper and Christopher Walken, who all turn in great performances, are in it all too briefly. Make that two things. I can't stand Christian Slater.

12 years later...I still feel the same way except Slater really wasn't too bad in this. For the most part he does a pretty good job. I'm still not a fan of his by any stretch but this movie seems more watchable now then it did then. For me anyway.

If you haven't seen this flick then do so. The cast of names is gigantic. It's great seeing Pitt as a stoner and Gandolfini as a mob enforcer (he's soooo thin) and pretty much everyone else in the picture. Except for Michael Rapaport. I still can't stand guy. He's too much of a spaz. Arquette is surprisingly good, too. Besides, she's pretty easy on the eyes. Director Scott has a nice use of slow motion when Arquette, dressed in a bra, is firing a machine gun. Giggidy!

It's written by Quentin Tarantino and it shows in some spots which is not a bad thing. His characters are very unique and defined and the dialogue is always a star all by itself. There's a now-classic scene where Hopper is being interrogated/beaten by Walken where Hopper tells Walken (of Sicilian ancestry) where Sicilians were bred from. Hysterical and wonderfully acted by everyone involved. And, like all of the Tony Scott pictures I've seen so far, it moves along at a pretty good clip insuring that you don't stay in one place for too long and die of boredom. There's even a great Mexican Standoff at the end that Sam Peckinpah would've been proud of.



It's a fun ride and the 2-disc special edition looks great and had a ton of features including several commentaries with one by Tarantino. I'm looking forward to that one as long as he doesn't spaz out like he usually does. O-Kayyy. O-Kayyy.