Director: Tony Scott

Producers: Bob Weinstein, Harvey Weinstein

Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino

Starring: Christian Slater, Patricia Arquette,   Dennis Hopper, Gary Oldman, Christopher Walken, Val Kilmer, Brad Pitt, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Rapaport, Tom Sizemore, Chris Penn, James Gandolfini

MPAA: R

Arguably no other movie of the 90′s was as wrongfully overlooked as the Tony Scott directed True Romance. Film students and buffs aside, few people I know have actually even heard of this one, and as a result I’ve spent considerable time explaining to friends and family why they must, before they die, watch the damn thing. (If ignored, I’m not above placing them in headlocks to get their attention, or otherwise immobilizing their bloated, ignorant carcasses.) 

The story follows a young and quick-tempered little smart-ass by the name of Clarence Worley (Slater) and the whirlwind romance he strikes up with a prostitute,  Alabama Whitman (Arquette). 

Of course this is Tarantino, and that’s only where the complications begin. There’s also a deranged white pimp who thinks he’s black (a nearly unrecognizable Gary Oldman), a serious mix-up with a suitcase full of cocaine, a pissed off crime family who wants it back, guy-on-girl violence, girl-on-guy violence, gunfights, beatings, rollercoasters, puke, Dennis Hopper, and quite possibly one of the single greatest (and most unnerving) scenes in Christopher Walken’s career. Oh, and did I mention Elvis Presley? Yeah, he’s in there too.

So it strikes me as surprising, and a little bit sad, that it took this one so long to get the recognition it deserves, and even now it’s only known in the small circles that have actually seen it. Writer Quentin Tarantino, who showcases his usual knack for  breathing life into slam-bang action sequences and oddball characters with hefty amounts of memorable dialogue, was still a relative newcomer in the early nineties, and actually sold the screenplay to True Romance to fund his own directorial debut in Reservoir Dogs. But don’t let the fact that he didn’t direct this one deter you; of the fortunate souls who’ve been coerced by yours truly into watching this hidden treasure, not one ever leaves disappointed. Though sometimes they leave bruised…

But what are you still reading this for?

Go watch the f***ing movie.

RATING: 5 out of 5