Everyone knows who Quentin Tarantino is and if they don't know him by name chances are they have heard of Pulp Fiction at least. Tony Scott is also a well known filmmaker with 80's staples such as Top Gun and Days of Thunder as well as recent films Man on Fire, Deja Vu, and the newly released The Taking of The Pellham 1 2 3. As filmmakers they are quite different, Tarantino making non linear disjointed films full of pop culture references and odd situations. Tony Scott on the other end of the spectrum with more action oriented films with explosions while still retaining intelligence. Despite their differences with Quentin Tarantino's excellent script and Tony Scott's flashy directing the two come together to create something beautiful, the end result is True Romance.

Clarance is a lonely comic book salesman who has a love for Elvis and a taste for kung fu movies. Out of the blue a beautiful women Alabama falls in love with him.  She immediately comes clean with him admitting she is a call girl hired to have sex with him since his boss thinks he needs to get laid. She also tells him she loves him and Clarance loves her back.

While this is a mostly action movie at its core it is a love story between Clarance and Alabama and it is one crazy story. Clarance and Alabama marry and Clarance decides to save her from her life of prostitution and kill her pimp Drexel. After making a bold move and killing him and his friends Clarance takes a suitcase with him believing it to be Alabama's clothes, what it is in fact is a case full of cocaine. Clarance and Alabama decide to sell it in California and get rich. However, their plan becomes flawed as the owners of the cocaine try to get it back.

It is a strange movie in a lot of ways. The over the top violence that goes completely overboard every few minutes, the crazy characters, and the huge cast of stars that somehow made it on this movie albeit not for too long. And with all of this somehow this film is not that well known or famous and has escaped the mainstream audience. Although this does happen with a lot of good movies (Boondock Saints) but it is a hidden gem that just got overshadowed by Tanantino's and Scotts other works. I couldn't even find this at any rental stores, I had to buy it without having seen it before which I almost never but I'm glad I did, I just wish it was more assessable.

The cast is unbelievable and downright amazing in its own right. Leading is Christian Slater who does a great job as Clarance. He isn't too smart but is certainly clever and has a lot of wits. Patricia Arquette does a good job in her role as Alabama. Her acting is good and she has a lot of charm with it. The rest of the cast is scattered all over the place. Michael Rapaport is funny as Dick Ritchie; a terrible actor who looks like he is right out of the 80's. Dennis Hopper is great as Clarance's dad and shares one of the best scenes in the film with Christopher Walken who also does an amazing job in his short role. Val Kilmer shows up as Clarance's conscience which takes the form of Elvis. Brad Pitt is hilarious in his short role as Dick's stoner roommate who never leaves the couch. James Gandolfini also has a short role but plays a huge part in one of the best parts of the film. His acting in unbelievable and makes the scene. Gary Oldman's character is strangely funny as the pimp, we hate him but he is so odd we are immensely interested in him. There's plenty more actors who are all great in their own right, I liked Chris Penn a lot and Saul Rubinek is great but the list just gets to be endless.

Although the cast is huge and full of stars it never seems to over shadow the movie. It just feels natural and never takes away anything from the film. Aside from the cast and actors one of the films main strength is the music and use of it. The songs are all well picked and the score helps make the movie. If you were to watch this movie on mute it would be half as good, all you would see is some gun shots and violence, there would be no emotion no soul but the music is what gives this movie a heart.

True Romance is a hell of a movie. Gun shots going off, plot changing every five minutes, chaos and confusion everywhere. Its a crazy wild ride where the fun never stops. Some of Tony Scott's directing touches contradict Tarantino's style it never affects the quality of the film. The characters are memorable the plot is intriguing and the cast is one of the most impressive of all time. If you can get past the violence you will find a surprisingly fun movie with a lot of heart to match. The characters are fun to watch and even with all of its over the top violence it is a love story at heart and these kinds of love stories just don't come around enough so its a real pleasure when a film like this gets made. If your a Tony Scott or Quentin Tarantino fan you have probably already seen this if not go find it and buy it, its worth it; a modern classic.

5 stars

And in no way is this a flaw for the movie but the dvd non special edition has no title screen. Just a minor announce at best doesn't ruin the movie just seems odd nowadays.

Christain Slater - Clarance Worley

Patricia Arquete - Alabama

Dennis Hopper - Clifford Worley

Val Kilmer - Mentor

Michael Rapaport - Dick Ritchie

Brad Pitt - Floyd

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older