I beg to differ when I hear Kathleen Turner saying that she never should have accepted the role of Joan Wilder. She is fantastic in this movie, and it is a pleasure to watch her go from mousy romance novelist to a woman who can handle herself surprisingly to everybody else in the jungles of Columbia. When she goes there to aide her kidnapped sister, she finds more than she bargained for thanks to her association with adventurer Michael Douglas who saves her from being robbed by the man responsible for her sister's kidnapping.

Turner and Douglas fly down mud slides while she attempts to cross a faulty old bridge and swings the rest of the way across and later bleeds over a pit of hungry alligators. Douglas, initially annoyed by her seeming incompetence, quickly discovers that she learns quickly on her own, and just the dropping of her name alone saves them from being killed. Chasing them is the buffoonish Danny DeVito, working for a secret boss, and the exact kind of imbecile Douglas thought Turner was.

This adventure comedy romance is a shear delight from start to finish, and shows why Turner dominated the 1980's as the most successful female movie star at the box office. It tops the same year's Indiana Jones sequel in thrills and is a much better movie without being gross or headache inducing. Turner's character makes a great turn around, and her character is quite the antithesis of "Body Heat's" Maddie Walker. This is the type of film that you can watch over and over and find new thrills each time. The terrific Holland Taylor adds her usual delicious snark as Turner's agent and confidante.

I certainly wouldn't call Romancing the Stone the best adventure film ever or anything, but it is a truly entertaining and fun one at that. The story is admittedly old-fashioned(and I think purposefully so) but the freshness of the material more than compensates. The gags are very tongue-in-cheek, there are some very clever touches in the writing and the action is breathless. The film is great to watch, there is a terrific score and the direction is fine. Michael Douglas is quite world-weary here and his character is nothing special but he also has a lot of charm about his performance, while Danny DeVito is great fun as the inept kidnapper. But it is Kathaleen Turner's movie, she dazzles in the role, and her chemistry with Douglas is in general very good. In conclusion, a lot of fun. 9/10 Bethany Cox

ROMANCING THE STONE is one of those big 1980s blockbuster movies that haven't dated very well as the years have gone by. For some reason, a lot of '80s films seem more dated than their counterparts that were made back in the 1950s. Still, this one is enjoyable enough if you're in a forgiving mood, even if it is a blatant rip off of RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (and made without that film's wit, charisma, and style).

The story enough is the tried-and-tested romantic-comedy-adventure template: a mismatched duo are on the run from a bunch of nefarious bad guys, who will stop at nothing to get the precious treasure map/jewel/secret treasure/etc. This film wins a lot of charm from the talents of a laid back Michael Douglas, at his charismatic best, and feisty Kathleen Turner, who turns out to be more than a match for the gung-ho hero. Essentially the plot sees them escaping from the bad guys in various South American countries, battling jungle flora and fauna as well as each other. Danny DeVito pops up for some comic relief and the bad guys are suitably sinister.

Don't expect much from the script. Sparks fly from the Douglas and Turner characters but that's about it. There's a lot of contrivances and coincidences along the way which you have to take with a pinch of salt. There's nothing particular memorable or surprising here but as a light hearted romp it's fairly watchable and enjoyable.