User reviews

You know when you've done a huge load of dishes and there's lots of dregs stuck in the plug? It might have been part of something nice to begin with but there's no way you'd touch it now. That's True Romance - a gutter trash fiction roller-coaster powered by pop-culture references and overdone Tarantino dialogue. The story and execution are so adolescent and grim that I am surprised that it wasn't actually written and directed by an angry 15-year-old with mental health problems.

Since James Gandofini died a few days ago and since it's actually Tony Scott's birthday today I figured I would give this film another go. Time has not been kind to True Romance, even by 1993 standards the film looks dated. This was the fourth, and last, film Tony Scott made with cinematographer Jeffrey Kimball with whom he always used smoky diffusion to fog up the frame. It doesn't look good.

The story has Christian Slater's comic-book geek get together with Patricia Arquette's dim-witted hooker and go on a killing spree for a pathetic amount of quick, easy money. Apparently it was one half of Natural Born Killer's before Tarantino split it into a new screenplay, but he forgot to distance Clarence and Alabama from Mickey and Mallory. True Romance is a thoroughly ugly, sadistic, mean-spirited, nasty film filled with characters who have absolutely no morals or redeeming qualities (well, Patricia Arquette has a couple attached to her chest). There's no one to root for or identify with. Why should I care what happens to any of these psychopaths? And where's the romance? Making Clarence and Alabama have sex in awkward locations or have them kiss and make-out in every other scene doesn't mean that they are high on love. I'm not feeling any romance with this one. There's no sense of liberation or exciting new chances, just gloom and darkness.

The saving grace comes in the form of many cameos from Christopher Walken, Gary Oldman, Dennis Hopper, and Saul Rubinek (playing, but pretending not to, a Joel Silver-type producer). Chris Penn and Tom Sizemore pop up but they don't get a chance to bring much to the story as it is already building to a climax by that point. I can't recommend this any fans of crime fiction, romantics, or even fans of Tony Scott. Sure the sycophantic Tarantino fans will get a kick out of it, but I doubt I will ever be watching this reprehensible junk ever again.

`True Romance' has got to be the most overrated movie. It has a sensational cast and, what could have been, decent story but it was completely misdirected. There was no nuance in the direction. It was all violence and excess. Christian Slater was a waste and Patricia Arquette was there for her body. There were some bright spots because of the cast. The scene with Dennis Hopper and Christopher Walken was good and could have been great except for the subject matter which I thought was in very poor taste, even for this movie. The movie was made for an audience who would think a couple of hundred thousand dollars would provide a lifetime of happiness and the behavior of the psychopaths in this movie was somehow justified. I did not enjoy this piece of trash.

A movie that is well acted (Dennis Hoppers cameo is brilliant), but its a movie aimed at a peculiar audience. Quite simply...life is not like this...a Mickey Mouse cartoon is nearer to the truth. There is a lot of blood, a lot of killing (which leads to dead bodies.) The "loving" relationship is as fake as relationships can get. This is a world which may exist on a parallel Universe, and thats fine. By the end, I realized i had been watching a film which had dared me to become a believer. I could never believe in this type of slaughter. And all over some white powder. This strangely synthetic movie made a lot of money at the box office. What does that mean? There are a lot of odd, lonely people in the world.

I was a bit disappointed in this movie, i've seen a few Tarantino movies, (i.e. Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown) and i've got to say he isn't at his best here. He includes his usual mixture of dark humor and extreme violence, but i think if Tarantino directed this it would have been quality viewing. Tony Scott should have stuck to directing Military/espionage movies (i.e Crimson Tide and Enemy of the State). Christian Slater does his best to be convincing as the Love addicted Clarence but will only disappoint the viewer. Arquette is on babe duty and i think that draws attention away from the fact that she is a bad actress.

I think what makes this movie interesting is that we get to see big movie star's before they became famous (i.e. Pitt, Gandolfini, Slater, Kilmer).

All in all the script is pure QT, but with Slater and Arquette in the lead roles and with the guidance of Tony Scott, Tarantino might as well disown the movie.

The completely out of place Caribbean style vibes set a pathetic, irritating mood and contaminate the whole movie. I've never saw/heard anything like it - it's just absurd beyond belief.

Stealing, Cheating, Killing. Who said romance is dead? 'True Romance' is a nut case film, in fact, it loves to be one. Quentin Tarantino, who is the official writer of this film, and Tony Scott, who has officially directed this film, were on one trip while making this flick!

'True Romance' is about a newly married couple who screw up big time and get involved with the very wrong guys. The film begins very well, the first 30-40 minutes are interesting and absorbing. But! As soon as the film shows it's real colors, it falls on it's face. Also, the goings-on get too violent and gory, which puts you off completely. More over, the culmination is also a downer. The impact clearly seems missing!

Quentin Tarantino is my favorite filmmaker, I am a huge fan of his. But, I have no option here, but to say this popular faze: When The Mighty Fell! Same goes for Tony Scott.

In the acting department, 'True Romance' gets an ensemble cast, and there are some note-worthy performances. Christian Slater is excellent. Patricia Arquette looks each bit of the character and performs well. Michael Rapaport hams. Christopher Walken & Gary Oldman prove their caliber, yet again. James Gandolfini is fantastic. Late Dennis Hopper is first-rate. Brad Pitt is royally sidelined, and same goes for Val Kilmer.

On the whole, 'True Romance' is a major letdown.

Since "Pulp Fiction" has become such a huge success, the film industry thought it was cool to pen down the name of Tarantino even if he was involved for 5 seconds or less, but this gem is one of the sweet exceptions. It's like the Tarantino-movie Quentin never made as this movie goes down the screen with a very high speed. Clarence (an incredible Christian Slater) is a kind of weirdo who lives in his own dreamworld (he even has Elvis as an imaginary friend) whose life got tumbled up when his colleagues give him a hooker as a present. Clarence first can't believe that Alabama (Patricia Arquette in her best role ever) is the girl of his dreams, she even, likes obscure kung fu-movies but when he finds out that she's a hooker, he decides to show what real love stands for and kills her pimp so they can start a whole new life. The sole thing is that instead of a bag of clothes, Clarence came home with a bag of cocaine. A real cat and mouse play starts with some incredible small roles (Dennis Hopper, James Gandolfini, Samuel L Jackson and an unrecognizable Brad Pitt).