Joan Wilder is a mousy but famous romance novelist and she receives a treasure map in the mail from her recently murdered brother-in-law. Soon after her sister Elaine is kidnapped in Colombia. The two criminals responsible for her kidnapping demand Joan travel to Colombia to exchange the map for her sister. Joan quickly leaves for Colombia and she immediately becomes lost in the jungle after being waylaid by Zolo. He is a vicious and corrupt Colombian cop who will stop at nothing to obtain her map. While in Columbia, she meets an irreverent soldier-of-fortune Jack Colton. He agrees to bring her back to civilization. Together, they embark upon an adventure that could be straight out of Joan's novels!! Though described by some film critics as a "rip-off" of 1981’s Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, the original screenplay had actually been written five years earlier around 1979.
In this movie there is violence, profanity, sexual situations and stereotypical depictions of and references to Latinos. Except for these events this is a well-written adventure movie. The meanest of the bad guys has his hand bitten off by a crocodile. The hand is then completely devoured (off-screen) by a pit full of crocodiles. There's also a fair bit of swearing, a couple of stabbings and gun fights. Breasts are visible through a wet cotton top and there's plenty of sexual innuendo. The two leads actors end up together in bed but there's no nudity. Latinos are all portrayed as swarthy and nasty bad guys. The term "Spico" is used by one character to describe Latin Americans. 5 1/2* (I really liked this movie)
106 min, Action directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Diane Thomas with Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, Danny DeVito, Zack Norman, Alfonso Arau, Manuel Ojeda, Holland Taylor, Mary Ellen Trainor, Eve Smith, Now Nesnow, Jose Chavez, Evita Munoz Chachita, Camillo Garcia, Rodrigo Puebla, Pace Morayta.
Note: Imdb 6.9* out of 1* with 84,232 reviews, Roger Ebert 3*, Rotten Tomatoes 85% with 53 critic reviews 69% with 50,000+ audience scores, Metacritic 63 out of 100 with 17 critic reviews 8* out omg 10* with 38 user scores, Common Sense Media Randy White, 5*, age 12+, 2* positive messages, language, 3* violence, sex, drinking, drugs & smoking, Amazon 4.8* out of 5* with 171 reviews.
Special Note: This was the only produced screenplay for writer Diane Thomas. She had been working as a waitress in Malibu when producer/star Michael Douglas optioned her script for $250,000. This money allowed her to quit her job but sadly, Thomas died in a car accident. She was working on a new movie project with Steven Spielberg the following year, about seven weeks before the opening of this film's sequel, The Jewel of the Nile (1985). She was a passenger while her boyfriend was driving a Porsche that Douglas bought for her as a thank you gift. The Jewel of the Nile was dedicated "In Memory of" Diane Thomas. Studio executives were so sure this film would flop that Robert Zemeckis was preemptively fired from directing Cocoon (1985). It turned out to be such a success that Zemeckis was able to go forward on his own project, Back to the Future (1985).
Mistakes: After Colton decapitates the bushmaster snake in the downed aircraft, Joan asks "is it poisonous?”. A college-educated professional writer should know that while plants might be poisonous and chemicals might be toxic, snakes might be venomous. Comedy villains are notoriously inept when heroes are targeted. Despite knifing the super in Joan's New York apartment up close, Zolo and his army always remain one step behind Jack and Joan in Colombia? They are continually shooting at them from afar and missing? Jack presents Joan with a very elaborate necklace from his pocket. But, when she takes it in her hand, it's a simple charm on a chain?
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