True Romance [Director's Cut]

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PLEASE NOTE: This is not a review of the new upcoming DVD special edition of "True Romance". Read more about that edition here.

A little over eight years ago, I took a trip to my local video store to rent a couple of movies. At the time, I used to live in a cold place where it would take a full day in the snow and all uphill getting to the video store. Needless to say, once I got there, it was best advised to make a good choice in picking out a video. Once I defrosted and had a look around, I noticed in the mix of new releases was a Director's Cut of a film named "True Romance." There were only two copies of the film amongst a slew of other new releases. I immediately assumed the film must be god-awful if there were only two copies of it available. Nevertheless, I rented it and took my chances. I have to admit that this was the one time the risk paid off!

Why this film was never a huge box office hit I may never know. In my honest opinion, it should have been. Had it been released today, it most certainly would have the draw it deserves. Of course, at the time, director Tony Scott was coming off a roller-coaster ride of critical flops such as "Days of Thunder" and "The Last Boy Scout," which I'm sure was no help to the box-office draw. After viewing "True Romance," I find it safe to say it is one of Scott's crowning achievements. Now, with it on DVD, it's an even better choice for making a sweet collection to my library. What's even better is that I was able to purchase this movie from my local video store that is within ten minutes walking distance.

The film's premise is directed toward the main characters played by Christian Slater (Clarence Worley) and Patricia Arquette (Alabama Whitman), not to mention a studio-load of cameos from such actors as Val Kilmer, Christopher Walken, Brad Pitt, Dennis Hopper, Gary Oldman, and Samuel L. Jackson. Now, don't let all the cameos confuse you; many of them are brief, but most of them are the best cameos I've seen to date. The story, written by no other than Quentin Tarantino, begins as Clarence (Slater) is celebrating his birthday alone and meets up with a call girl, Alabama (Arquette). Clarence is an obvious redneck loner with a passion for cheap kung-fu films and has hallucinations of Elvis (Val Kilmer) as his mentor. Over a night of hot native sex, Clarence and Alabama fall head-over-heels in love, as one might expect after a night of sex. I know there are times this has happened to me, and at least once, it has lead to marriage. Of course, there were those times I've awakened the next day and wanted to saw my arm off!

Anyway, they fall madly in love and get hitched at the local courthouse, and in this case, it's Detroit. The marriage doesn't sit well with Alabama's pimp daddy, Drexl (Gary Oldman). Clarence takes it upon himself to play the hero and rescue Alabama's belongings from Drexl's whore house. (I should point out that Oldman plays his part so well you can hardly tell it's him.) After an intense fight, Clarence is able to escape with his wife's belongings, but not without slaying Drexl and leaving a bit of evidence of the crime. That's not all, folks--the plot thickens even more. Clarence gets home to Alabama and opens her suitcase only to find it full of cocaine! I could only wish this would happen to me. Just once I'd like to get the wrong piece of luggage at the airport only to find it full of cash or some valuable drugs!

Clarence realizes that there is no way of going back to Drexl's pad, so the only logical thing to do is sell the coke. That would be my plan, but in this case, the coke is really owned by the local mob, who are aware of who Clarence is due to the evidence left at the scene of the crime. Clarence pays a visit to his father, Clifford (Dennis Hopper), to see if anyone knows about the shoot-out at Drexl's. Clifford, an ex-cop, informs Clarence that the cops aren't looking for him, and they think Drexl's death is from something gang related. (Hmmm, note to self: cops don't care to investigate the killings of low-life drug dealers and pimp scums.) Clifford does warn his son that the mob is interested in finding their missing coke, which sends Clarence and Alabama running. Soon after their escape, a very chilling mob hit man, Vincenzo (Christopher Walken), pays a little clarification visit to Clifford about Clarence and Alabama's whereabouts. Walken's cameo, by far, is my very favorite bit in the entire movie!