History Film / RomancingTheStone

An AffectionateParody of romantic adventures that also qualifies as an example of the genre. This film was made in 1984 and stars Creator/KathleenTurner, Creator/MichaelDouglas, and Creator/DannyDeVito.

Kathleen Turner plays Joan Wilder, a successful author of mass-market romance novels -- she has a very long-running series centered around the heroine Angelina and her love interest Jesse. Unfortunately, success in her career doesn't translate to success in her love life. Even her publisher chides her on her unrealistic expectations, and accuses her of waiting around for a Jesse of her own.

Unfortunately for Joan, her knowledge of the locale is limited, to say the least. She starts her adventure by boarding the wrong bus on the advice of a not-so-friendly local. It turns out, the kidnappers aren't the only ones interested in her treasure map. Her troubles worsen when her bus crashes, thrusting her right into the path of a mysterious stranger. Little does she know he's the man of her dreams.

* SheCleansUpNicely: Joan. [[spoiler: Jack too.]]
* ShesGotLegs:
** Angelina in the opening sequence, which also conceal a dagger.
** Jack takes a few chances to ogle Joan's legs in the jungle.

[[caption-width-right:320: [[{{Tagline}} She's a girl from the big city. He's a reckless soldier of fortune. For a fabulous treasure,]] TheyFightCrime... uh, make that, [[{{Tagline}} they share an adventure no one could imagine... or survive]].]]

* DeterminedHomesteadersWife: Angelina draws liberally from the archetype.

* AndThenWhat: Joan's run up against this question at the start. Now that she's actually met, romanced and married the hero - what comes next?

* {{Panty Shot}}: You can see what's up Joan's skirt in the scene where they're climbing up rocks.

* RasputinianDeath: [[spoiler:Zolo]] gets the kind of send-off a butcher like him deserves. He gets his hand bitten off by an alligator, face burned with his own cigar, beaten with a wooden slat, set on fire when he falls on a gas lantern, and finally devoured by MORE alligators.

* RasputineanDeath: [[spoiler:Zolo]] gets the kind of send-off a butcher like him deserves. He gets his hand bitten off by an alligator, face burned with his own cigar, beaten with a wooden slat, set on fire when he falls on a gas lantern, and finally devoured by MORE alligators.

* ThoseTwoBadGuys: Ira and Ralph.

* StabTheSalad: A slight variation, since no prop is involved. After bringing Ira the map he wanted in exchange for her kidnapped sister, Joan Wilder has nothing of value left to keep said villain from eliminating her. With the music playing menacingly, Ira growls "Joan Wilder ... you and your sister........ ''(cheerfully, as the music stops)'' are free to go!"

* UnconventionalVehicleChase: One of the chase scenes of this film involves Jack, Joan and Al-Juhara trying to escape Omar's forces in an F-16 "Fighting Falcon" (that Jack tore the wins off with his crazy driving), culminating with Jack firing up the jet's afterburner to try to lose Omar's forces in a sand storm.

* {{Novelization}}: Both films had novelizations based on them. They were ghostwritten and, as a nod to the films, their author is listed as "Joan Wilder." Their covers are even done to resemble cheesy harlequin romance novel books instead of standard movie adaptations.

%%* {{Fanservice}}: The sex scene.

* MarySue: [[invoked]] Angelina in Joan's novels.

* BadassBolas: Joan's sister Elaine is intentionally incapacitated by bolas thrown by an apparently playing child. The boy then abducts Elaine, recklessly driving her red Shelby Cobra away, setting the plot in motion.

* RealityEnsues: A lot of Joan's preconceptions and romantic ideals are destroyed by Jack's practicality.

The first commercially successful film in the Creator/RobertZemeckis canon. Diane Thomas, the movie's screenwriter, was famously discovered by Michael Douglas working as a waitress. After ''Stone'' she seemed on the verge of a great career, before [[AuthorExistenceFailure dying tragically in a car accident just a year later]]. Thus this became [[OneBookAuthor the only film she ever wrote]]. There's now a screenwriting award named in her honor.

* [[OneBookAuthor One-Film Screenwriter]]: Diane Thomas, [[AuthorExistenceFailure against her will]].

* DeathByAdaptation: In the {{Novelization}}, Rachid gets killed falling down the big hole Joan and Jack are hanging over, in contrast to him just homorously having his eyebrows and some of his hair singed off by Ralph's fire-breathing trick in the film.

* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: Omar won't risk killing Al-Juhara because he's superstitious himself, though not enough to stop him from impersonating a holy man himself.

* LeaveNoWitnesses: Omar bombs Jack's boat for this reason.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Joan's publisher Gloria warns her against going to Columbia, saying "Do you have any idea what it's like in Colombia? I do. Your books do very well in these macho countries." [[spoiler:Drug lord Juan loves reading her books to his rugged henchmen on Saturday nights.]]

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: It's implied Zolo and his private Columbian army are part of the real-life Columbian guerrilla terrorist group FARC, especially based on their uniforms.