Our film title this week on Hit Me With Your Best Shot was in response to the soon-to-open Sandra Bullock/Channing Tatum vehicle The Lost City. More on that one later but for now if you've never seen its kickoff inspiration, 80s classic Romancing the Stone, that's streaming on HBOMax. Here are the Best Shot choices from seven participants to celebrate this fabulous adventure romcom. Plus some thoughts on the 1984 Best Actress race since we always go to BEST ACTRESS...
Christian on Twitter (tweet)
Does this mean that Christian is a cat person or that he's just really obsessed with Robert Zemeckis?
Keisha at Cinema Cities (article)
AND Alexander Georgakis on Twitter (thread)
Ryan on Twitter (thread)
I also considered this shot but glad I didn't go there as it was amply covered!!!
Watching Romancing the Stone today is a bit of a shock since it's so much more sexual than today's films, not just in the narrative but in the visual gags. For instance I also thought about going with this image...
Which is beautifully lit by Cinematographer Dean Cundey (Jurassic Park, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Apollo 13), really sells both movie stars, and also is not just a "sex scene" but an important narrative character beat (doubled) in the movie.
Ben Miller at Ice Cream For Freaks (article)
Nathaniel at The Film Experience (article)
And finally here's the choice from Cláudio Alves from The Film Experience
The 1984 Best Actress race is often considered among the most lackluster lineups in that category. It was the year of stalwart farmers in salt of the earth dramas, with three contenders fitting that model – Sally Field in Places in the Heart, Jessica Lange in Country, and Sissy Spacek in The River. The other two were Vanessa Redgrave in The Bostonians and Judy Davis in A Passage to India, a pair of odd cerebral performances in prestige literary adaptations. While I am fond of such weird Oscar races and love Lange's underrated work, it's impossible not to think of many 1984 leading ladies who deserved nominations above AMPAS's chosen quintet.
As that year's Golden Globe winner in Comedy, Kathleen Turner was probably in the dreaded sixth place. Moreover, Romancing the Stone scored a rare lone Editing nomination, confirming that the picture was on the Academy's radar. In the end, though, prestigious tragedy trumps funny business, so we end up with another comedy masterclass unheralded by the Oscars – one of many in the awards' long history. Maybe my love for Turner's star turn is clouding my judgment, but I can't look at this as anything else than an egregious snub. She's luminous, playing a romance novel writer embroiled in a wild rescue mission cum treasure hunt.
She starts the flick crying over her character's new manuscript, playing the sort of overwhelmed love at one's own creation I can only hope to someday experience as a writer. I don't know about you, but I fell in love with Turner's Joan Wilder right at this introduction. Appreciation only grew as she took the mousy novelist through the wringer, portraying growth and personal flourishment. Always hilarious, she nonetheless imbues the comedic heroine with dignity, avoiding the misogynistic pitfalls the script might have produced in the hands of lesser cineastes. My favorite shot comes near the end of the story. After that transformation has settled, and the adventure is naught but a fond memory.
Truthfully, this is a frame made up of two shots during a transition rather than a single individual shot. Still, I couldn't resist it as an image that encapsulates how both Turner and her movie synthesize the idea of romantic escapism. Joan stands over the cityscape, a changed woman, a paragon of self-confidence. Her latest work, maybe her best novel ever, is reducing the editor to tears, yet the writer's mind is elsewhere. She's still enthralled by the adrenaline-tinged memories of a night to remember. Its remnants linger over the window, over the picture, and her soul. It's a simple picture but immensely evocative in its earnest sentimentality.
Maybe I should have picked a moment of comedy. However, as much as I laugh every time I re-watch Romancing the Stone, Turner, Joan, and sheer romantic lunacy are the reasons that most delight me. They're what keep me coming back.
Cláudio and I both mentioned the Best Actress race in our articles and we've previously discussed "The Year of the Farm Wife" but it's always worth discussing.
ELIGIBLE ACTRESSES THAT YEAR... Not all of whom were in the conversation obviously
* have seen
† have seen multiple times
- Isabelle Adjani, One Deadly Summer
- Karen Allen, Starman (Saturn nomination) †
- Nancy Allen, The Philadelphia Experiment (Saturn nomination)
- Peggy Ashcroft, A Passage to India (BAFTA and NYFCC winner, Oscar nominee in supporting) †
- Anne Bancroft, Garbo Talks (Globe nomination)
- Drew Barrymore, Firestarter *
- Sandrine Bonnaire, A Nos Amours (César win) *
- Sonia Braga, Gabriella
- Genieveve Bujold, Choose Me *
- Jamie Lee Curtis, Grandview USA
- Jamie Lee Curtis, Love Letters
- Bo Derek, Bolero *
- Judy Davis, A Passage to India (Oscar nomination, Boston critics winner)†
- Mia Farrow, Broadway Danny Rose (Globe nomination) †
- Sally Field, Places in the Heart (Oscar & Globe win)†
- Terri Garr, Firstborn *
- Linda Hamilton, The Terminator (Saturn nomination) †
- Linda Hamilton, Children of the Corn *
- Daryl Hannah, Splash (Saturn winner) †
- Daryl Hannah, Reckless *
- Goldie Hawn, Swing Shift *
- Wendy Hughes, Careful He Might Hear You (Australian Film Institute Winner) *
- Diane Keaton, Mrs Soffel (Globe nomination) *
- Diane Keaton, The Little Drummer Girl
- Jessica Lange, Country (Oscar and Globe nominations) *
- Kelly Lebrock, The Woman in Red
- Shelley Long, Irreconciliable Differences (Globe nomination) *
- Kristy McNichol, Just the Way You Are *
- Helen Mirren, Cal (Cannes win, BAFTA nomination)
- Dolly Parton, Rhinestone
- Vanessa Redgrave, The Bostonians (Oscar and Globe nominations, NSFC winner)
- Molly Ringwald, Sixteen Candles †
- Tanya Roberts, Sheena *
- Gena Rowlands, Love Streams
- Hanna Schygulla, A Love in Germany
- Brooke Shields, Sahara
- Helen Slater, Supergirl (Saturn nomination)
- Sissy Spacek, The River (Oscar and Globe nominations) *
- Meryl Streep, Falling in Love †
- Meg Tilly, Impulse
- Lily Tomlin, All of Me (Globe nomination) †
- Kathleen Turner, Crimes of Passion (LAFCA winner) *
- Kathleen Turner, Romancing the Stone (Globe and LAFCA winner) †
- Rachel Ward, Against All Odds *
- Lesley Ann Warren, Choose Me *
- JoBeth Williams, American Dreamer (Kansas City critics winner)
- JoBeth Williams, Teachers
- Debra Winger, Mike's Murder *
From that group my preferences are Sandrine Bonnaire, Mia Farrow, Sally Field, Wendy Hughes, and Lesley Ann Warren though Kathleen Turner is my winner. All that said many of these are faint memories so I reserve the right to change my mind in case they don't hold up. The strangest 1984 gap for me is The Bostonians. Considering how much of a Merchant/Ivory missionary I later became in life, I somehow have never gone back to fill in that gap. Perhaps we should do it together?
WHO WOULD YOU CHOOSE FOR YOUR ACTRESS FIVE THAT YEAR?
"Hit Me With Your Best Shot" resumes on March 31st with The Godfather (1972) for a 50th anniversary celebration. It is currently available to rent online and it will also be rereleased theatrically on February 25th in a restored version. The restoration will also be released on BluRay and DVD on March 22nd. So watch it before the 31st and pick your own Best Shot!