By Melissa Antoinette Garza
TRUE ROMANCE (1993) has always been one of my favorite movies since it came out when I was a teen Missy. Though tough on the outside, I was always a soft romantic on the inside. That said, I wasn’t the traditional teen fem romantic. Rather than sweet, I went with wild. I lived for wild and few love stories are as untamed and crazy as TRUE ROMANCE.
Clarence Worley (Christian Slater) can’t catch a break. He’s looking for love, but gets turned down. It’s his birthday and he tries to hook up with a chick at a bar. He offers to take her to a Sonny Chiba triple feature. She declines and he goes alone.
He isn’t alone in the theater for long. In walks, Fem Goddess Alabama Whitman (Patricia Arquette). She has a leopard print coat and a hot red dress. I love her! She spills her popcorn on him, but he’s cool about it so she sits next to him, lights a cigarette and starts chatting him up about the flick.
Sparks fly and she offers to take him out for a piece of pie which he jumps at. They go to a diner and get along famously. The night only improves as he brings her to the comic book store that he works at. She loves it because she’s a cool dame with great taste.
The two make passionate love and Alabama falls head over heels. Damn, I’m still such a romantic! I love this stuff so much. The chemistry is undeniable and the heat is electric. In the morning, Alabama confesses she is a call girl who was hired by his boss to seduce him. Still, her feelings for him are real.
He immediately forgives because Clarence is a class act and desperately in love with her too. She swears she wants only him and is monogamous when it comes to relationships. It’s a cute and heartfelt scene that makes my heart sing. As the two declare their love standing on a roof in front of a billboard sign, the teen girl in me beams at the unconventional beauty of it all. The two get hitched at the JP and they get matching tats.
Now Clarence wasn’t a hardcore guy, but he can go hard when it comes to matters of the heart. He decides to face off against Alabama’s scumbag pimp Drexl (Gary Oldman) to get her belongings back and make clear her hookin’ days are over.
Shit gets real as Drexl is not in a giving mood! Clarence is beaten bad and barely gets out with his life. He gets the upper-hand and shoots his way out killing douche Drexl. He grabs what he thinks is Alabama’s stuff and hits the road.
Alabama falls into Clarence’s arms when he returns. She takes the suitcase to get some new threads on, but it is not clothing in the case. It’s a ton of cocaine.
The two decide to cash in and start their lives anew. Sadly, mobsters and feds alike are on their tail.
In the end, there’s a showdown where one can only hope the two lovers get out alive.
I love this movie so much. The acting is amazing. There are so many great supporting cast members including Dennis Hopper, Christopher Walken, Samuel L. Jackson and Brad Pitt. Bronson Pinchot has a hilarious role as a cowardly rich cokehead that sells everyone out.
The two main players, Patricia Arquette and Christian Slater are fabulous. Their chemistry is smoldering. The passion of their love story jumps off the screen. I adore stories of true love and bonds that can’t be broken. That is what we have here and it’s amazing.
If you haven’t seen this flick or if it’s been a minute, go watch it. It speaks to the soul and revs the engine. Not to mention, that phone-booth fuck remains one of the hottest love scenes in a mainstream film. Imma like that a lot.
It’s available digital everywhere and it’s on Crackle for free with commercials. Someone uploaded it onto YOUTUBE so if you’re quick enough – you can find it there.
For those keeping score, this movie is definitely in my wheelhouse.
Scared Stiff Rating: 8.5/10
