The Diva's "Long Kiss Goodnight" Review

(click here to skip to this movie's rating) The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996) Rated R; approximate running time of 120 minutes Directed by: Renny Harlin Written by: Shane Black Starring: Geena Davis, Samuel L. Jackson,Yvonne Zima, Craig Bierko, Tom Amandes,Brian Cox Patrick Malahide, David Morse Genre: Action/Thriller WARNING - SPOILERS BELOW. The Digest Samantha Caine (Geena Davis)leads a fairly normal life. She is a mother with an adorable daughter whom she loves, she has a great boy friend, a great job, wonderful friends and a nice home. The town loves her. They've made her Mrs. Claus for the annual parade. The only problem is that she has amnesia. She doesn't know who she is prior to 8 years ago. She's got old knife scars and bullet wounds. Maybe she was a cop? Her only clue to her past is a filed down key. She washed up on the beach 2 months pregnant without a clue about herself. Desperate to find out who she is, she always keeps private investigators working. She's stopped using the expensive ones and just hopes one of the "low rent" investigators will find something. She prays that one day her memory will come back. It does with a little help. During a car accident she receives a blow to the head. While in the hospital a version of herself appears in her Psyche. This version has chopped off blond hair, smokes, curses and calls herself Charly Baltimore. Meanwhile, some criminal is watching T.V. and sees Samantha on the Christmas float. He starts going berserk and yells at the screen that he wants his eye back. A closer look at his face shows one of his sockets has been sewn shut. Hmmm maybe Samantha wasn't a cop. Also there has been movement on her past. Her latest detective, Mitch Hennesy (Samuel L. Jackson) has gotten a hit. Seems that someone found some of her belongings and tried to use one of her old credit cards. After tracking this down, they find an old suitcase of hers that contains some info. He goes to tell her about it and finds her beating the tar out the one-eye guy who has come to kill her. They all are amazed at her ass-whupping skills so they decide that she has to find out who she is. As they travel, her memory slowly comes back and we find out that she was actually a spy working for the government and they prefer her dead. They've got a plan to make congress cough up more money for the CIA and they don't want her interfering. Well they're in for a big surprise. The Dish This is one of my favorite movies. I don't know why. It's super violent. The plot has a zillion holes in it. There isn't any real chemistry between Davis and Jackson. But, damned if I haven't seen it 8 or 9 times. Maybe it's the fact that she whups everyone. Maybe it's the whole maternal thing of saving your child. Maybe it's the fact that there is tons of stuff blowing up. Maybe it's the fact that Samuel Jackson cracks me up in the movie. I think it's a combination of all of the above. I've never understood why it tanked at the box office. It's not like Geena isn't believable. At any rate, I *love* it. The Directive One of my favorite lines in this movie is when Samuel L. Jackson, knowing full well that her daughter's name is Caitlin, says, "What's your daughter's name again? Cat Head?" Cracks me up every single time. If you can find any humor in that sentence, then you should rent this movie. Get some popcorn and a pillow and just hang out. This kiss wasn't long enough. I want a sequel! back to top Copyright Kamal "The Diva" Larsuel-Ulbricht, 2000 EMAIL: thediva@3blackchicks.com ICQ: 8690410 http://www.3blackchicks.com/ Use the feedback form below to send your comments to The Diva

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