The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)

“What I’m saying is, back when we first met, you were all like “Oh phooey, I burned the darn muffins.” Now, you go into a bar, ten minutes later, sailors come runnin’ out. What up with that?” – Mitch

Number of Times Seen – Between 3-5 times (Theater in ’96, cable and 10 Jul 2017)

Brief Synopsis – A housewife suffering from partial amnesia tries to find out more about her past when she learns of some of her abilities.

My Take on it – This is a film that I recall loving back when it came out in the mid-90’s and was so much fun back then.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t age well and now just seems like a minor footnote of a 90’s action thriller featuring a female action hero.

Geena Davis and Samuel L. Jackson work quite well together here and it’s fun watching them work side by side.

This film starts off great yet loses much of its momentum as things move along because the plot wears itself  down too thinly.

The dialogue is quite witty and it’s real easy to see Shane Black’s hand in this, which is a great thing, yet it still remains an icon of the 90’s and doesn’t translate as well to modern times.

Craig Bierko was a poor casting as the villain and his role lessens the impact of a great idea had it been done better.

Ax stronger villain might have made this film even more memorable which is quite a shame.

Bottom Line – Fun film that is a pure popcorn fest. Davis and Jackson work well together but the plot itself loses momentum as things move along. The dialogue is witty yet was much better in the 90’s then it is upon rewatch nowadays.  Bierko is miscast as the villain here and that makes the film feel less impactful than an idea like this should feel.  A better villain might have made this more fun to watch.

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – In the first draft of the script, the name “Sam Caine” was not an alias used by Charly Baltimore (as it is in the finished film) but was instead a creation of her mind, as an anagram of “amnesiac”. (From IMDB)

Rating – BAFTA Worthy

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