Genre Guesstimation – The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996) – Encore Review

The idea behind this feature (Genre Guesstimation) is for me to watch a bunch of new movies (or ones that I haven’t seen many times) from the chosen monthly GG genre in order to expand my knowledge of movies within that particular genre.

This month’s genre has been chosen by Chris ‘Tank’ Tanski of Fright Rags and we will be reviewing our favorite Alternative Christmas Movies.

Please get me your submissions by the 25th of Dec by sending them to alternativetank@movierob.net

Try to think out of the box! Great choice Tank!

Let’s see if I felt that this movie would be worthy of being in the company of my others favorite movies in the genre of Alternative Christmas Movies……

“…It ain’t over. You’re going to die screaming… and I’m going to watch. Am I telling the truth?” – Charlie

Number of Times Seen – Between 3-5 times (Theater in ’96, cable, 10 Jul 2017 and 1 Dec 2020)

Link to original review – Here

Brief Synopsis – A model wife and mother who woke up with amnesia eight years earlier starts to have visions of her past and does all she can to try and find out the truth about her life.

My Take on it – This is a film that I recall seeing in the theater when it came out and have always enjoyed it ever since.

Shane Black is a great writer and is able to create some great characters and scenarios for them to get caught up in here.

The story has all of the right elements that help keep things so much fun the whole way through.

The story is plotted out really well and despite the fact that once we learn of the main character’s true personality, which isn’t very likeable, we have already invested enough time and effort into the persona that the story begins with which in turn helps us care more about everything that happens to her as things unfold because she isn’t just likable but rather lovable.

Geena Davis is superb in the lead and plays this character so well no matter which personality she embodies.

The story gets a bit crazy at certain points but having Davis around helps things feel more grounded along the way.

Samuel L. Jackson is perfectly cast as the wisecracking private detective that tries to help Davis and he gets both the humor and tragedy f his characters so right.

The film;s action sequences and special effects are grandiose and help make things so much more engaging from the start until the very end.

Bottom Line – Really fun film that works on numerous levels. Black is a great writer and is able to put together the right elements to keep this film so enjoyable from start to finish. The story plays out in a very intriguing way and despite the character’s real personality not being overly likable, they start things off at a different stage which helps make her not just likable, but lovable. Davis is superb in the lead role and helps keep things down to Earth even when the story goes to some really crazy places. Jackson is amazing in this role and gets the humor and tragedy of his character just right. The action sequences are done really well and make things even more fun to watch unfold. Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – On the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon on January 14, 2019, Samuel L. Jackson listed Mitch as his favorite role. (From IMDB)

Genre Grandeur Worthy? – Not quite despite being a really fun and enjoyable action thriller.

Rating – Globe Worthy (7/10) (upgrade from original review)