A blood splattered romance

Rating: 9/10 (16 June 2014)

When Clarence Worley goes out on his birthday to watch a martial arts triple feature he doesn't expect it to be a life changing evening but it is. Here he bumps into Alabama, a beautiful young blonde, and they immediately hit it off; one thing leads to another and she stays the night. It turns out that their meeting wasn't chance, she was a call girl hired by his boss; he isn't upset though; in fact he falls in love with her and she falls for him; so much so they are married the next day. Clarence goes to collect her stuff but after a confrontation with her now ex-pimp he kills the man and picks up the wrong case. Instead of a case of clothes the newlyweds find themselves with half a million dollars' worth of uncut cocaine. Clarence has no idea how to sell it but a friend of a friend might have an idea so the two of them set off for LA; not knowing that the coke actually belonged to the Mafia and they want it back.
This action film brings together director Tony Scott and writer Quentin Tarantino; which leads to slick violent action and some snappy banter. The story isn't full of twists and turns but that isn't a bad thing; the only real question is 'will Clarence and Alabama get away with it or not?' and that is what it is all about. Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette do a fine job in the lead roles and they are ably supported by some well-known actors in the secondary roles; these include Gary Oldman, Brad Pitt, James Gandolfini, Denis Hopper and Christopher Walken they may not be on the screen for long but they put in memorable performances. If you like films with plenty of action and laughs that come naturally rather than from forced situations you should love this just don't buy the DVD for your granny who likes nice romances!