These are the types of things we go to Arnold
Schwarzenegger movies for, and “True Lies,” released in 1994, has a lot of it:
Laugh-out-loud moments when the violence is so cartoonish, we don’t take it
seriously, and yet are surprised at its creativity and bravery. Schwarzenegger
has found himself in a lot of unlikely situations in his action-filled career,
and “True Lies” seems determined to raise the stakes – to go over the top with unusual
and excessive special effects scenes.
For example, look at a change scene near the beginning
of the movie, where a villain on a motorcycle is chased by Arnold, on a horse,
through a hotel lobby. Most movies would be satisfied with that. Not “True
Lies,” which continues the chase on multistory elevators and ends up on the
hotel roof, with Arnold telling the horse to try a free fall into a swimming
pool.
Ebert said, “The plot is, of course, little more than
a clothesline upon which to hang such set pieces.” Schwarzenegger plays Harry
Tasker, a top U.S. spy, who has been married for 15 years to a sweet-tempered
wife named Helen, played by Jamie Lee Curtis, who thinks he is a computer
salesman. (He works for something called the Omega Force, which describes
itself in its seal as “The Last Line of Defense.”) How he successfully attempts
this dishonesty is one of the many questions the film does not stop to answer.
As the film starts, Harry and his partner Gib, played
by Tom Arnold, are tasked in a James Bond-like attempt to intrude a rich arms
dealer’s black-tie party in a Swiss winery. Ebert said, “To say security is
tight would be an understatement; the guards have machine guns and attack dogs.”
At the party, Harry meets the beautiful Juno Skinner, played by Tia Carrere,
and tangos with her before accomplishing his mission and surviving a violent escape.
(Ebert notes, “Schwarzenegger’s tangoing ability is reflected by the decision
to film most of the dance as head-and-shoulders shots.”) Back at Washington,
D.C., and Harry’s life of ordinary domestic calmness (his wife thinks he was
out of town at a sales convention). However, then, when it looks like the dealer
has sold four atomic weapons to a terrorist gang, it’s up to Harry and the surprisingly
charming Gib to stop them.
However, in between the action filled first and third
acts is a curious second act where Harry becomes convinced that his wife is cheating
on him with a car salesman, played by Bill Paxton.
This leads to an elaborate simulation in a hotel room,
where, for reasons that are too complicated to explain, Helen impersonates a
prostitute and Harry impersonates her client. (We are supposed to believe she
doesn’t recognize her husband because he has a light behind him.) Jamie Lee
Curtis earns some laughs here, doing a scantily-clad dance. The physical humor
is real, and she’s delightfully attractive and clumsy. (Note: the fall in the middle
of the dance was considered and didn’t happen spontaneously during rehearsal or
the actual shooting, as often claimed. That part drew some criticism for its
supposed misogynistic content. James Cameron later said that Jamie Lee Curtis
had heavy input in how the scene was made. Originally, Helen was to go
completely nude, but in the dark so that only her silhouette would be seen.
Curtis suggested to do it in full light while keeping her unmentionables on.
Cameron noted that most of the criticism of the scene came from men, while most
of the female reviewers praised it as an empowering and liberating scene for
Helen.)
However, the whole scene doesn’t look right. If you step
back from the movie and really think about what Harry is doing to Helen, it’s
cruel and not funny. Also, it sidetracks the plot. The movie is 135 minutes
long, and at 120, without some of the hotel room incident, it would be a lot
better.
The director, James Cameron, is skilled in the action
genre (he worked with Schwarzenegger on “Terminator 2: Judgment Day”), and when
he’s doing his work, no one does it better. That includes the third act of the movie,
where a breathless Miami newscaster, played by Tom Isbell, reports on a
multistory terrorist drama, and barely has time to give the information that an
A-bomb has just blown up one of the Keys.
Ebert said, “Cameron is credited with the screenplay
(which is “based on” a French screenplay by three others), and keeps a nice
undertone of humor going. When we’re learning about one of the evil terrorists,
for example, here’s the exchange: “They call him the Sand Spider.” “Why?”
“Probably because it sounds scary.” One nice surprise is Tom Arnold, who has a
major role – the equal of Curtis’ – and fills it nicely. He has an everyman
quality about him, and an ability to deliver an irreverent aside, which make
him a good foil for Schwarzenegger. And when he gives advice on divorce and
marriage, which he does frequently, he sounds as if he speaks from experience.”
“True Lies” is as good as “Terminator 2” and “Total
Recall” among Schwarzenegger’s action classics for a couple of reasons: The unconvincing
break where Harry thinks Helen is cheating on him, and the obligatory feeling
of the plot. Ebert ended his review by saying, “Both earlier titles had
tighter, more absorbing stories. But on the basis of stunts, special effects
and pure action, it delivers sensationally.”
We also have Charlton Heston playing Harry’s boss, who
wears an eye patch, and you wouldn’t be able to recognize him. I have to admit,
this movie is so enjoyable. With all the action, the one-liners, and even with
the supposed affair scenario, everything in this film keeps you engaged as what
will happen next. If you remember I had mentioned the other scantily clad scenes
from the “National Lampoon” movies, I had previously known of that infamous
Jamie Lee Curtis’ scene from a website that listed all of those scenes before I
saw this. I don’t recommend the movie for that, but I do recommend it for those
who love Schwarzenegger movies and the usual stuff people watch his movies for.
This film will deliver on all of those traits that we see and enjoy watching
his films. Check this one out and have an enjoyable time.
Next week, I will be looking at one of the final films
Paxton starred in when we continue “Bill Paxton Month.”
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