Movie of the Month/LAMBcast #80: The Long Kiss Goodnight
Renny Harlin’s 1996 film The Long Kiss Goodnight was, for better or worse, mostly left behind by audiences. With a $65 million budget and close to $100 million in worldwide receipts, it undoubtedly made money, but its $33 million gross in the United States stamped the film as a failure in spite of overall positive reviews. More to the point, since its release, it seems to have been largely forgotten by film fans, wedged somewhere in between the boffo successes of its predecessors like Lethal Weapon and Die Hard and more celebrated but arguably (or not) much worse films from the likes of Steven Seagal and Jean Claude Van Damme. The film stars Geena Davis as an amnesiac assassin and Samuel L. Jackson as a disgraced cop who unwittingly becomes embroiled in her affairs.
For those unfamiliar with it, the plot synopsis from IMDb:
“Samantha Caine, suburban homemaker, is the ideal mom to her 8 year old daughter Caitlin. She lives in Honesdale, PA, has a job teaching school and makes the best Rice Krispie treats in town. But when she receives a bump on her head, she begins to remember small parts of her previous life as a lethal, top-secret agent. Her old chums in the Chapter are now out to kill her so she enlists the help of a cheap detective named Mitch. As Samantha remembers more and more of her previous life, she becomes deadlier and more resourceful. Both Mitch and Charly proceed to do the killing thing, the bleeding thing and the shooting thing. “
First up, the links! Thanks to all of the LAMBs that sent in their posts for this edition of the MOTM. Be sure to check out the varied opinions on this forgotten actioner:
* Bonjour Tristesse
* Deny Everything
* Deny Everything (2)
* Man, I Love Films
* Public Transportation Snob
* Surrender to the Void
It’s also time to vote on next month’s movie. I’ve included many of the choices from last month, but swapped a few out to keep it interesting. You have one week to vote.
As we do every month, the LAMBcast is tied in with the MOTM. This time, Dylan, Nick, and Steve were joined by the leading champion of The Long Kiss Goodnight - the man behind the LAMB’s new Twitter account (follow it at @LambThe!), Joel Burman of Deny Everything.
Also on tap:
* Rants and Raves of the Week
* Last LAMB Standing
If you’re interested, you too can be a LAMBcaster - we love new blood! For more information on the LAMBcast, check out the topic at the LAMB Forums. Music provided royalty-free by Kevin MacLeod’s Incompetech website. Big thanks to Kevin for providing this service. The LAMBcast loves feedback, too. Either here in the comments section or to dylan@manilovefilms.com or to our Facebook page. Also, we’re on iTunes, and would still love a review, even if it’s a bad one.
Thanks for listening!
