Just saw one of my fave action flicks again–and probably one that most of you have never heard of: The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996), starring Geena Davis. Samuel L. Jackson plays the awesome sidekick. Some of you might remember her. Thelma and Louise, anyone? Beetlejuice?
“Kiss” is the story of Samantha Caine, a teacher in a small PA town with a nice husband, nice daughter, nice life. Some kind of accident left her with amnesia, so she doesn’t remember who she might have been prior to all of this. Until one day, she’s slicing veggies and some muscle memory kicks in and she goes all kinds of ninja with the veggies. So she thinks that maybe she was a chef. But then some other stuff happens, some nightmares, and then it all comes back. She was a super-trained spy, super bad-ass. And sure enough, her past is trying to catch up to her. She enlists the help of low-rent detective Mitch Hennessey (Jackson), and the two of them make a great pair.
This is a rollicking, action-packed (and yes, violent) ride. It’s in the spirit and tradition of Bruce Willis’ Die Hard movies, and Davis and Jackson basically get the crap kicked out of them and still keep on going, like the Energizer Bunny.
Tell you what, Geena Davis makes a seriously awesome action hero. The dialogue in this is snappy, funny, and the rapport between Jackson and Davis is great. I wish those two had made more movies together. So yeah, this is from 1996. I know, it’s kind of dated. But it’s a heck of a fun film if you like action.
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Happy watching, and happy Fourth!
Andi Marquette 