Romancing the Stone

Treasure maps, crocodiles, romantic novelists and psychotic Latins, this slings them all together, along with a hefty slug of wish-fulfilment, to engaging effect. Stuck with her miniatures and cat called Romeo in New York, Turner pines for schmaltz to turn into life as she churns out Mills and Boonies. Then sister Elaine (Trainor) gets kidnapped by the splendid Zack Norman and his cackling sidekick down in Columbia, and it's eyes down for galloping caper thrills. The script is sharp and funny, the direction sure-footed on both the comedy and action fronts, and the whole thing adds up to rather more concerted fun than Indiana Jones' flab-ridden escapade in the Temple of Doom. There's also the added bonus of Ms Turner, at the sight of whom this dispassionate arbiter of public taste came perilously close to self-combustion.