When I first saw the `Long Kiss Goodnight' I found it passable . Despite an intriguing premise and some good scenes , the movie was lowered down by an overdose of profanity and suffered from an unbelievably over the top ludicrous finale in which the leads are shot repeatedly without dying (Halloween 's Michael Myers would envy them) and a stream of improbable cartoonish action scenes that made Starship Troopers seem like a serious and realistic documentary !!! This film was way too campy to like it . It may have had a good start but the final 20 minutes just killed it . Oh well it was a fun ride I guess for its most part and it was nice seeing Geena Davis achieving a great performance . Repeated viewings improved my opinion about the movie . Not much , but sensibly . Although the finale is still unbearable the whole plot is much more comprehensible and a few of my questions were answered .
Let's start with a plot outline . The basic concept alone is very fascinating . Samantha Caine (Geena Davis) is a young teacher who lives in a quiet little town . She suffers from amnesia and the only thing she remembers is the last 8 years of her life . There are no tracks of any other family , husband , employment or any hint of her past for that matter . When she woke up in a hospital 8 years ago she was pregnant but of course the child 's father is unknown to this date . The detectives she hired over the years couldn 't find anything . Samantha seems to have settled down with her new adapted life . She is an active member of the PTA , she has friends, she is a good cook and bakes cookies , her 7 year old daughter Caitlin (Yvonne Zima) is a cute and obedient child and for the last couple of years Samantha is seeing a calm ordinary little guy called Hal (Tom Amandes) . Hal and she are getting along and it seems that wedding bells will ring soon enough . Until one day when Samantha shows some strange features of behaviour as if she has a split personality . Samantha has visions of a blond woman named Charlie who speaks to her in her dreams , summoning her to `join' her . You have already seen the props or probably know the story , so I don 't think that I will give away anything by saying that Charlene `Charlie' Baltimor is Samantha 's real name and she had an entirely different identity pre-amnesia . Charlie was a blond bitch , a rough tough mean killing machine . She was a trained professional assassin working for the government . After she had amnesia she was presumed dead and not even the powers that be knew she was alive . Unbeknownst to her , there are people who still want super agent Charlie (Samantha) dead . The first is an ugly bald convict called Jack and the other one is a young but ruthless criminal called Timothy (Craig Bierko) . Soon they track down Samantha and a killing expedition begins . Samantha's latest detective was Mitch Henessey (Samuel Jackson) a cheap loser who stages fake adultery incidents to make a living out of blackmails since his business has soared out . Much to his good luck however , he finds some clues about his amnesiac client which seem to point to a former fiancé Charlie once had . So Samantha and Mitch take a journey to find clues about Charlie 's past while a small army of bounty hunters is behind them . Meanwhile , Samantha 's alter ego emerges slowly but steadily .
There are a couple of twists which make the movie interesting . The idea behind the script is very good and I believe the handling made by the writers and the director was competent . The progressing personality change and the flashbacks are nice and give a few hints of a psychological thriller as well as some biting `funny' scenes like the `professional chef' vegetables chopping or the scene where Charlie dispatches her torturer . I believe however that 75 % of the success of not only Samantha's depiction but the whole movie as well , is accomplished by Geena Davis . She gives a splendid performance pushing both of her character 's aspects to the edge . As Samantha , Davis performs her best Shelley Long impersonation . The sweet , ideal muffin-baking housewife who is born to run a house and raise kids . Charlie is the agile , shrewd , chain-smoking , gun toting female Rambo . Davis is more than adequate as both characters . Samuel Jackson is very amusing as the detective who gets caught in a situation he can't handle , with powerful criminals popping out of nowhere wanting to kill them and at the same time watching a clean suburban housewife being transformed to a fatal blonde agent . He spouts way too many vulgarities but nonetheless some laughs are inevitable . Something else that saves the movie from being another forgettable shootemup are the cameos . First we have Brian Cox playing excellently an old agent who wants to help Samantha dig up her true identity . He is the reliable mentor and although he is old he still seems capable of getting the hang of weapons . Now , what can I say about David Morse as Luke , Charlie 's old fiancé ? Words fail to describe him . The man is just COOL !!! He appears shortly but his contribution to the movie is huge . The rest of the cast is passable like Samantha 's daughter , Charlie 's former boss or Hal who has a short role as the boyfriend . Craig Bierko as the main villain Timothy acts very well too . He is quite realistic as a hitman/terrorist who simply wants to complete the mission and behaves as an `ordinary' killer , with no psychotic laughs or morphasms . Despite his young looks he is quite threatening . Harlin also directed some unforgettable action scenes like the one you have all seen in the trailers : Davis firing on the icy surface of a lake while jumping off a window . There is also a memorable scene with a takeover of a Phone Station and others . I would also like to state that one viewing is not enough and you may lose some details . For example I didn't notice what was the fate of the deer at the beginning and I certainly didn't remember some hints on Mitch 's past .
The movie has some problems . There are some very corny one-liners and too much swearing at times . There are also some plot holes . People tend to be extremely cruel to the scriptwriters of Halloween H20 about where did Jamie Lee Curtis find the time to raise a 17 year old son , be a member of AA , attend psychiatrists AND be the headmistress of a private boarding school but how on earth did Samantha become a TEACHER (and raise her daughter) while she didn 't remember her past , seems to have escaped you . At least Laurie Strode did go to college . Secondly it is obvious that the conspiracy described in the script was huge . They would never EVER take the chances of being exposed therefore Mitch 's family would have been murdered at a glimpse (and Samantha's beloved ones as well) . But what really gives on my nerves is the unspeakable ending . Be warned that there are SPOILERS TO FOLLOW ******* After Davis blows up the building , Mitch not only is blown up in an impossibly cartoonish manner but he hits badly on a tree and eventually he lands on earth , UNTIED and without ANY injuries !!!!! That 's not the worst though . Later Davis drives the track full of explosives through a brick wall . Maybe , just maybe we can accept the fact that the explosives couldn 't be detonated until the countdown concluded but after this nasty accident Davis and the girl also don 't have the slightest injury . Lastly a shootout battle follows and Davis survives despite the bullets she gets and the bleeding . WHAT THE HELL ???? ******END SPOILERS . I still cannot digest the final 15 minutes (except of course for the nice showdown between Timothy and Samantha ) . If I had the power I would have reshot the whole denouement . I know that it cannot be done but at least an editor could have hacked the crappy stuff and left us with less bang-bang which would have at least make the survival of Charlie convincing. I am really not a nitpicker . I can always accept a campy scene . All of us regard Batman (1989) as a classic , although the Batwing being gunned down with just one shot by the Joker is laughable . Goldeneye (1995) with Pierce Brosnan is also a solid action film even if it contains a corny action scene in the prologue (you know what I mean) . But in here there are improbabilities which just PILE UP and almost ruin the whole thing.
The Long Kiss Goodnight is a good action film with an engaging premise , some funny gags , satisfactory (for the most part) direction and some brilliant performances. The last 15 minutes spoil the whole thing though so I cannot consider it a classic . If however you want a blockbuster for a fun Saturday evening then rent it . There is some healthy entertainment in this Renny Harlin action fest .
THE LONG KISS GOODNIGHT 8 / 10
Let's start with a plot outline . The basic concept alone is very fascinating . Samantha Caine (Geena Davis) is a young teacher who lives in a quiet little town . She suffers from amnesia and the only thing she remembers is the last 8 years of her life . There are no tracks of any other family , husband , employment or any hint of her past for that matter . When she woke up in a hospital 8 years ago she was pregnant but of course the child 's father is unknown to this date . The detectives she hired over the years couldn 't find anything . Samantha seems to have settled down with her new adapted life . She is an active member of the PTA , she has friends, she is a good cook and bakes cookies , her 7 year old daughter Caitlin (Yvonne Zima) is a cute and obedient child and for the last couple of years Samantha is seeing a calm ordinary little guy called Hal (Tom Amandes) . Hal and she are getting along and it seems that wedding bells will ring soon enough . Until one day when Samantha shows some strange features of behaviour as if she has a split personality . Samantha has visions of a blond woman named Charlie who speaks to her in her dreams , summoning her to `join' her . You have already seen the props or probably know the story , so I don 't think that I will give away anything by saying that Charlene `Charlie' Baltimor is Samantha 's real name and she had an entirely different identity pre-amnesia . Charlie was a blond bitch , a rough tough mean killing machine . She was a trained professional assassin working for the government . After she had amnesia she was presumed dead and not even the powers that be knew she was alive . Unbeknownst to her , there are people who still want super agent Charlie (Samantha) dead . The first is an ugly bald convict called Jack and the other one is a young but ruthless criminal called Timothy (Craig Bierko) . Soon they track down Samantha and a killing expedition begins . Samantha's latest detective was Mitch Henessey (Samuel Jackson) a cheap loser who stages fake adultery incidents to make a living out of blackmails since his business has soared out . Much to his good luck however , he finds some clues about his amnesiac client which seem to point to a former fiancé Charlie once had . So Samantha and Mitch take a journey to find clues about Charlie 's past while a small army of bounty hunters is behind them . Meanwhile , Samantha 's alter ego emerges slowly but steadily .
There are a couple of twists which make the movie interesting . The idea behind the script is very good and I believe the handling made by the writers and the director was competent . The progressing personality change and the flashbacks are nice and give a few hints of a psychological thriller as well as some biting `funny' scenes like the `professional chef' vegetables chopping or the scene where Charlie dispatches her torturer . I believe however that 75 % of the success of not only Samantha's depiction but the whole movie as well , is accomplished by Geena Davis . She gives a splendid performance pushing both of her character 's aspects to the edge . As Samantha , Davis performs her best Shelley Long impersonation . The sweet , ideal muffin-baking housewife who is born to run a house and raise kids . Charlie is the agile , shrewd , chain-smoking , gun toting female Rambo . Davis is more than adequate as both characters . Samuel Jackson is very amusing as the detective who gets caught in a situation he can't handle , with powerful criminals popping out of nowhere wanting to kill them and at the same time watching a clean suburban housewife being transformed to a fatal blonde agent . He spouts way too many vulgarities but nonetheless some laughs are inevitable . Something else that saves the movie from being another forgettable shootemup are the cameos . First we have Brian Cox playing excellently an old agent who wants to help Samantha dig up her true identity . He is the reliable mentor and although he is old he still seems capable of getting the hang of weapons . Now , what can I say about David Morse as Luke , Charlie 's old fiancé ? Words fail to describe him . The man is just COOL !!! He appears shortly but his contribution to the movie is huge . The rest of the cast is passable like Samantha 's daughter , Charlie 's former boss or Hal who has a short role as the boyfriend . Craig Bierko as the main villain Timothy acts very well too . He is quite realistic as a hitman/terrorist who simply wants to complete the mission and behaves as an `ordinary' killer , with no psychotic laughs or morphasms . Despite his young looks he is quite threatening . Harlin also directed some unforgettable action scenes like the one you have all seen in the trailers : Davis firing on the icy surface of a lake while jumping off a window . There is also a memorable scene with a takeover of a Phone Station and others . I would also like to state that one viewing is not enough and you may lose some details . For example I didn't notice what was the fate of the deer at the beginning and I certainly didn't remember some hints on Mitch 's past .
The movie has some problems . There are some very corny one-liners and too much swearing at times . There are also some plot holes . People tend to be extremely cruel to the scriptwriters of Halloween H20 about where did Jamie Lee Curtis find the time to raise a 17 year old son , be a member of AA , attend psychiatrists AND be the headmistress of a private boarding school but how on earth did Samantha become a TEACHER (and raise her daughter) while she didn 't remember her past , seems to have escaped you . At least Laurie Strode did go to college . Secondly it is obvious that the conspiracy described in the script was huge . They would never EVER take the chances of being exposed therefore Mitch 's family would have been murdered at a glimpse (and Samantha's beloved ones as well) . But what really gives on my nerves is the unspeakable ending . Be warned that there are SPOILERS TO FOLLOW ******* After Davis blows up the building , Mitch not only is blown up in an impossibly cartoonish manner but he hits badly on a tree and eventually he lands on earth , UNTIED and without ANY injuries !!!!! That 's not the worst though . Later Davis drives the track full of explosives through a brick wall . Maybe , just maybe we can accept the fact that the explosives couldn 't be detonated until the countdown concluded but after this nasty accident Davis and the girl also don 't have the slightest injury . Lastly a shootout battle follows and Davis survives despite the bullets she gets and the bleeding . WHAT THE HELL ???? ******END SPOILERS . I still cannot digest the final 15 minutes (except of course for the nice showdown between Timothy and Samantha ) . If I had the power I would have reshot the whole denouement . I know that it cannot be done but at least an editor could have hacked the crappy stuff and left us with less bang-bang which would have at least make the survival of Charlie convincing. I am really not a nitpicker . I can always accept a campy scene . All of us regard Batman (1989) as a classic , although the Batwing being gunned down with just one shot by the Joker is laughable . Goldeneye (1995) with Pierce Brosnan is also a solid action film even if it contains a corny action scene in the prologue (you know what I mean) . But in here there are improbabilities which just PILE UP and almost ruin the whole thing.
The Long Kiss Goodnight is a good action film with an engaging premise , some funny gags , satisfactory (for the most part) direction and some brilliant performances. The last 15 minutes spoil the whole thing though so I cannot consider it a classic . If however you want a blockbuster for a fun Saturday evening then rent it . There is some healthy entertainment in this Renny Harlin action fest .
THE LONG KISS GOODNIGHT 8 / 10