Did We Need a Sequel?

In rewatching The Jewel of the Nile, I was overwhelmed with the sense of was all of this necessary. Romancing The Stone had left us with Jack (Michael Douglas) and Joan (Kathleen Turner) sailing off into the sunset. While the problems faced by them in this movie are definitely problems of a couple who is past the honeymoon phase of their relationship, I don’t feel it was necessary to draw Joan into more intrigue.

Prior to the events of Romancing The Stone Joan had lived a quiet life with her cat as an author of romance novels. Her sister got kidnapped in Cartagena, Columbia. And, for reasons that can only be explained by love of the only family you have left, Joan went to pay a ransom. In person. In another country. This is where she met Jack, an adventurer who promised to help her sister get back. It was also where they met Ralph (Danny DeVito), as he and his brother Ira (Zach Norman) had kidnapped Joan’s sister.

Ralph reappearing in their lives is possibly the least believable part of this whole movie. To think, a down on his luck, desperate criminal (what we saw in Romancing The Stone) would be able to survive a jail in Cartagena. Fail to be transferred to the United States for the rest of his sentence. And would suddenly have the money and ability to track them down and fund a trip to Greece to seek his revenge. Within six months of the last time they saw him.

Most disturbing to me is that Diane Thomas, the writer for Romancing The Stone, died before this movie happened. Her only mention is that they used her characters. She had not approved the use of her characters in this way. While they did make sure this was front and center at the beginning of the movie, I feel much more should’ve been done, and a real question if we needed/wanted this film exists.

This movie wasn’t a flop. It did very well compared to its budget. While it didn’t reach the sales of Romancing The Stone, it is considered a success. The storyline felt forced. More so then the idea that you would show up, in person, in a foreign country to collect your sibling. While this movie will always hold a place in my heart, I will be giving it a rating of 3.