 Samantha is a suburban mom who makes a killer lemon meringue pie. Charly is a covert op who kills. They're both the same person. Both may be as good as dead. Geena Davis stars as a woman whose fading amnesia reveals her secret life as an elite government assassin, and Samuel L. Jackson portrays the low-rent detective helping her unlock her memory, all while rogue agents scramble to bury Samantha/Charly and her past. Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2) directs and Shane Black (Lethal Weapon) scripts a full-tilt wallop of breakneck action. Nonstop excitement - sealed with a kiss! Storyline: 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. Written by Tony Fontana Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Kenneth Brown, April 30, 2011 -- The years haven't been kind to Finnish director Renny Harlin. Heralded as a rising star in '90s action cinema after the success of Die Hard 2 and Cliffhanger, Harlin went on to bankrupt independent production company Carolco Pictures with Cutthroat Island, put a bullet in the head of an already ailing franchise with Exorcist: The Beginning, and hasn't churned out a solid film since 1999 creature feature Deep Blue Sea. (Driven, Mindhunters, The Covenant, Cleaner and 12 Rounds aren't exactly what I'd consider solid cinema.) But in his '90s prime, Harlin was an action alchemist, transforming genre trash into pure gold. The Long Kiss Goodnight may be a convoluted, 'splodey amnesia actioner, but it's a good convoluted, 'splodey amnesia actioner. Style obliterates substance, violence ensues, and Geena Davis and Samuel L. Jackson spit out two of the most entertaining genre performances of 1996. What's not to love? Actually, don't answer that... It's impossible to ignore the similarities between The Long Kiss Goodnight and the Jason Bourne series, even though Harlin's film preceded Damon's first Bourne outing by some six years. (Screenwriter Shane Black surely had a copy of Robert Ludlum's 1980 spy thriller on his bookshelves when penning Goodnight.) Geena Davis is Samantha Caine, a mysterious woman working to forge a new life for herself eight years after a terrible accident left her with no memories or identity. Now a small-town Pennsylvania schoolteacher, Samantha has finally found happiness with her husband and daughter, Caitlin (Yvonne Zima). But when her past breezes into town with a vengeance, everybody's favorite housewife begins to remember who she once was: ruthless CIA assassin Charly Baltimore. Before you can say flashback, Samantha elicits the help of streetwise private investigator Mitch Henessey (Samuel L. Jackson), begins struggling with two competing personalities and has to face a parade of old foes (Craig Bierko and David Morse, among others), all while saving her daughter and thwarting a terrorist plot. Whew. Amazingly, Harlin (and the many, many writers who took a pass at Black's original script) hold it all together, if only by a frayed thread. Charly's emerging persona is obnoxious and overdone, and the baddies she faces are fourth-tier Bond villains at best. But there's an unabashed abandon to Harlin's fire-burst storytelling and just enough intensity and conviction in Davis and Jackson's performances to keep nostalgic action hounds glued to their seats. Gunplay and 'splosions hit hard and often, and watching a demented Davis leer at a mirror is always fun. Jackson chews on every delicious bit of dialogue that comes his way with toothy tenacity, young Zima avoids every precocious-tot pitfall, Bierko takes full advantage of the freedom afforded him, Brian Cox lends a hint of gravelly gravitas where it's sorely lacking, Morse is suitably menacing... I'd say Harlin won half of his battles in casting alone. Even when the director's dizzying, over-the-top action beats threaten to undermine his actors' efforts, Davis digs deep or Jackson comes through with a side-splitting one-liner. It's a ballet of errors, really. Each time Harlin falters, Davis and Jackson leap in to save the increasingly labyrinthine thriller from its mad mastermind. Big and dumb, Harlin's action indulges in '90s flash and circumstance, carves out a notch for itself just below ridiculous, and breathes and bleeds popcorn and butter. Take things too seriously and you'll despise every minute of The Long Kiss Goodnight. Crack a can of soda, munch on a bag of chips and flex that grin of yours, and you'll fall under Harlin's spell. At its most basic, the film is an action-comedy wrapped in dramatic linens; a genre-skirting catchall that takes a shot at earning cheers, laughs and tears. But it's also ungainly, tumbling from one extreme to the next with little to no sense of tone or, ironically, identity. Not that I'm complaining. For all its faults, The Long Kiss Goodnight isn't easily forgotten. It defies convention at almost every turn, introduces memorable character after memorable character, and revels in its own cinematic embellishments with such glee that it's next to impossible to look away. Big Dumb Fun is perhaps too dismissive a label to slap on Harlin's amnesia actioner, but you can't discuss The Long Kiss Goodnight without using the words big, dumb and fun at some point. Shrug off those cares and snuggle up with Davis, Jackson and Harlin. If nothing else, you'll have a blast. Renny Harlin may have fallen on harsh creative times, but his '90s canon lives on. While The Long Kiss Goodnight isn't his best, it is perhaps his biggest, dumbest and most fun. Just don't call it Big Dumb Fun. Between Davis and Jackson's performances, the film isn't so easy to dismiss, nor is its appeal limited to nostalgia. There's more going on under Harlin's hood than his critics give him credit for and, flaws and all, The Long Kiss Goodnight serves as proof. Unfortunately, Warner's Blu-ray release is another hit-or-miss catalog title. Its DTS-HD Master Audio surround track holds its ground, but its video transfer, though decent, is minted from an older master and its supplemental package includes nothing more than a theatrical trailer. Still, at such a low price, fans shouldn't hesitate to add this one to their carts. Cast Notes: Geena Davis (Samantha "Sam" Caine [A.K.A. Charlene "Charly" Elizabeth Baltimore]), Samuel L. Jackson (Mitch Henessey), Yvonne Zima (Caitlin Caine), Craig Bierko (Timothy), Tom Amandes (Hal), Brian Cox (Nathan), Patrick Malahide (Perkins), David Morse (Luke [A.K.A. Daedalus]), Joseph McKenna (One-Eyed Jack), Melina Kanakaredes (Trin), Dan Warry-Smith (Raymond), Kristen Bone (Girl #1), Jennifer Pisana (Girl #2), Rex Linn (Man in Bed), Alan North (Earl).
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