Romancing the Stone | 1984 | PG | – 5.5.4

Why is “Romancing the Stone” rated PG? The MPAA rating does not include content details. The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes an implied sex scene with partial nudity, several kissing scenes and several cleavage revealing outfits; several scenes of men exchanging gunfire with no wounds shown, a stabbing death with no wound shown, a man attacked by crocodiles with one scene showing his hand being bitten off with blood and gore shown and another when he falls off-screen into a pit of crocs, and many scenes of danger and risky activity, and strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.”

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Romantic comedy and adventure about a successful romance writer (Kathleen Turner) whose real life is devoid of both passion and danger. Everything changes when her sister is kidnapped in Columbia and she ends up embroiled with a charming rogue (Michael Douglas) looking for treasure while avoiding a homicidal paramilitary official. Also with Danny DeVito, Zack Norman, Alfonso Arau, Manuel Ojeda, Holland Taylor and Mary Ellen Trainor. Directed by Robert Zemeckis. A few lines of dialogue are spoken in Spanish without translation. [Running Time: 1:46]

Romancing the Stone SEX/NUDITY 5

 – A man and woman dance closely together in a restaurant and they kiss; the scene changes to a bed where they lie together nude and kiss (we see the woman’s bare side, with a partial nipple showing, to the hip and the man’s bare back and side, and sex is implied).
► A woman and then a man slide down a mudslide on the side of a hill and land in a puddle where the woman’s skirt is lifted to reveal her bare legs to the upper thighs and the man lands with his head between her knees. A man and woman run to each other, the man picks the woman up and they kiss as he spins her around, off the ground. A man and woman kiss and embrace a few times.
► A woman in a bar ogles men and describes each one based on his appearance, trying to entice another woman to approach one of them.
► A woman wearing low-cut top is shown in an extended scene (we see cleavage and nipples through a sheer fabric); she raises her skirt to reveal her full thigh to the hip (please see the Violence/Gore category for more details). A woman’s top is wet and it clings to her revealing nipples through the fabric, as well as cleavage. A framed picture of a novel cover shows a woman wearing a low-cut top that reveals cleavage and partial abdomen. A woman’s skirt opens at the hem to reveal her bare thigh as a man admires her. A woman wears a towel wrapped around her and we see cleavage, bare shoulders and legs to the mid-thighs. A man’s shirt hangs open to reveal his bare chest and partial abdomen.

Romancing the Stone VIOLENCE/GORE 5

 – A man stabs another man in the abdomen and we see his surprised face. A man holds his hand over a pit of crocodiles and one bites his hand off (we see the bloody stump with a lot of blood and tissue as he yells). A man holds a woman’s hand and cuts it with a knife (we see blood) to drip blood over water where crocodiles are swimming. A young boy throws a bolero around a woman’s throat and she is knocked unconscious; the boy puts the woman in her car and drives her to a pier where she is taken to a boat and held hostage.
► Several armed men shoot at a man and a woman as they run through a thick forest (no one is harmed). A man holds a gun on a woman and shoots at another man (he bursts the man’s water pouch); the second man shoots back at the first man and they exchange fire until one man runs away (there are no injuries). A man holds a knife to a woman and forces her to say certain things over a telephone. A woman is held by two men with guns and another man threatens another woman; a gun is shot into the ground and a man with bloody wounds and an arm in a sling is pushed to the ground. A man is struck in the crotch with a gun butt and he leans over moaning, and wiggles his hips as something falls down his pant leg. A man and a woman fight (she has a knife and he has a board with nails in it); they wrestle on the ground, she burns his face with a cigar she takes from his mouth, he falls back into a lantern and he catches fire and then he falls into a pit of crocodiles.
► A man drives a truck and speeds away from men with guns that shoot at him; they speed along dirt roads (we see a rooster tossed around under the vehicle but it seems OK) and jump a ramp leaving the men chasing them crashing into a river. A man and woman are chased by other men in cars and the man runs alongside a moving car before jumping in and the car crashes over a waterfall where the man and the woman jump out and land in the water (we see them OK later). A man and woman walking through a small village are surrounded by men with guns that appear threatening.
► A woman steps gingerly on broken planks of a bridge and nearly falls through a couple of times before grabbing onto a vine and swinging to safety; a man follows and crashes into the side of a sheer rock wall before pulling himself up (we see him with a bloody nose later). A woman and then a man slide down a mudslide on the side of a hill and land in a puddle without injury (please see the Sex/Nudity category for more details). A bus crashes into a stopped car on a narrow road (both vehicles are incapacitated and we see no injuries). A man and woman use a machete to cut through thick foliage in a forest and they find a downed plane with a decayed body dangling out of the cockpit window. A man and woman steal a car and speed to a raging waterfall, and they walk through the water. A man chases a crocodile and pulls on its tail as it tries to climb over a wall (he lets it go).
► A woman in a restaurant catches a man crawling under her table to try to steal another woman’s bag; the first woman pulls the man out from under the table, tipping the table over, she shoves the man and yells at him, punching him repeatedly before punching another man that tries to intervene (we see the first man with bloody cuts and bruises later). A woman talks about another woman’s husband having been killed and that the woman found only one piece of his body.
► We see crocodiles in several scenes thrashing their tails and chomping their jaws when a man throws food to them; a man slips through a grate over a pit filled with crocodiles and one snaps at him. A man swings a machete down toward a woman as a snake slithers behind her (we see the snake’s head cut off, with a bit of blood).
► A woman on a bus steps on a pig and it squeals loudly as its human companion yells at the woman. A woman arrives in an airport crowded with people and we see some people fighting and others holding farm animals (pigs and chickens) as she walks through looking nervous. A woman passes out after drinking a lot and inhaling smoke from a fire built with marijuana.
► Four men on horseback exchange gunfire and we see three men fall from their horses to the ground (presumably dead in a depiction of a scene from a novel). A man with a gun kicks a door open and threatens a woman until she raises her skirt to reveal a knife that she throws into the man’s chest and he falls back to the floor dead (it’s a depiction of a scene from a novel). A man uses a machete to cut the heels off a woman’s shoes. A woman throws a glass and a plate into a fireplace and they shatter.
► A voiceover (describing details in a novel) speaks about a gang of men having killed a woman’s family and talks about her mother having been raped and murdered and her dog shot. A woman talks about another woman getting bus sick, car sick and air sick and that the woman would likely “puke.”

Romancing the Stone LANGUAGE 4

 – 17 scatological terms, 6 anatomical terms, 22 mild obscenities, 1 derogatory term for a Hispanic person, name-calling (bastards, rapists, pumpkin, vague, character, hot, hopeless romantic, bullet-head, gutless wonder, smug, [scatological term deleted] poor, third world toilet, macho, crazy, brainless broad, stupido, scum, stupid, local yo-yos, fly boys, con-artist, sap, snake, butcher, jinx, bad news, lonely ), 11 religious profanities (GD), 14 religious exclamations (e.g. Oh God, My God, For Christ’s Sake, Oh My God, Christ, Jesus Christ, For God’s Sake, Holy [scatological term deleted]). | profanity glossary |

Romancing the Stone SUBSTANCE USE

 – Many packages of marijuana are found in a downed plane and a man uses them to start a fire for warmth (he and a woman appear to be under the influence after they inhale the smoke). A woman drinks a small bottle of liquor in celebration, people in a bar are shown holding glasses of liquor and wine and a few are shown drinking, a man finds a bottle of liquor on an abandoned plane and he and woman drink from it, and a woman drinks from a small bottle of liquor and a man grabs it away and drinks as well. A man smokes a cigarette, and a man smokes cigars in a few scenes.

Romancing the Stone DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Murder, fear, adventure, drug running, kidnapping, greed, treasure, testing your limits, trust.

Romancing the Stone MESSAGE

 – Life is full of unpredictable twists.