True Lies (1994)

Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jaime Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold, and Bill Paxton.  Cinematography by Russell Carpenter. Editing by Conrad Buff IV, Mark Goldblatt, and Richard A. Harris.  Produced by Stephanie Austin and James Cameron.  Written and Directed by James Cameron.

Harry Tasker (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger) juggles two lives; one as mild computer salesman and the other as a dangerous secret agent. For fifteen years he has been married to Helen (played by Jaime Lee Curtis) and she has not once suspected him of lying to her about his job.  As the years have passed by her life has become increasingly more and more boring and she starts searching elsewhere for a little excitement.

And then some other crap happens and some stuff blows up.  True Lies is meant to be a comedy, but sadly it ends up being the wrong kind of joke. In the end it’s all bark and no bite.

After finishing Terminator 2:  Judgment Day James Cameron wanted to test his prowess outside of the sci-fi action genre. He was concerned that he was going to be labeled as a genre director and started working on a project with John Cusack called The Crowded Room; a film based on the true story of Billy Milligan and his multiple personality disorder.  But unfortunately The Crowded Room never really found its legs.  There were problems, legal and otherwise, before the script even left pre-production and Cameron finally had to drop the project.

Meanwhile, Cameron’s friend Arnold Schwarzenegger had just seen a small French film La Totale! that he absolutely loved.  He contacted Cameron and encouraged him to remake the film. Cameron arranged for a screening and enjoyed it as well.  He felt that a remake would be different enough from his previous projects to avoid a potential typecasting. Soon he submitted a treatment for his version of the movie to Twentieth Century Fox and True Lies was on its way.

True Lies may not be as well known for its special effects as Terminator 2 or The Abyss, but Cameron’s script called for many shots that would need to be manipulated by an effects team. George Lucas’ Industrial Light and Magic was already working overtime and couldn’t fit True Lies into their schedule, so instead of shopping elsewhere Cameron started up his very own special effects company, Digital Domain. But the expenses didn’t end with the effects.

The film was originally slated to have a sixty point five million dollar budget, but it quickly expanded to one hundred and twenty million, topping Cameron’s own Terminator 2:  Judgment Day as the most expensive film ever made.  All that money and there’s still nothing worth watching.

Budget: $120,000,000

Total US Gross: $146,282,411

Genre: Action

Runtime: 144 Minutes

US Release Date: 7/15/94

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1

Awards:

Academy Awards: 
Nominated for best visual effects.

Golden Globes: 
Won for best actress in a comedy or musical.

Tagline: When He Said I Do, He Didn’t Say What He Did.

Quote: “So your wife is banging a used car salesman.  It's humiliating, I know, but goddammit Harry, take it like a man.”