Captain Ron

Captain Ron

Theatrical Release Poster
Directed by Thom Eberhardt
Produced by David Permut
Written by John Dwyer
Starring Kurt Russell
Martin Short
Mary Kay Place
Benjamin Salisbury
Meadow Sisto
Music by Nicholas Pike
Cinematography Daryn Okada
Edited by Tina Hirsch
Production
company
Distributed by Buena Vista Pictures
Release dates
 September 18, 1992
Running time
 104 min.
Country USA
Language English
Budget $24 million
Box office $22,518,097

Captain Ron is a 1992 American comedy film directed by Thom Eberhardt, produced by David Permut, and written by John Dwyer for Touchstone Pictures.[1] It stars Kurt Russell as the title character, a sailor with a quirky personality and a checkered past, and Martin Short as an upper-middle class, suburban family man who hires him to sail a yacht through the Caribbean with him and his family aboard. Mary Kay Place, Meadow Sisto, and Benjamin Salisbury also star as his wife and children.

Plot

Martin Harvey (Short) is a middle-aged office worker who lives in a suburb of Chicago with his wife, Katherine (Place), 16-year-old daughter, Caroline (Sisto), and 11-year-old son, Ben (Salisbury). When he learns his recently deceased uncle has bequeathed him a yacht once owned by Clark Gable, he decides to take his family to the island of Ste. Pomme de Terre ("Saint Potato") to retrieve the yacht so he can sell it. Katherine resists the idea, but she agrees after Caroline announces she has just gotten engaged to an uncouth young man.

When the Harveys arrive at the island, they discover that the yacht, the Wanderer, is in terrible condition. Upon hearing this, the yacht broker cancels his plan to send an experienced captain to help them sail to Miami, and instead hires a local sailor, Captain Ron Rico (Russell), a one-eyed man with a very laid back attitude, and Navy veteran who claims to have piloted the USS Saratoga. He initially plans to inspect the yacht before setting sail, but launches immediately when he discovers the car he arrived in has rolled off the dock and sank. As the yacht moves out to sea, the car's owner arrives at the dock and shouts "You stole my wife, but you are not stealing my car!!", and tries to shoot Captain Ron.

We learn that Captain Ron is different from anything they have ever experienced. He has no problem taking Ben's money in a game of Monopoly, giving him beer to drink, and charging him for it later, but shows a surprising loyalty to Martin, who he only refers to as "Boss". Martin, however, doesn't like him, calls him "Moron" in his diary, and believes that he doesn't know what he's doing.

On their way to Miami, the Harveys decides to stop off in the Caribbean, but learn that Captain Ron doesn't know how to navigate. While on an island they mistook for another place, Martin becomes infuriated with Captain Ron and decides to go on a "nature hike" instead of staying with his family to make the most of it. Captain Ron warns him to stay on the path, because of "guerrillas", which he shrugs off as ridiculous, believing him to mean "gorillas", but he strays from it only to run into some, led by General Armando (Sunshine Logroño). Captain Ron eventually bargains for Martin's freedom by giving them a lift to the next island, and receiving some firearms in return to fight off pirates. This only angers Martin more, as he declares there will be no firearms on his yacht and tosses them overboard, before realizing that without them, he is indeed going to be forced to give the guerrillas a lift.

When they arrive at their next destination, (San Juan, Puerto Rico), Martin and Katherine are arrested for smuggling guerrillas onto there. Caroline and Ben, however, have a great time partying with the locals and Captain Ron there which ends with Caroline getting a tattoo, Ben breaking his glasses, and Captain Ron losing his glass eye. Martin and Katherine are released from jail, but are forced to leave that night. Martin decides to leave Captain Ron behind and go on without him. Not soon after, they encounter pirates who steal the yacht, and are stuck floating in the ocean in a raft. After some drifting, they land in Cuba, much to Martin's dismay, and discover that the yacht is there. The pirates discover them, but with the surprising help of Captain Ron, they are able to escape with the yacht. Captain Ron learns that they underrate Martin and decide to play hurt, forcing him to take control in the escape of the pirates. Using the skills that Captain Ron taught them, they are able to get the sails up after the engine breaks from lack of oil to better the distance between them and the pirates. In the end, the United States Coast Guard fires once at the pirates, scaring them away and creating a safe passage to Miami for the Harveys.

They arrive in Miami and part ways with Captain Ron. As they sail to their destination, they decide to turn the yacht around and keep it. Then a couple in a ski boat who envy them see them sail off. To their surprise, Captain Ron, now cleaned up with his hair pulled back and wearing a suit, pops up and says they should take the boat out for a spin.

Cast

Release

Box office

The film grossed $22.5 million, against its budget of $24 million.[2]

Critical reception

The film premiered on September 18, 1992. It was panned for putting Russell in the comedic role and Short in the serious one,[3][4] while others say that Russell's fun performance as the irresponsible and sometimes unsympathetic sailboat captain carried it through its flaws.[5][6] It has a score of 21% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 14 reviews with an average rating of 4.1 out of 10.[7]

Salisbury and Sisto were each nominated for a Young Artist Award.

References

  1. ↑ Canby, Vincent (September 18, 1992). "Captain Ron (1992) Review/Film; The Skipper Runs More Than a Boat". The New York Times.
  2. ↑ "Captain Ron (1992)". Box Office Mojo. September 18, 1992. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  3. ↑ Maltin, Leonard (1992). Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide.
  4. ↑ Kempley, Rita (September 21, 1992). "'Captain Ron'". Washington Post. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  5. ↑ Rugaard, Jason (July 26, 1992). "Captain Ron (1992) – Review". Movie Mavericks. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  6. ↑ Andresen, Joshua (September 22, 1992). "Weather Report's Joe Zawinul forms diverse new band". The Tech. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Captain Ron (1992)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 2, 2015.

External links

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