The Jewel of the Nile (PG)
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This is the sequel to Romancing the Stone. It came out in 1985, but I'm fairly sure I didn't see it until 2021. Something I didn't really say in my review of the first movie is that it was just as much a comedy as an adventure movie, and the same holds true for this one. I guess I just didn't put a secondary link to it in my comedy section because there are already so many movies listed there, and so many more I want to see. So I just have a bit more room in my action/adventure section. Anyway, for the most part I found this movie redonkulous, and not necessarily in a good way. Probably my favorite thing about it is the song that plays over the closing credits, for a reason I'm not going to spoil. Still, by the time the movie was over I looked back on it and found myself reasonably entertained, even if I don't like it more than a little bit. I'm glad to have seen it, but I can't imagine ever wanting to watch it again.

Once again, the movie starts with a scene Joan is writing for one of her books, but she can't figure out where the story should go after a certain point. Back in reality, she and Jack have been sailing around the world for the past six months, and they're currently in France. Jack wants to continue on to Greece, but Joan wants to go back to New York. However, neither plan gets realized because a man named Omar Khalifa wants Joan to go to Africa with him, to write his biography. He's about to become an emperor, supposedly with plans of uniting various Arab countries in peace. After Joan leaves, Jack is confronted by Ralph, who's spent the last six months in prison after the events of the first film, and he blames Jack. But then a man named Tarak shows up and basically demands Jack's help in recovering a jewel Omar had stolen, without which he couldn't take over, I guess. And his plans are far from peaceful. Jack agrees to go with him, after his boat is blown up by Omar's men. And Ralph insists on coming along, hoping to claim the jewel for himself.

Joan eventually learns that the "Jewel of the Nile" is actually a Sufi holy man called Al-Julhara, whom Omar is holding captive. The two of them escape together, and soon encounter Jack, who reluctantly accepts Joan's commitment to get Al-Julhara to the city of Kadir, where Omar is going to hold a ceremony to declare himself emperor. Meanwhile, Ralph goes along with Tarak and his tribe, who believe Jack has betrayed them by taking the Jewel for himself. So they follow the trio to Kadir. Of course, Ralph still thinks the Jewel is an actual jewel, and believes Jack has betrayed him. And it's quite awhile before Joan even tells Jack the truth about the Jewel being the man they're traveling with.

I guess I don't want to reveal any more of the plot, but I will say I liked Al-Julhara. I didn't really care for the romantic part of the story, between Joan and Jack. Most of the time they seemed pretty terrible as a couple, so it was hard for me to get too excited about things working out between them in the end. But otherwise, I guess the story was sort of okay.