_True Lies_ Revel without a Cause by T. Kerrigan and Mimi Fischer Currently a debate is raging among film critics, non-academic and academic alike, over the apparent racism and misogyny of James Cameron's summer blockbuster, _True Lies_. Again and again, we hear the typical refrain of traditionalist film critics: _True Lies_ lacks narrative. At best it is mere spectacle, at worst it is ideologically pernicious. The film has been attacked from all directions by a number of different camps ranging from feminists to cultural conservatives. Readings have condemned the comedic stalking of Jamie Lee Curtis' character by linking it to the murder of Nicole Simpson, allegedly by her husband. Clearly some questioning of the film's more difficult positionings is warranted. One would be foolish to follow Arnold's lead in the saving of his marriage. In addition, the Arab Anti-Defamation League has had reason to protest the film's portrayal of Arab terrorists. We have all seen one too many depictions of the fanatical soldier of Allah mindlessly blowing up all vestiges of Western civilization and/or capitalism. Indeed, it seems the only group of people who have not found the film offensive have been thirteen year old adolescent males which puts us, two thirty-something post-feminist doctoral students in odd but, by now, all too familiar company. We find _True Lies_ to be incoherent, fascinating and over the top--the best of what the New Hollywood has to offer. The problem with ideologically based objections to the film is in their insistence that classical reading strategies can be applied to post-classical texts. During the golden age of Hollywood where central producers had the final say on a studio's product, it was possible to formulate a relatively cohesive reading of a film's ideological position. However, with the demise of the studio system and the rise of vast media conglomerates, films, like the industry itself, have become more fragmented, making *revelatory* readings virtually impossible. Ultimately, critics primarily focused on the film's ideological bent end up with drastically reduced versions and, even more importantly, they miss out on all the thrills that a $120 million revel can offer. Although _True Lies_ may well contain some politically questionable aspects, it also offers a variety of other pleasures which we will, for the sake of brevity , reduce to two: serious pleasure and fun, to use terms employed by R. L. Rutsky and Justin Wyatt. On the *serious* side, the film, like much of Cameron's work, raises a number of interesting questions concerning the status of the post-nuclear family. Quite frankly, in _True Lies_, he literalizes the nuclear family. Not only does the reunion of the couple occur just beyond the fallout of nuclear destruction, but a father and daughter bridge the generation gap on the wings of a harrier jet. In the end, stability is no more a goal of this family than it is for the film. Closure is replaced by enclosure as the film refers back to its own generic past. The kiss between Curtis and Schwarzenegger which, according to classical Hollywood terms, should signal the end of the film and point to a happy future for the married heterosexual couple, in fact quotes the already self- reflexive opening kiss of _Touch of Evil_ and instead leads to even bigger and better stunts. In this explosive embrace, as in other excessive moments of hi-tech splendor, we revel regardless of the cause A slick action film (and the key word of course is action), _True Lies_ gives us what the New Hollywood does best--dazzling surfaces, gleaming skin on beautiful bodies, brilliant explosions and death-defying equine entertainment. The film succeeds in giving its spectator almost unlimited access to a cinematic carnival where we romp from from one attraction to the next. But like the theme park it resembles, the pleasure is in the experience not in the destination. We enjoy feeling as if we are being taken for a ride across a narratively incoherent and, for this very reason, all the more fascinating surface. There is nothing ideologically corrupt about such a ride even when it is through a troubled text like _True Lies_. As long as we do not lose sight of race, class and gender issues while hooting and hollering for yet another fire bomb, a viewing in distraction can offer an alternative or perhaps supplemental mode of appreciation that brings together so called intellectual with visceral pleasures. Copyright 1994 by the authors. All rights reserved. Please do not reprint this review without the permission of the authors.