Bullet Points: Florida Straits

Florida is a state famous for being a place where you can find all different kinds of people acting in all different kinds of ways. I am sure it has to do something with the humidity, but it does make Florida an excellent setting for an action movie. Even better is when the name of the state is in the title. Any Florida Man would be happy to watch a movie called Florida Straits, and that is why I now have some Florida Straits Bullet Points.

• Fresh Off the Boat – Or in Florida Straits case, it is fresh off the military cargo plane as we meet Cuban refugees making their way stateside. One of these refugees is Raul Julia playing Carlos Jayne… and he gets super double bonus points for having a character with his same male first name and female first name as his surname naming convention! Carlos was in a Cuban prison for twenty years as flying a plane during the failed Bay of Pigs invasion will cause Castro to do that to you.
• Just Got Lucky – We next meet Fred Ward as Lucky Boone, but it must be one of the ironic names because the first thing we see Lucky do is lose half of his charter boat business in a card game. Lucky did have a full boat (get it!) sevens over threes, but it wasn’t enough to beat the slow-rolling Mac. Daniel Jenkins stars as Mac, the cocksure recent college graduate who takes the half of the business and we have got ourselves an unlikely partnership.

• Cuban Gold – Lucky and Mac really don’t get along at the start, but methinks that will change as the movie continues. Maybe the appearance of Carlos and his wanting to hire The White Witch, the name of Lucky’s boat, will cause that to change. Initially, Carlos just hires the boat for a regular fishing trip, but me and you know he has ulterior motives. It is not until the boat gets back to port that Carlos proposes using the boat to get some hidden gold that only Carlos knows about from his rebellious days. Me and you know that Carlos still has an ulterior motive.
• Bruja Blanca – We know have a trio and the boat is christened the Bruja Blanca, or White Witch in Spanish for those in the know. The trip to Cuba is not smooth sailing and not only do the crew have to deal with Cubans but also distrust amongst themselves. Once they finally make it to shore, Carlos finally spills the beans on his true motive going back to Cuba, his long lost love Carmen. There is always a woman in these movies.

• Oso Huggy – Things are more dangerous once they arrive in Cuba, and the main reason is a band of rebels that has Antonio Fargas as the scene stealing El Gato Negro. If you want to see Mac get slapped around by some rebels you may want to pay attention around this point, and if you were paying attention you may not be too upset that Mac is getting slapped around by some rebels. Lucky and El Gato have a memorable fight in a junkyard, and without spoiling too much, I will let you know that all’s well that ends in a well. 

Florida Straits is an entertaining action adventure movie that was very popular at the time, but what makes this 1986 movie stick out is the cast, and in particular Fred Ward and Raul Julia. Neither ever seem to disappoint, even when the movies they are in aren’t so good and Florida Straits is better for them. I know what you are asking now, but what about the gold and the woman? Well, you will have to watch Florida Straits to find out, but I will let you know that both don’t make it out of Cuba. The Florida Straits Bullet Points will end with some Florida Straits Bonus Bullet Points.

• Not So Florida Straits – South Carolina stood in for Cuba which makes sense, but it also stood in for Florida. I guess if there is one place outside of Florida that is filled with Florida Man it would be Myrtle Beach.
• If You Ever…- Wanted to see Raul Julia get scared by a cat with one of the pet cone collars then Florida Straits is the movie for you.
• Best Sarcastic Quote From The Movie That Is Surprisingly Accurate – “Great love story this is.”