[TOMT] 80s or 90s movie

r/

There is this movie which I remember seeing as a kid which I could have sworn starred Catherine Zeta Jones and Michael Douglas, but that’s impossible when looking at their filmographies.

So here is the plot: woman from the Middle East is a doctor in the US and dates a guy there. She has to fly back to her dad for some reason and is seen there by this rich sheikh like man who is grieving his wife and who decides he has to have her because she looks like his dead wife. At some point the sheikh sais the sun only shines when the wife is around and coincidentally that happens when he meets our protagonist. So he goes and kidnaps her. Her boyfriend back in the US gets worried and embarks on a rescue mission. I remember something about venomous snakes and wicker baskets too, but maybe that’s unrelated.

That’s all, I hope someone knows what I’m talking about! Thanks!

Comments

  1. LollipopCountry Avatar

    Thanks for anyone trying to provide a suggestion!

    I’ve tried googling similar movies and letting AI make suggestions but nothing came up that fits my memory. Hopefully I am not conflating multiple movies into one.

  2. TipOfTheirTongue Avatar

    Participants on this thread will automatically be notified when it is solved. Click here if you’re not leaving a suggestion but would like to be notified.

  3. GThunderhead Avatar

    Maybe Beyond Borders? It’s from 2003, so a little after the ’90s. It stars Angelina Jolie and Clive Owen, but for whatever it’s worth, Catherine Zeta-Jones was originally offered the role.

  4. Designer_Bee354 Avatar

    Maybe Not Without My Daughter? It doesn’t feature the people you mentioned but the plot somewhat matches. Made in 1991

  5. therewulf Avatar

    The Vanishing is what Google has told me so far but some plot points are different

  6. SioMac81 Avatar

    Obsession (1976)

  7. SioMac81 Avatar

    The Jewel of the Nile?

  8. Loose-Reaction-2082 Avatar

    This is a longshot but I’m wondering if you could be misremembering the plot of Sahara (1983) starring Brooke Shields? She does get kidnapped by a sheik in that but the plot doesn’t match up at all to what you’re describing.

  9. Hewholooksskyward Avatar

    The part about her being taken because of her resemblance to a dead wife sounds like Honeymoon in Vegas with Nicholas Cage and Sarah Jessica Parker, but none of the rest matches up.

  10. Natweeza Avatar

    This sounds like a Taylor plotline from the Bold and the Beautiful