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Boasting loads of quirky charm, a pair of likable leads, and confident direction from Jonathan Demme, Something Wild navigates its unpredictable tonal twists with room to spare.
All Critics (36) | Top Critics (7) | Fresh (32) | Rotten (4) | DVD (1)
It begins with a meet-cute and ends with a murder, and sandwiched in between those emotional extremes are romance, regret and revenge.
Jonathan Demme's picaresque joyride across the American landscape is still arguably the best thing he's ever done.
Demme observes the human eccentricity that underlies the corner-store banalities of Middle America with warmth and loving detail; while a magnificent rock soundtrack and faultless performances from Daniels, Griffith and Liotta ensure pleasures galore.
The film's principal difficulty is E. Max Frye's original screenplay, which is better thought out in terms of its narrative than of the characters.
Demme is a master of finding the bizarre in the ordinary... This is one of those rare movies where the plot seems surprised at what the characters do.
A load of fun.
Part screwball comedy and part thriller, the unpredictable turns of Something Wild indeed chart its characters' untamed, untapped inner resources.
Something Wild is undoubtedly a minor work in the oeuvre of all its major players, yet it is never less than charming, and at times is almost inspired.
Captures the tension of trying to stand out in cookie-cutter world without alienating everyone around you.
Radiantly human even as, and after, it erupts in violence and rage, "Something Wild" remains an astonishing rarity - a bittersweet romantic tragicomedy that's generally optimistic ... but also hesitant and harmful exactly where it needs to be.
The tones shift rampantly, which for some viewers can be disorienting and off-putting. But, if you're in tune with Demme's aesthetic, which usually runs counter to our cinematic intuition, it is a wild ride indeed.
If you don't already know where it ends up then I assure you that you have no idea where it's going to end up.
Somehow this one passed me by and what a mistake that has been for me. The best I've ever seen Jeff Daniels and Melanie Griffith, they play a couple who "go wild" for a minute, taking us along for the typical romcom ride, however more comically sophisticated.The landscape is an America rarely seen in film, one that I recognized as real though it was 30 years old. Really a great film! And then Ray Liotta shows up. Jonathon Demme, the director, should go far. And a to die for soundtrack.
Super Reviewer
Original rating of 3 stars holds after rewatch. Hadn't seen this one since the 90's. It's a patchy 80's film with some fun fashions and situations, but it's not amazing. Melanie looks much better with the black wig on, too, I have to say. The short blonde hair is horrific!
Sort of a more up to date version of 'After Hours' with a more extreme, loud and in your face storyline as Daniels is dragged from one humiliating scene to another by wild child Griffiths who at first seems determined to get Daniels into trouble. Sure enough Griffiths character slowly gets Daniels in all heaps of bother as they evade checks and steal money from stores, its kinda predictable but not as uneasy watching as 'After Hours' as its more 'out there' and regular people are less likely to do that sort of thing haha Casting is abit off for me in this as Griffiths never was much to look at in my opinion and she hardly comes across as a law breaker whilst Daniels has never really been a good actor from day one haha. Things get better acting wise when Liotta turns up as the crazy jealous ex-con but the plot gets alittle out of hand too as things go from light hearted comedy to dark and uncomfortable, as only Liotta knows how, and the film becomes less enjoyable really.
Before eccentric love stories were popularized by hipsters and Michael Cera, there was Something Wild, a dangerous, insanity ridden, lustful adventure, from the mind of Jonathan Demme. The story revolves around yuppie Charlie, and indelicate Lulu, road tripping from New York to Pennsylvania, without any explanation on Lulu's part. As Charlie is seduced and easily manipulated into committing crimes and riding along with the odd Lulu, we ourselves are dejecting reality for a couple hours and falling in love with a nut job incapable of being rational. Once Lulu's true identity is revealed, and an unsavory husband, the story takes a dramatic turn, that of abuse and obsession, perpetrated by the always dark and comically insane Ray Liotta. Between the reggae covers featured in an almost diegetic way, and the bouts of incessant violence by Lulu and Ray, it's a movie split between two different plots, or more likely, personalities. Wild in every sense of the word, this is definitely perfect casting for Griffith, who is basically portraying herself, and Daniels, who is always good for a semi-gullible and yet so charismatic lead. Great road movie, great romantic drama/comedy, this is something wild.
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