WILD THINGS Reviewed by Jamie Peck
High school guidance counselor Sam Lombardo (Matt Dillon) is well-liked in the town of Blue Bay, especially by pretty, popular Kelly Van Ryan (Denise Richards), whose family name is among the Florida yachting enclave's most financially prominent. Hoping to take her crush to a physical level, Kelly seductively slinks into Lombardo's house after washing his jeep for a fundraiser, but, the very next day, tearfully admits to her trollop mother (Theresa Russell) that she was raped. Before long, Blue Bay detectives Ray Duquette (Kevin Bacon) and Gloria Perez (Daphne Rubin-Vega) are listening to similar allegations from Kelly's rebel classmate Suzie Toller (Neve Campbell). Lombardo, who maintains his innocence, hires neck brace-sporting, opportunistic lawyer Ken Bowden (Bill Murray) to defend him in court.
The previews give away the following revelations, so if you haven't seen any of the movie's spots on the television or in the theater, you might want to skip to the next paragraph. While cross-examining Suzie on the witness stand, Bowden gets her to break down and admit that the alleged rapes never took place -- that Kelly had concocted this entire scheme because she was angry that Lombardo was sleeping with her mother and not with her. To pay Lombardo for the damages, Kelly's mother breaks her daughter's trust fund and gives him $8.5 million. But Lombardo, Kelly and Suzie are actually all working together, and plan to take the money and run as fast as they can. Duquette and Perez, however, begin to suspect that there's more afoot to the case than just false accusations.
If there's a major drawback to "Wild Things," it's that it's oversexed to a fault. The much-talked-about hotel room menage-a-trois between Dillon, Campbell and Richards is a turn-off. It's also cut short (sorry, guys), and should have been cut shorter -- the movie grinds to a halt for pure titillation once too often. What we don't see is far more effective than what we do. Another example of this is Kevin Bacon needlessly going the full monty in a shower scene. Er, no thanks. Also, Bacon's Duquette feels simultaneously underdeveloped and overwritten. Daphne Rubin-Vega, from Broadway's "Rent," tries to compensate for a superfluous character. Theresa Russell is just plain wooden. And when, in the end, all is out in the open, ask yourself if certain scenes involving these three were really necessary.
But what keeps the movie from being throwaway junk is an engaging chain of surprises (some predictable, some not) that never seems to end. "Wild Things" has more twists than a crate full of corkscrews, and most are so gleefully, over-the-top nasty that you can't help but be charmed by their absurd showmanship. A great deal of amusement also comes from watching Bill Murray in a supporting part that appears to have been written for his sly comedic talent; Murray's a stitch, especially when pulling up beside the Van Ryan limo after winning Lombardo's case and flipping them off. And don't leave when the closing credits hit the screen, or you'll miss the film's best part -- four bonus flashbacks that smooth over plot holes while offering a few more tiny turns, plus a final scene that caps everything off with a great stunner of a bombshell.
Speaking of bombshells, Denise Richards, who plays almost every scene in a blue bikini top, does the teen tease thing with a malicious allure that she was never allowed to flaunt in "Starship Troopers." Matt Dillon flexes his sleepy-voiced sex appeal, and pulls off personality changes with chameleonic precision. Neve Campbell, lovely as ever except when sporting a blond wig, gives Suzie a vengeful vulnerability that makes her the most interesting member of the conspiring trio. Re-edited and toned down a bit, the dynamics between these three actors could have carried the film to greater lengths. But what we're given works well enough. "Wild Things" is highly entertaining and, indeed, very wild.
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