WILD THINGS
Release Date: March 20, 1998 Starring: Kevin Bacon, Matt Dillon, Neve Campbell, Denise Richards, Theresa Richards, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Bill Murray, Robert Wagner Directed by: John McNaughton Distributed by: Columbia Pictures / Sony Pictures Entertainment MPAA Rating: R (strong sexuality, nudity, language, some violence) URL: http://www.execpc.com/~kinnopio/reviews/1998/wildthings.htm
Okay, so it was mostly gratuitous. How else can you explain a scene where a guy convinces two girls to make out on the premise that it's a "victory celebration"? No, the champagne didn't have anything to do with it. It was gratuitous. And like most other movies starring "the beautiful people" these days, it was not only gratuitous, but it involves a lot of immoral acts, scandalous trickery, and blatant disregard for any socially redeeming values. How else to describe a movie that's shallow on character, centered around the heist of eight million dollars, and filled with catfights, pot smoking, perjury, and shameless greed? If you haven't already guessed, there's nothing deep about WILD THINGS, but it's the sort of thriller that's good for a once-over.
If you've seen PALMETTO, then you know just about what to expect from this one. Put man and woman together and throw in sex and money. Yes, there's more of a plot than that, but it's nothing more than an excuse to use the theme. Sam Lombardo (Matt Dillon), a popular guidance counselor at Blue Bay High is accused of rape by popular teen socialite Kelly Van Ryan (Denise Richards). It doesn't help Sam that Kelly's mom, Sandra (Theresa Russell), is a rich widow who's out to bury the guidance counselor. It doesn't help him, either, when pot addict Suzie Toller (Neve Campbell) comes forward to confirm the story. Luckily for Sam, he's got a genius of a sleazeball lawyer (Bill Murray) to pull out all the stops in court and get Sam off the hook with a cool eight mil. Unfortunately, the route to Sam's non-guiltyness unearths a lot of other unlikely truths.
This movie belongs to Bill Murray and Kevin Bacon (who plays the detective assigned to Kelly's rape claims). Murray's straight-faced humor is one of the few bright spots among the otherwise stoic cast, and Bacon's cop is a good number. Unfortunately for Kevin, his role fades into stereotype when he pushes too far. We like to see him ask the tough questions, but when he keeps asking them and doesn't relent, he becomes every made-for-TV-drama policeman with a gut feeling. The rest of the cast is wholly unlikeable for at least one moral excess. Dillon, whom the audience believes is good for the most part, loses a lot of that as the movie drags on. And while it does run fairly well through a 108-minute span, there are some lulls. Bring some popcorn.
The script is what's pure gold about WILD THINGS. It takes a twistier route to the conclusion than TWILIGHT, which had previously taken the award for most turnabouts in one script. Your jaw will drop open at some, and expect others (it's easy to tell when a character is about to bite the dust, or, as the case may be, swim with the fishes). All in all, WILD THINGS is a fun thriller, more energetic than other recent box office efforts. It's also the kind of movie you forget all about twenty minutes after you're out of the theater, so come with an open mind and don't expect much to get the most out of this one.
FINAL AWARD FOR "WILD THINGS": 2.5 stars - an enjoyable movie.
-- Craig Roush kinnopio@execpc.com -- Kinnopio's Movie Reviews http://www.execpc.com/~kinnopio
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