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All Movie Info
Directed By
John McNaughton
Written By:
Steven Peters
Cast:
Matt Dillon, Neve Campbell, Kevin Bacon, Denise Richards, Theresa Russell, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Bill Murray, Robert Wagner, Carrie Snodgress, Jeffery Perry, Marc Macaulay
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Wild Things (1998)
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Movie Review by Jarrod 
June 27th, 2008
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'Wild Things' is shamelessly trashy, yet it is also cleverly plotted, and is probably more intelligent than most would give it credit for, but the intelligence lies hidden beneath layers of sleaze. The movie weaves an intriguing and labyrinthine story, which starts out rather straightforwardly but grows increasingly complicated, with secrets revealed, tenuous relationships exposed, lots of backstabbing and double dealings, and then a sequence during the final credits brings all the missing pieces together, providing the details that we might have been able to infer for ourselves, but probably did not, because we were distracted by a hot lesbian make out session. Matt Dillon is Sam Lombardo, a high school guidance counselor in the upscale Florida neighborhood of Blue Bay. Lombardo has developed a reputation for bedding many of the women around the community, including powerful socialite Sandra Van Ryan (Theresa Russell). Her daughter Kelly (Denise Richards) tries to seduce Sam, and when he rejects her advances, she claims he raped her. These devastating allegations get him fired from his job, evicted from a country club, and ruin his romance with Barbara Baxter (Jennifer Bini Taylor), whose father is influential attorney Tom Baxter (Robert Wagner). The case is investigated by two cops, Ray Duquette (Kevin bacon) and his partner Gloria Perez (Daphne Rubin-Vega), who discover that a troubled teen named Suzie (Neve Campbell) also has rape charges she wants to bring against Sam; she and Kelly both testify at the trial. Sam's lawyer is the unscrupulous Ken Bowden (Bill Murray), who is surprisingly effective in the courtroom, due to his aggressive and intrusive questioning tactics. There is, of course, a lot more going on with Sam, Kelly, and Suzie; they are all connected to one another in ways that are eventually disclosed, along with certain facts about Duquette's background and service record that render an unfavorable impression of him. Every character in the film has secrets, dirty, dark, and deadly secrets. Twists are plentiful, with several false endings and climaxes, not to mention an electrifying threesome with Dillon, Richards, and Campbell, and Richards and Campbell kissing each other in a pool. 'Wild Things' has a self-conscious sense of humor mixed with over-the-top melodrama; Murray especially provides chuckles at inappropriate and unlikely moments; just about everything he said struck me funny for some reason. Bacon provides some full frontal nudity, with a complete view of his dick, for those who might be interested in such things. Out of the central performances, Bacon and Dillon are the best, but Campbell is intoxicating, and since she played the nice virginal girl in Scream, here she is exactly the opposite of that, but not initially, when she strikes us as a pathetic dopehead and outcast. Richards is pretty, but has the weakest of the major female roles; she has beauty at the expense of substance and depth.
The flashy cinematography gives Blue Bay a very inviting atmosphere, but then it is in Florida, which means that, by default, it will have fantastic beaches, and gorgeous views of the ocean, with luxurious gated estates and fancy cars. But there are also shots of swampland, with Sam out in a hovercraft, Suzie's mother and brother running an alligator attraction in the heart of the Everglades. This emphasizes Suzie's lower socio-economic status, a stark contrast to Kelly's pampered and privileged existence, and may represent a fervent desire on her part and Sam's to get at some of that Van Ryan wealth. Greed, jealousy, and envy may all serve as primary motivations for the main characters, but vengeance and lust also factor into the kinds of deviant, malicious behavior that this film showcases so effectively.
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