Something Wild Review- By Michael J. Carlisle

Title: Something Wild
Year: 1986
Director: Jonathon Demme
Country: US
Language: English

 The name Lulu evokes the amoral, man-devouring heroine of G. W. Pabst’s classic silent film Pandora’s Box (1929), indelibly incarnated by Louise Brooks. Much like Cecil B. Demille did decades eaerler, Demme's femme fatale (in a very loose sense)  adopts Brooks’s distinctive black bob as well, along with more contemporary African jewelry, giving her an irresistibly exotic appeal.A late twentieth-century version of the opening of the mythical jar containing the evils of the world, her offer of a lift to the office turns into an excursion to New Jersey and wild sex with manacles in a seedy motel.

In Something Wild, Melanie Griffith plays a free-spirited woman who "kidnaps" a yuppie (Jeff Daniels) for a weekend of adventure, but the fun quickly takes a dangerous turn when her ex-convict husband (Ray Liotta)  shows up.

Director Jonathon Demme has said that on first reading the script, “I had no idea where the story was going . . . but I wanted to go along with it. And every time I thought I had figured it out, it veered off in another direction.” Indeed one moment we get a carefree comedy, another an enchanting melodrama, and another a tension filled crime picture. Something Wild often reminds me of a Simpsons episode called A Hunka Hunka Burns in Love (Season 14, Episode 4) in which Mr.Burns dates a young woman only to find out her ex-boyfriend Snake has been released from prison and is looking for her.

Demme himself has modestly characterized Something Wild as “an exciting attempt to marry screwball comedy with film noir,”It certainly is a bold attempt, although it sacrifices it's zany cutting edge speed in doing so. I've always felt that the High School reunion scene slows the film to a near halt and struggles to pick up after that. Although at the same time I found myself entranced by Ray Liotta's menacing performance. The second half of the picture is certainly important overall, but its impact is overshadowed by the first 30 minutes of the picture.

80's culture fills every frame of Something Wild. If nothing else, Demme has proved himself a master of Mise En Scene. The romance aspect of the picture takes a back seat to Charlie's existential crisis. In being exposed to a variety of cultures and backgrounds during his road trip he ultimately questions what he does and just who he is. While the film is not perfect, it is quite enjoyable for what it is. 3.5/5