SOMETHING WILD

Rewatching this was a nice nostalgia trip since I had fond memories of this early Jonathan Demme directorial effort, although in all honesty the only thing I could remember clearly was the early motel room scene, which made quite an impression.  

The basic setup is that square businessman Charles (a very young-looking Jeff Daniels) is swept up by wild Lulu (Melanie Griffiths) one Friday afternoon, a setup which has echoes of earlier films such as ‘Bringing Up Baby’.

Gradually though the wild energy of the first act dissipates as we get to know the real Lulu, a small town girl whose real name is the more prosaic Audrey.

The film begins to sag during the school reunion dance that Audrey drags Charles to, which goes on longer than necessary.  For no good reason a  new character (Irene) is introduced, who is then quickly dropped.  And I was confused as hell when a work colleague of Charles turns up, a huge coincidence I felt, or maybe America is a small place - who knew?

Thankfully it is about this point that Ray Liotta makes his appearance (later than I remembered) doing what he does best, playing a small-time felon with anger management issues, who doesn’t like that his ex Audrey is now giving him the cold shoulder.

Inevitably we end up with a violent confrontation between the two men, but everything works out happily for Charles and Audrey.

As one would expect from a Demme film the soundtrack is great and helps maintain the vibe.

RATING: ✓ If You've Nothing Better To Do