I've always found this movie in the cheap sales in HMV, friends and family who have 'never heard of it'. Is it me or is this movie an absolute gem? The roller coaster of emotions, the great soundtrack, Ray Liota FFS!!!
I've never known a film change direction so dramatically from being a comedy to a serious violent drama at the drop of a hat, or David Bowies Fame to be precise.
Class class film!
I totally agree with you.
Critics might dismiss it as another `yupee in peril` movie, but that subtitle could also be applied to Scorceses's equally good yet undervalued After Hours. Besides, that would be missing the point.
I'm not really a fan of Demme's work, I sometimes think he's a quirky hack who got occasionally very, very lucky - such as with this film, Last Embrace and Melvin and Howard.
Another thing I love about Something Wild is that it features Spring Rain by the Go-Betweens on the soundtrack. The Go-Betweens are an utterly fantastic Australian indie band.
round and round, up and down, through the streets of your town, great band! I must try and get the soundtrack sometime!
shareI think this film was dismissed as an "After Hours" rip-off by a lot of people, when it was actually a much more emotional and realistic film.
Don't try to read my mind because it's full of disappearing ink
All of Demme directed "fictional" films tended to be underrated until "Silence of the Lambs." Something Wild is a great film in the vein of having a good continuous story line with multiple angles (like Handle with Care). The sound track is great too but obmits BAD- Medicine Show.
Track Name Track Length
1 Loco de Amor - David y Celia 03:51
2 Ever Fallen In Love - FYC 03:49
3 Zero, Zero Seven Charlie - UB40 03:53
4 Not My Slave - Oingo Boingo 04:26
5 You Don't Have To Cry - Jimmy Cliff 03:59
6 With Or Without You 04:49
7 Highlife - Sonny Okossun 03:35
8 Man With A Gun - Jerry Harrison 04:37
9 Temptation - New Order 03:30
10 Wild Thing - Sister Carol 04:07
If that is the track listing, then "Spring Rain" by the Go-Betweens is also missing.
Both this movie and After Hours are highly underrated. They are packed with small touches that make the difference between a good film and one you can see again and again and again. And I feel I want to add Groundhog Day and Four Weddings to that list.
shareyes, this is a very underrated film. the movie i used to know Demme for was Silence of the Lambs. this picture is much better than that one in opinion. it's far richer... starting out as a riske but charming screwball comedy before gliding into an intense thriller. marvelous performances by jeff daniels and griffith.
shareI have to agree. This movie is one of my all time favorites.
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Extremely underrated. My god, IMDB only rates it a 6.6!!!!!!! How effed up is that? This movie is a modern classic and it's own original thing. SEE IT.
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I just loved this movie, from beginning to end. Great peformances by Jeff Daniels and Melanie Griffith were awesome and Ray Liotta was brilliant. I had never seen Liotta before, it was like "Who is this guy??!!"
Jonathan Demme always manages to mix in a little racial harmony message in his movies. Nice. I loved the way the tone of the film changed halfway through. I can watch this movie every couple years and still enjoy the hell out of it.
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I watched this for the first time yesterday - and I was amazed at how brilliant it is. Melanie Griffiths is fantastic, Jeff Daniels is perfect in his role, and Ray Liotta was also a joy to watch. What an excellent cast - including the actors who only appeared briefly( the liquor store owner etc.. )
I like the way the film immediately grabs you at the beginning as Griffiths' character is so unusual and in-ya-face, with Daniels' character being so lost in the boredom of his life. Then everything goes into top gear - and it's a great roller coaster ride from then on.
Definitely a classic - and a film I'll be recommending to everyone.
I remember well seeing this film in the theater when it came out - it was an experience. I think it is one of the best films of the 80's and I am surprised it is not rated more highly here. It is a film of such great imagination. Ray Liotta ran away with it in the latter half, but what a fantastic performance.
To the poster above who said he thought Jonathan Demme was a hack - I think he is anything but a hack. I suppose it depends upon what one means by "hack"; I consider it to mean anyone whose work is repetitive, unimaginative, made to serve a limited and purely commercial purpose and never better than mediocre in quality. That does not at all describe Demme. Although he has made some poorly received films, I think he is one of the most creative minds to have worked in film. Witness the breadth of different styles that constitutes his output (drama, comedy, documentary (including one genre-defining musical documentary), thriller, musical documentary). Although his work has varied in quality, it has always been daring, unusual and often ground-breaking.
My only problem with the film is that I did not understand why Audrey got so angry when she found out that Charlie wasn't actually married. Although she may not have actively lied to Charlie about anything, she had failed to tell him several pieces of highly relevant information (like, "Look - This guy is my ex-husband, he is violent and dangerous, so stop being his buddy; we need to find a way to get the hell away from him.")
I don't object to this plot wrinkle.
It's sorta funny that she's complaining he lied (or omitted the truth) when her whole scheme is a complete lie her Mom sees through before she even knocked on the door. Even the Lulu / Audrey thing announces she's very duplicitous, and how dare someone lie to her! That's comedy gold.