Something Wild

Right off the bat, Jonathan Demme's Something Wild fires off on all pistons. (Then again, what else would you expect from a Roger Corman protege?) But like many titles from this period in time, not everything is what it seems.

The second Charlie Driggs (Jeff Daniels) crosses paths with Lulu (Melanie Griffith), nothing would be the same for him. With her black bobbed hair and assortment of jewelry, Lulu is a wild card and a half. But the things she drags Charlie through are certainly nothing the yuppie was ever expecting.

Like Demme's later film Married to the Mob, Something Wild takes the 1980s image of everyday life and flips it on its head. Amid the pastels and loud patterns associated with the decade lies something far darker. (This was the last decade of the Cold War, after all.) Looks can be deceiving.

And much like other titles of the time, Something Wild takes a potshot at the so-called "American Dream". Released during Reagan's second term, it takes that ideal cultivated after World War II and thoroughly smashes it to bits, using the debris to make the real American Dream: a little jagged, very sharp, and of many facets. (And it's no less true now than it was then.)

Something Wild most definitely lives up to its title. With Griffith embodying the title, Daniels trying to keep up with her, and Ray Liotta stealing the entire show the second he shows up, it's the kind of picture that easily upends your preconceived notions. And Demme does it without any problem.

My Rating: ****1/2