"Trysts and Twists"
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What You Need To Know:
WILD THINGS is a twisted mystery of sex, deception and blackmail. The movie takes the viewer on a wild ride through the immorality of Blue Bay, Florida and its rebellious inhabitants. Kelly Van Ryan is a high school senior from this community of the elite and spoiled. She has an infatuation with her guidance counselor, Sam Lombardo (played by Matt Dillon). She seductively enters his home in a wet T-shirt, but leaves in torn clothing and tears. The next day, she says that Sam sexually assaulted her. As the police investigate, Suzie Toller (played by Neve Campbell), a convicted drug offender, comes forward claiming Sam had previously raped her. What follows is a twisting tale which leads to more sexual immorality and murder.
The plot twists give the audience a cheap thrill, and the final kicker keeps them through the credits. Nevertheless, these moments of intrigue could not make up for the excessive language and fornication. The women pose for the camera and keep the viewer distracted from the plot changes. WILD THINGS proposes that sex, murder and the profanities are everyday occurrences, and as long as you come out on top, it does not matter how you got there.
Content:
(PaPa, Ho, LLL, VVV, SSS, NNN, A, DD, M) Pagan worldview of sexual deception & blackmail; 29 obscenities & 10 profanities; excessive violence including man beat physically, 2 descriptions of rape, man shot with a gun, man shot with a harpoon, woman shot with a gun, man poisoned, women fighting, police threatening woman, depiction of woman getting beat with a bottle, & people pulling woman's teeth out with a wrench; graphic sex scenes including 2 lesbian scenes plus 3 additional fornication scenes; upper female nudity, full male nudity including genitalia, rear nudity, upper male nudity, pictures of masochistic acts, women & men in seductive clothing, & women in small swimming suits; alcohol use; smoking, marijuana use, & cocaine use; and, blackmail & lewd gestures.
More Detail:
Director John McNaughton’s WILD THINGS is a twisted mystery of sex, deception and blackmail. The movie takes the viewer on a wild ride through the immorality of Blue Bay, Florida and its young rebellious inhabitants. The real story is not completely explained until the end of the credits, but getting there is a bothersome and uncomfortable ride. The representatives of the film do not want all the twists revealed in plot line, but this review will take you through the main story.
Kelly Van Ryan (Denise Richards) is a high school senior from Blue Bay’s rich community of the elite and spoiled. She has an infatuation with her guidance school counselor, Sam Lombardo (Matt Dillon). After she and a friend wash Mr. Lombardo’s jeep for a school fund-raiser, Kelly seductively enters his home in a wet T-shirt. Next, she is shown leaving the house in torn clothing and tears. The next day she does not go to school and confesses to her mother, the influential family matriarch, Sandra Van Ryan (Theresa Russell), that Sam sexually assaulted her. As the police investigate the rape, Suzie Toller (Neve Campbell), a convicted drug offender and a social outsider, comes forward claiming Sam had previously raped her. The two rapes are linked by one statement that was quoted from both instances. Sam is completely surprised by the allegations and must rely on Ken Bowden (Bill Murray), an ambulance-chasing lawyer, to represent him against the high society of Blue Bay. Ray Duquette (Kevin Bacon) is the police officer who investigates the rapes.
Due to the first twist in the courtroom, Sam is acquitted and receives millions of dollars from the Van Ryan estate. He remains a social outcast in Blue Bay and stays on the outskirts of the city. Through more twists, Sam ends up in bed with Suzie and Kelly. They conspire to get away with the Van Ryan fortune. Suzie begins to get nervous that she will be double-crossed, but does not see the deception that Sam and Kelly conspire against her. After a moment of tragedy, Sam and Kelly escape out of Blue Bay.
Duquette suspects and investigates Sam and Kelly. After going to the Van Ryan estate to confront and protect Kelly, unexplained events occur and more tragedy ensues. Then everything in his life seems to go in fast forward. He is kicked out of the police force and Blue Bay. After going down to the Caribbean islands, Duquette encounters a final surprise with Sam, creating a Hitchcockian ending.
The plot twists and storyline by Stephan Peters provide a cheap thrill, but the final kicker keeps one interested to stay through all the credits. Nevertheless, these moments of intrigue could not make up for the excessive language and fornication that plagued the film. McNaughton keeps the pace fast from the very start so that you cannot analyze too much, which leaves the ending surprising.
WILD THINGS has some good performances from Bill Murray and Kevin Bacon. The rest of the cast delivers the storyline admirably, but the main role for the women is to sexually pose for the camera and to keep the viewer distracted from the plot changes. The excesses that are shown on screen are disturbing. Stephan Peters is writing that sex, murder and profanities are normal everyday occurrences, and as long as you come out on top, it does not matter how you get there, regardless of the morality. This film is targeting the college and single adult market, further stripping away morality and restraint. It demonstrates that sin is acceptable as long as you do not get caught. It also delivers the message that money can help you get away with anything, and there are only consequences if you get caught (and sometimes not even then). Finally, WILD THINGS is an example of good writers who get lost in excesses of sin instead of relying on a strong moral base to strengthen their storyline.
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