Archive

Rebound Reviews: “Wild Things”

Wild Things is an aptly named potboiler from the late ’90s, a film that made headlines for its splashy sex scenes and twisty tale of intrigue back in its day. Starring a mostly knockout cast of Neve Campbell, Denise Richards, Kevin Bacon and Matt Dillon, the film is part crime thriller, part campy satire and part soap-tastic melodrama. The film opens at a high school in fictional Blue Bay, Fla., a ritzy community bordering on rural swamp, setting the scene for the sweaty drama to come. Smarmy guidance counselor Sam (Matt Dillon) is trying to sleep his way up the social ladder while staving off the advances of rich, bratty Kelly (Denise Richards) and bayou girl Suzie (Neve Campbell).

Both girls accuse him of sexual assault, which leads to a dramatic rape trial and Sam’s expulsion from every social circle in town. It’s played up with all the subtlety of an overblown after-school special, with the distinct undertone that all is not as it seems in the town of Blue Bay.

And indeed, it isn’t. During the court case, Sam’s bumbling lawyer (Bill Murray in a small but hilarious role) gets Suzie to admit that the whole accusation was faked, a teenage plot to enact revenge on the man Sam and Kelly feel rejected them both.

Sam then successfully sues Kelly’s millionaire mother, causing police Sgt. Ray Duquette (Kevin Bacon) to suspect that the whole event was a setup, a ploy to rip off the mother’s money and share it among the three of them. Much to the disdain of his partner, Det. Gloria Perez (Daphne Rubin-Vega), Duquette begins to poke around, following Sam and harassing the girls at their respective homes.

From here, the movie takes a wildly different direction. While the first half plays out like a candy-colored melodrama, the second half of Wild Things pulls the viewer into an ever-intensifying web of deceit. Splitting the narrative between Duquette’s investigations and the plotting of the co-conspirators, we find out that the entire crime was nothing more than a well-acted scam, and the three are planning to run off to the Caribbean with the loot.

Kelly, Suzie and Sam celebrate with the infamous threesome scene (aka the reason most people remember Wild Things in the first place). Things begin to spiral out of control as Duquette figures out what’s going on and starts to manipulate the situation, turning the girls against one another and Sam. Before you can say “gratuitous shot of Denise Richards exiting a pool,” the body count begins to climb.

If it sounds muddled, be assured that the film is actually quite easy to follow. The pacing is absolutely spot-on, as the layers of deception and connections between characters peel away one-by-one. It’s fun to guess and second-guess exactly who is connected to whom, and to see who gets their comeuppance in the end. In this respect, Wild Things is a highly successful thriller.

Likewise, for a film centered on rape and murder, it’s quite funny. Bill Murray’s depiction of Ken, the cheap lawyer, is classic, and Theresa Russell’s over-the-top performance as Kelly’s bitchy, nymphomaniac mother hits the perfect note between camp and pure satire. The funky George S. Clinton score adds to the lightness of the atmosphere, continually reassuring the viewer that everything here is very tongue-in-cheek.

The most highly publicized aspect of the film is its nearly exploitative approach to sexuality. It is at once sexy and problematic in its depiction of lesbianism. The infamous threesome scene sizzles, but it also features Sam egging the girls on, indicating that their kissing (and more) is for his pleasure, not theirs.

In another scene, Kelly and Suzie fight viciously (in a pool, no less), and then embrace passionately. Unfortunately, Duquette is lurking in the bushes and taping the action (because he is supposedly investigating), thus inserting the male gaze directly into a moment that otherwise only involves the two women. The Kelly/Suzie relationship is the most ambiguous part of the movie. It is implied, at least until the shocker at the end of the film, that both are acting under Sam’s authority, especially the lovesick and confused Kelly. Yet there is clearly an attraction between the two women, evidenced by the pool scene (neither one was aware of Duquette’s presence with the camera). Unfortunately, this attraction is always framed in relation to a male character.

Part of the issue at hand is Kelly’s character. She’s presented as a vapid, wishy-washy girl, hopelessly in love with Sam and willing to go along with anything he says. Sam actually describes her this way when professing his innocence to Det. Perez, claiming with all the guidance counselor professionalism he can muster that Kelly is a “sexually confused, angry young girl.”

Kelly is the source of a great deal of humor in the film (upon loading a “dead” body in the back of her SUV, she proclaims valley-girl style, “Mom would kill me if she knew I took the truck!”) and a great deal of its sex appeal as well. (Outside of the James Bond canon, it’d be difficult to name another film that features its heroine half-naked and soaked for such a huge portion of its running time.)

Despite its problems, the film is enjoyable in a trashy, guilty pleasure sort of way. And thankfully, the female characters actually aren’t as subordinate or stupid as they first appear. In fact, it is “simple” Suzie who masterminds her own plot in an out-of-nowhere twist that adds a welcome dimension to the narrative. It’s always nice to see a little girl power winning out in the end.

The acting is mostly excellent. Denise Richards is certainly playing to her type, though Kelly is really little more than eye candy. Neve Campbell fares better as the more-than-meets-the-eye Suzie, and plays the dual role beautifully. Bacon and Dillon are perfect as the slippery cons playing authority figures. It’s quite fun to watch accomplished performers create characters within characters, and they handle it masterfully here.

Similarly, the production values are fantastic, depicting each of the contrasting worlds (the swamp, the town, etc.) with a mix of sweeping panoramas and sweaty close-ups, giving substance to the heat that permeates the film. The aforementioned soundtrack is also fantastic, mixing late ’90s hits and Clinton’s funky score. The whole affair has the aesthetic of a Chris Isaak music video (but with more alligators).

Overall, Wild Things is a delightfully trashy, exploitative thriller. Like Basic Instinct before it, it’s sexy, stereotypical and yet somehow manages to ride the fine line between camp and quality. It deserves a place on the movie night play list, if not a permanent spot in your DVD collection.

Lesbian Apparel and Accessories Gay All Day sweatshirt -- AE exclusive

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Back to top button