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Matt Dillon, Kevin Bacon, Neve Campbell

In south Florida, a high school counselor is accused of rape by a manipulative rich girl and her trailer trash classmate. The cop on the case begins to suspect a conspiracy and dives into an elaborate...( read more  read more... ) and devious web of greed and betrayal to find the truth.

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55% liked it

73,757 ratings

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64% liked it

55 critics

R, 1 hr. 53 min.

Directed by: John McNaughton

Release Date: March 20, 1998

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DVD Release Date: March 6, 2001

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Flixster Reviews (3,041)

  • SirPant
    September 28, 2009
    SirPant
    Was overhyped at the time but it had a good cast and kept me entertained. I liked the naughty bits ;o)
  • LitelBluHli
    September 8, 2009
    LitelBluHli
    For the longest I had no idea what this movie was about. I seriously thought it was just some huge sex movie, since all I ever heard about was the scene with Neve Campbell and Denise Richards making out. It turns out to be much more than that; there's actually a storyline! I thou...( read more)ght it was clever and was quite happy with the ending. =)

    Denise Richards play a rich girl, Kelly. Neve Campbell is Susie or Suzy, however it's spelled, a girl who lives in the trailer park. They both acuse, (Matt Dillon) Sam Lombardo, guidance counsler of rape. Kevin Bacon plays a cop who thinks the girls are lying and tries to figure out why. I'd recommend this if you were a skeptic like me.
  • PvtCaboose91
    August 22, 2009
    PvtCaboose91
    "People aren't always what they appear to be. Don't forget that!"


    Directed by John McNaughton (who arrived on the scene in 1989 with the low-budget shocker Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer), Wild Things is a twisty, lurid Southern noir tale of sex, sc

    ...( read more)andal and devious plotting. It doesn't take itself too seriously (ala Showgirls), but neither does the film sink into complete camp. Wild Things instead resides somewhere in the middle, and the product is amusing, shocking, erotic and inarguably engrossing.


    Because the plot secrets are key to the movie's enjoyability, only a brief outline of the basic set-up will be included in this review.


    The story unfolds in the South Florida town of Blue Bay, and centres on a high school guidance councillor named Sam Lombardo (Dillon). Sam's life is turned upside down when he's accused of rape by manipulative rich girl Kelly Van Ryan (Richards) and trailer-trash bad-girl Suzie Toller (Campbell). Since these two girls are established enemies at school and couldn't have conspired together, the case seems airtight. But is it?


    The case goes to court (with Billy Murray starring as Lombardo's cut-rate attorney), but with the case ostensibly solved at the halfway mark, one can be sure nothing is as it seems. After the trial, Wild Things spirals into a web of deceit, murder, and double and tripe-crosses. The screenwriter (Stephen Peters) juxtaposes passion and ambiguity, and he becomes so delighted with the power of an expected twist that he endlessly doles them out throughout the film's final half hour. The story eventually becomes so complex that the movie backtracks during the closing credits to provide an explanation of how key moments transpired. Even the most meticulous road map of the story will lead one hopelessly off-course - it's not that the script cheats, but it provides sufficient information to let us to arrive at the wrong conclusion. On top of all this, Peters manages to continually pull the rug out from under the audience without the twists ever feeling contrived.


    If there's one aspect where Wild Things falters, it's in the writing of the characters. The actors themselves are exceptional, but the on-screen individuals they're playing are superficial creations devoid of genuine depth. The movie feels underdone at a sleek runtime of roughly 105 minutes, and it would've been beneficial if the lead-up to the preliminary rape allegation was padded out with additional character development.


    Because Peters' script contains no shame and no pretensions, director McNaughton is free to take the material to its limits. A screenplay like this deserves the full treatment, and McNaughton comes through - any opportunity he's given to be overtly sexual or leeringly sensationalistic, he goes for it. Elegantly shot by cinematographer Jeffrey Kimball and magnificently scored by George S. Clinton, Wild Things is afforded a glossy, unreal quality that nicely dovetails with the pulse of the drama.


    Of course, the primary draw of this film is the girl-on-girl action courtesy of Denise Richards and Neve Campbell. It's cinematic bliss. Richards (previously seen battling bugs in Starship Troopers) is an actress of decidedly limited range, but she can act sultry and seductive without destroying the illusion that she's a seventeen-year-old. The fact that an adult can pass convincingly as a teen is key to the movie's success. Campbell is sublime; turning in a flawlessly nuanced performance as a dark, rebellious teenager. She sadly had a no-nudity clause in her contract, though, which cuts down the impact of one of the film's key sequences (it's also just plain irritating that we don't get to see her naked).


    Matt Dillon and Kevin Bacon constitute the other two key members of the cast. Dillon is perhaps too handsome to be taken for a high school counsellor, but he's nonetheless effective as Sam Lombardo. Our sympathies are with Dillon from the outset, and these emotions come into play when the film begins to throttle towards its climax. At the opposite end of the spectrum, Bacon as the suspicious detective is nothing short of outstanding. Finally, there are supporting roles filled by Robert Wagner, Theresa Russell, Jeff Perry and Bill Murray. Murray is particularly hilarious as Lombardo's lawyer: he's both very sleazy and more competent than his modest office might suggest.


    Wild Things is more or less Double Indemnity with a young cast which features undercurrents of erotica, black comedy and noir. This is a terrific film, and it's a lot of fun watching the story reveal the characters' complex machinations. Much fuss has been made about the nudity, but none of it feels gratuitous because it's all in keeping with the sordid, ugly and immoral constitutions of the characters. The narrative is so engrossing that one will care more about the storytelling than the sex. If you can tolerate a bit of artful sleaze, you can't do much better than this.
  • stopitgoaway
    July 21, 2009
    stopitgoaway
    Wild Things is a fantastic example of what can be achieved by not worrying about substance and having a film play for straight entertainment value. Here we have a film that takes elements such as beautiful stars, beautiful locations and a bucket load of plot twists and blends it ...( read more)all into a highly enjoyable film experience. Of course, Wild Things doesn't always come across very realistically and, at times even, it's downright ridiculous; but it's done in such a way that it doesn't matter, and because of that we have a film that can do what it wants. The film is helmed by John McNaughton, who had his first success with the cult horror flick Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer. It has to be said that the scene setting and way that the plot moves is somewhat ham-fisted, as sometimes it's painfully obvious that certain sections of the film exist only to give it another selling point; the argument that starts out between Denise Richards and Neve Campbell beside a swimming pool being a case in point. However, McNaughton makes good of these selling points, and for every three way sex scene and absurd plot twist, the film gains an extra point for trashy entertainment value.

    It's not immediately obvious what Wild Things is going to be about, as the first twenty minutes serve only in setting the scene and from that base, the film could easily turn into any teenage school flick. However, it turns out that this time is well used; as by nulling the audience into a false sense of security, the film is able to make sure that every twist comes as a surprise. The film benefits from a great big name cast, which is anchored by Matt Dillon; who gives one of his best performances. Dillon clearly enjoys himself, and his persona is able to suit both the sleazy and upstanding nature of his character. Kevin Bacon sleepwalks and isn't really able to show his true talent, and similarly Neve Campbell looks out of place (sexy with it) in her role as a teenage junkie. However, Denise Richards rounds the piece of nicely with a charged performance and the ensemble is nicely topped off by the likes of Bill Murray, Theresa Russell and Robert Wagner. The settings that the movie takes place in look great, and ensure that there's more eye candy than just the female leads. Director McNaughton presents a fabulously mysterious atmosphere which obviously bodes well with the plot and, on the whole, if you want a couple of hours of entertainment; you can do a lot, lot worse than this twisty little flick.
  • sanjurosamurai
    April 3, 2009
    sanjurosamurai
    a little too devious for my taste, and obviously not a good movie by most standards, but i did think it was a bit more clever than its broadly given credit for being. while this might have been a bad move for murray in some regards, he lent some needed charisma to this film that...( read more) actually made it more enjoyable. decent.
  • 21rclemente
    November 17, 2009
    21rclemente
    Great parts... you know what I'm talkin about, but overall a bad movie
  • Minea
    November 11, 2009
    Minea
    Haven't everybody seen this one? Or at least the famous pool scene? I can't really remember if I liked the movie. And that is not a good thing, right?
  • totalefreiheit
    November 3, 2009
    totalefreiheit
    Me gusto. Buena historia (muy erotica). Mis dos amores Neve Campbell y Denise Richards.. un sueño!
  • deanhopkins670
    October 30, 2009
    deanhopkins670
    very good drama... a must see wont know who did it till the end.
  • HateYouIgnorant
    October 27, 2009
    HateYouIgnorant
    Comwecial or stupid! :|

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Critic Reviews

January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

It's like a three-way collision between a softcore sex film, a soap opera and a B-grade noir. I liked it. full review

View more Wild Things reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments

  • cp1923
    August 20, 2008
    cp1923
    this movie looks like a real turn on
  • madhatter230
    July 31, 2007
    madhatter230
    this movie kicked ass!
  • kingjames31
    November 27, 2006
    kingjames31
    Freakin' Awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!sexy, suave, sohisticated, with great performances like wild kingdom meets basic instinct
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