Something Wild (1986) ***1/2

Something Wild (1986) is an interesting film—it starts out as a neo-screwball, becomes a road movie, and eventually turns serious when violence ensues. With the sad news of Ray Liotta's passing a few days ago, I was looking on IMDb to remind myself which movies I've seen that he starred in (outside of obvious ones like 1990's GoodFellas (review) and 1997's Cop Land (review) that easily come to mind). I had completely forgotten that he was in Something Wild. I remembered liking the film but not being blown away by it from my first viewing nearly 11 years ago (when The Criterion Collection released the film on Blu-ray), so it seemed like as good a time as any to revisit it.

I definitely enjoyed this viewing more. Tonally I do think Something Wild is a bit of an odd duck but the progression of the storyline felt a bit more natural to me this time, in line with Melanie Griffith's character's personality. She and Jeff Daniels are both delightful and Liotta exudes charm and menace in equal measure—sort of like a lighter version of Dennis Hopper's Frank Booth from Blue Velvet (review), released the same year, and also reminiscent of Treat Williams' Arnold Friend from the previous year's Smooth Talk (review). There's also fun cameos by Tracey Walter, John Waters, Charles Napier, and John Sayles. 

Something Wild provides a bit of everything—breezy laughs, three excellent performances, a time capsule of 80s fashion, a healthy dose of reality, a palpable feel for regional flavors and personalities, and an eclectic and enormous soundtrack (featuring the likes of David Byrne, Big Audio Dynamite, Yellowman, The Troggs, New Order, Fine Young Cannibals, The Feelies, Oingo Boingo, X, UB40, Jean-Michel Jarre, and many more). 

Jonathan Demme Films Ranked