Something Wild

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Something Wild

R,

1986,

1h 53m,

Mystery & Thriller/

Comedy

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Watchlist

Watchlist

92%

49 Reviews

Tomatometer

69%

5,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

92%

Tomatometer

49 Reviews

69%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

Free-spirited Lulu (Melanie Griffith) sets her sights on uptight banker Charles (Jeff Daniels) for a little bit of fun. Their relationship starts off simple enough with a tryst and some modest adventure, but Lulu wants Charles to pose as her husband at a high school reunion. It seems harmless enough to Charles, but that all changes when Lulu's actual husband, Ray (Ray Liotta), confronts them at the event. Understandably, Ray isn't content to let Charles and Lulu ride off into the sunset.

Critics Consensus

Boasting loads of quirky charm, a pair of likable leads, and confident direction from Jonathan Demme, Something Wild navigates its unpredictable tonal twists with room to spare.

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Neil Jillett

The Age (Australia)

Jan 22, 2025

Whether the two halves of Something Wild -- the offbeat romp and the horrifying wallow -- fit successfully in the same film is debatable... But, viewed on their individual merits, both halves are brilliantly crafted.

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Paul Byrnes

Sydney Morning Herald

Jan 22, 2025

Something Wild is based more on first principles than anything new, but it applies them with such vigour that the movie has a sense of limitless freedom. It tastes like free-range chicken, rather than battery-produced.

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Pauline Kael

The New Yorker

Sep 13, 2023

Something Wild is rough-edged. It doesn’t have the grace of Demme’s Citizens Band and Melvin and Howard or the heightened simplicity of his Stop Making Sense. It has something else, though -- a freedom that takes off from the genre framework.

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Lucy Talbot Allen

Screen Slate

Aug 26, 2026

With his unobtrusive camera, Demme’s regular cinematographer Tak Fujimoto makes the mid-summer, mid-80s mid-Atlantic appear verdant, lively, and awake with possibility.

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Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

Jun 3, 2022

'Something Wild' plays like a screwball Hitchcock film reworked for the freewheeling eighties indie culture. It’s playful and colorful but doesn’t shy away from the darkness at the end of the road.

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Theodore R

Nov 18, 2018

This film was almost good.

Rey S

Aug 13, 2018

I like this a lot better than many people because it's a lot of fun. One of the best 80s caper movies.

Kylo W

Jul 22, 2017

Somehow this one passed me by and what a mistake that has been for me. The best I've ever seen Jeff Daniels and Melanie Griffith, they play a couple who "go wild" for a minute, taking us along for the typical romcom ride, however more comically sophisticated.The landscape is an America rarely seen in film, one that I recognized as real though it was 30 years old. Really a great film! And then Ray Liotta shows up. Jonathon Demme, the director, should go far. And a to die for soundtrack.

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Hagrid S

May 13, 2017

Nearly 3 and a half stars.

Finn R

Apr 30, 2017

Early signs of Demme's genius and style sprout from its core, which is loaded with delicious humor, twisted romance, and plenty of raw thrills.

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Leia W

Sep 9, 2015

Loved it. Saw in theater in 86. Fell in love with Melanie watching this. And Ray Liotta was scary. 30+ years since this came out.

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Jonathan Demme

Director

Jeff Daniels

Charles Driggs

Melanie Griffith

Audrey Hankel

Ray Liotta

Ray Sinclair

Margaret Colin

Irene

Tracey Walter

The Country Squire

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Synopsis

Free-spirited Lulu (Melanie Griffith) sets her sights on uptight banker Charles (Jeff Daniels) for a little bit of fun. Their relationship starts off simple enough with a tryst and some modest adventure, but Lulu wants Charles to pose as her husband at a high school reunion. It seems harmless enough to Charles, but that all changes when Lulu's actual husband, Ray (Ray Liotta), confronts them at the event. Understandably, Ray isn't content to let Charles and Lulu ride off into the sunset.

Director: Jonathan Demme
Producer: Jonathan Demme, Kenneth Utt
Screenwriter: E. Max Frye
Distributor: Orion Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Distributing Corp., MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc.
Production Co: Religiosa Primitiva
Rating: R
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 7, 1986, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 16, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA): $6.4M
Runtime: 1h 53m
Sound Mix: Surround

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