Wild Things (John McNaughton, 1998)

Going back and watching a film like Wild Things (John McNaughton, 1998) tells me just how much my viewing of films has matured. I remember being excited to see the film, particularly because of the teasers that had been released. It looked like a cool film and it had Neve Campbell (who was a rising star at the time) and Denise Richards (who was incredibly hot and was also rising in stature). Kevin Bacon and Matt Dillon were in it, two great popcorn actors and so the film looked pretty good. I don't remember my initial reactions other than remembering every great moment Richards was in, Campbell and Richards with Dillon and then alone in the pool and finally that the film had about four endings too many.

So how has that changed? Well, re-watching the film for the first time in many years makes me realize that it, like so many other films I fondly remember are great popcorn films, but to think that they have any redeeming cinematic worth is false. The good things in this film are as I remember them. Some great sex scenes and a validation of the gaze aesthetic I had to learn about at USC. In fact, as I watched Richards exit the pool and realized the camera lingers on her body for about thirty seconds that was my first thought. Dillon and Bacon are pretty good in their respective roles, Dillon as the smarmy Sam Lombardo and Bacon as the violent cop Ray Duquette. It is also interesting to see Campbell completely play against her type. But just as I remembered, the film has way too many twists and turns at the end. I feel like it wanted to be Hitchcockian in form and content, but just wasn't up to those demanding standards, but then again, what film can? Still, a great popcorn film, if just for Richards.