Something Wild

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Something Wild

R

Released Nov 7, 1986

1h 53m

Mystery & Thriller

Comedy

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Tomatometer

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.

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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)

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.

Jan 22, 2025

Full Review

Paul Byrnes

Sydney Morning Herald

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.

Jan 22, 2025

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Pauline Kael

The New Yorker

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.

Sep 13, 2023

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Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

'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.

Jun 3, 2022

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Roger Hurlburt

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Something Wild is fun, at first. Then it becomes deadly and weird and engrossing. Predictable it is not.

Rated: 3/4

Jun 11, 2020

Full Review

People Staff

People Magazine

Buy a ticket to this whirligig of a movie at your own risk. You enter a fun house and exit through a chamber of horrors. But director Jonathan Demme provides a heck of a ride.

Jun 11, 2020

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Melissa L

Another great '80s movie! Ray Liotta was a nice guy by all accounts, but he always played a bad guy so well you hated him! Recommend!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/15/25

Full Review

thiago s

Filme bacana para bacaninha, o roteiro é bacaninha, as cenas são bacanas, a história é bacaninha, o elenco é bacaninha, e alguns ajudam a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, com tudo isso, eu recomendo esse filme

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

07/14/25

Full Review

Scott M

To like this movie you have to like Melanie Griffith. Personally it's one of my favorite films because it doesn't shy away from adult themes.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

04/27/25

Full Review

Nicholas B

80s garbage. Amusing that's it's mostly regarded as an overlooked 80s gem. Everything feels intrinsically unnatural in this film. But hey, that's the 80s for you. As long as you can vibe to it's insipid cultural wares (which should be easier now for everyone since the 80s bizarrely went "classic"), you'll fall head over heels for this tone deaf vapid mess. I'd rather take some bad acid and drink a pail of white paint while trying to shave a pug with a lady shaver, than subject myself to this superficial, disposable crap again. Cheers Chip!

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/11/25

Full Review

Sara J

Fun enough to watch once, but sort of felt like the script was written by a committee doing a round robin.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/22/25

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Audience Member

What a fun ride! Out of thousands of movies only a handful you can watch again and again and this is one of them!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/28/24

Full Review

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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

Something Wild: Official Clip - Charlie Stabs Ray

4:09

Something Wild: Official Clip - How's Audrey in Bed?

3:10

Something Wild: Official Clip - Virginia is for Lovers

2:25

Something Wild: Official Clip - Enjoy It While We Can

1:58

Something Wild: Official Clip - A New Car

1:15

Something Wild: Official Clip - A Pretty Good Liar

2:48

Something Wild: Official Clip - Getting a Room

2:29

Something Wild: Official Clip - Never Wanted to Say Goodbye

2:14

Something Wild: Official Clip - A Closet Rebel

2:24

Something Wild: Official Clip - A Bottle of Scotch

1:45

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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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