Sometimes it’s interesting to just try and figure out why a film is included in the Criterion Collection. While mainstream audiences may be aware of Criterion releases, I think it’s safe to say the Collection is still primarily known for bringing us classic works from the likes of Kurosawa, Bergman, Godard, Melville, Malle, Bunuel, etc. rather than the more infrequent inclusions of mainstream works such as The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Armageddon, The Rock and RoboCop. Even when they do stray into mainstream territory it infrequently is a film most general moviegoers would recognize or have seen, such is the case with Jonathan Demme’s Something Wild a little seen 1986 feature that generated a modest $8.3 million back in 1986 and is in fact Ray Liotta’s first feature film, but even I had never heard of it before it was announced as part of the Collection. So what gives?
This may be the one aspect of the Criterion Collection that is most valuable to students of film and critics such as myself. I wouldn’t consider Something Wild some sort of grand masterpiece, because it’s simply an enjoyable film if you ask me, but from a technical perspective it’s a lesson in filmmaking as Demme and screenwriter E. Max Frye blend genres so seamlessly it’s not at all jarring when this romantic comedy of a road trip movie turns into something of a Fatal Attraction feature by the film’s closing moments. Amidst all of this is an homage to Georg Wilhelm Pabst’s silent classic Pandora’s Box and a pulsing and energetic soundtrack that keeps things upbeat. It’s one of those films if someone were to ask if I liked it the only response I could come up with would be, “What’s not to like?”
Jeff Daniels stars as businessman Charles Driggs whom we first meet as he attempts to skip out on paying his bill at a New York diner. Caught red-handed by a quirky and free-spirited young woman named Lulu (Melanie Griffith) — who even sports the Louise Brooks bob haircut — who actually doesn’t work at the diner, but merely sees this typical yuppie attempting to break a few rules as the perfect pawn for her innocent, yet potentially “wild” game.
I don’t want to tell you anything more or it would simply spoil the surprise, but let’s just say Charles ends up in handcuffs at one point, Liotta plays a guy that just got out of jail and Lulu isn’t this young woman’s real name. How does all of that come together? You’ll have to watch to find out, but I think it’s safe to say there wasn’t a scene in this film I was able to predict as it moved from one to the next.
This Criterion edition unfortunately doesn’t come with a bevy of features as it only includes two video interviews with Demme and Frye. I was really hoping for an audio commentary if only to hear Demme discuss some of the background music, such as a group of guys rapping outside of a Virginia gas station about midway through the film. Demme does reference some of the extras he cast in the film, but I’m still curious about others.
As far as recommendations are concerned I think this is a safe one to say, if anything I’ve said interests you then this is a title worth considering. I notice Amazon has the Blu-ray priced around $28 and the DVD at $22, and I don’t think you should feel obligated to the Blu-ray edition though the restored image is quite excellent and colors certainly do pop off this baby all the way up to the end credits as Sister Carol performs a reggae version of Chip Taylor’s “Wild Thing” against a striking red wall. It’s just one of the instances the song is adapted for the film (along with the original being used as well) and one of the reasons I’d say it’s worth owning.
