Something Wild

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Something Wild

R

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)

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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CodyZamboni Z

@CodyZamboni Jan 2, 2026

Movie is mostly fun, in an oddball way, With its' two charming leads Jeff Daniels and Melanie Griffth, A fantastic soundtrack, Lots of cameos from Demme's circle of friends, Then whammo, Ray Liotta arrives and movie takes a dark tun, Liotta is so menacing and scary.

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Aye E

@RT43717499 Dec 5, 2025

What an unsatisfying mess. I was really surprised to see the name of so many good artists and the leads attached to this. The Melanie Griffith character was just some unrealistic 80s fantasy that didn't exist, and the premise, plot, and execution were all completely unbelievable. Points for Jeff Daniels and Melanie Griffith who were great in this despite everything else.

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Melissa L

@Agent99 Aug 15, 2025

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!

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thiago s

@Thiagostone Jul 14, 2025

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

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Scott M

@RT75128960 Mar 23, 2025

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.

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Nicholas B

@RT55131437 Feb 11, 2025

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!

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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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