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Something Wild (1986)
In director Jonathan Demme's offbeat, black romantic comedy - it was a yuppies-go-wild
odyssey of unbuttoned and liberated wild behavior - rife with car
thefts, kinky motel room adventures, lots of skipped checks at restaurants,
an acoustic guitar-driven sing-along to "Wild Thing" with
four hitchhikers, and many other unpredictable and tremendously-edgy
circumstances during a fanciful weekend. Its main tagline
was: "Something Different Something Daring Something Dangerous."
The off-kilter and idiosyncratic film was a screwball
road trip about the developing relationship between two mismatched,
very opposite individuals who were also attracted to each other. The
unconventional film about middle-aged rebellion was not to be confused
with the psychological thriller Something
Wild (1961) about the traumatic effects of rape, starring Carroll
Baker. Fearless actress Melanie Griffith - appearing
after her eye-opening role as porn actress Holly Body in Body Double
(1984) - played the role of a hell-raising, quirky, rebellious,
and unpredictable female named Lulu. [Note: She was named after actress
Louise Brooks' femme fatale (from Pandora's Box (1929)).]
- in the film's opening, free-spirited,
kooky, black-wigged Audrey "Lulu" Hankel (Melanie Griffith), wearing
a slinky black dress, was first viewed in the HERO SHOP - a NY
street-corner diner/coffee shop, where she was reading a book on
Mexican artist Frida Kahlo and watching another customer - Charles
Driggs (Jeff Daniels) who was finishing his lunch
First Encounter at a NYC Street-Corner Diner/Coffee Shop
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- Lulu noticed that he pocketed
his check in the diner and deliberately did not pay before leaving;
she confronted and accosted the staid and
married, yuppie, NYC tax consultant Charles Driggs outside the
diner, by pretending to be a waitress ("You didn't pay your bill,
big boy"), she heard him claim that he was just preoccupied and had forgotten.
She realized that he was a kindred spirit: ("You're a closet rebel")
- she offered to drive him away in her green 1967
Pontiac GTO convertible with a black top: ("Ready or not,
babe"), convincing him to take the Friday afternoon off from work: ("You
deserve it, really!"), as they drove through the Holland Tunnel toward New Jersey
- they traveled together in her broken-down vehicle
as she began drinking directly from a bottle of Seagrams 7; in New Jersey,
Lulu stopped at a Country Squire liquor store to buy
more Scotch, and stole money from the cash register when the clerk
(Tracey Walter) wasn't looking
- after getting a room in the
Apalachee Motor Lodge (an Econo Lodge), a seedy roadside establishment,
she engaged in kinky sex with him - handcuffing him to the motel
bed, stripping off her top, and making love to him: ("Charlie,
you must not be getting enough at home") while also forcing
him to call in sick directly to his boss and lie about his whereabouts
- as she offered him oral sex
- Lulu complimented him - not realizing
how true her observation really was: "Charlie, you’re
a really good liar when you wanna be"; she also pressured
him to call his wife - and Charlie faked speaking to her (he had
separated from her nine months earlier when she left him with their
two kids and the family dentist)
Kinky Sex at a Seedy Motor Lodge in New Jersey
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- during their unforgettable
road trip to Pennsylvania, they drove off from Mom & Dad's Italian
restaurant without paying, and were forced to buy a used 1970 red
Pontiac Catalina convertible after crashing Lulu's car; Lulu also
pressured Charlie to buy a new wardrobe for himself at a vintage
clothing store; she urged him to dress in a blue suit with a bright
yellow tie and white buckskin shoes; for herself, she purchased a
girl-next-door white sundress printed with red and green flowers
- once they arrived at her small-town suburban home in Pennsylvania, she gave
her real name as "Audrey" when she introduced Charles as her husband
to her square mother Peaches (Dana Preu); Audrey stated: "He's
just the kind of man you always said I should marry." But Peaches
guessed that he probably had a real family elsewhere, and that their
'marriage' wasn't real; she also warned Charlie that Audrey was unreliable:
("She's got some strange notions about life")
- Audrey (now a blonde after removing her bobbed dark brunette wig) announced
that they would be attending her class of 1976's 10-year HS reunion
("Spirit of '76 Revisited")
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Charlie's Co-Worker Larry with Wife Peggy at Reunion
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Attending Audrey's 10th HS Reunion
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- at the reunion gathering, Audrey falsely
stated that they were husband and wife with two children; Charlie
was completely flustered when one of his co-worker office accountants
named Larry Dillman (Jack Gilpin) was in attendance with his pregnant
wife Peggy (Su Tissue); Audrey lied again that now they were lovers
and that she was expecting. As they parted, Larry expressed his surprise: "Driggs,
l didn't think you had it in you."
- at his wit's end, Charlie expressed his distress:
"God, you're a great girl. You got a few problems, but you're a great
girl. And you're loaded with potential. But you're just too much
for me. I can't handle this" - and he suggested going back to his
own "boring, very safe life while if I've still got one"
- then about 50 minutes into the
film, there was the surprising appearance at the reunion of Lulu's
dangerous, violent, homicidal and greasy ex-con husband Ray Sinclair
(Ray Liotta in his feature screen debut). He had just been released
from prison. As Audrey and Charlie were dancing and kissing, another
couple suddenly slid behind them, and Ray leaned over to speak to
her: "Hi, baby. Surprise!"; he had a menacing look on his
face, as he leered at them, and Audrey urged: "Let's just go"
- in the lobby, they formally met Ray and Irene (Margaret Colin),
his date; a closeup of Ray's pock-marked, dead-eyed, angry face hinted that there would be trouble,
and Audrey tried to leave; he later told Audrey in private: "I
missed you so god-damn much! Every sweet little part of you...You
should've never quit me, baby"
- the foursome left the reunion
together in Ray's car (a stolen Cadillac convertible), and Ray was
able to strand Irene by driving off when he requested she buy him
some "smokes"; then amidst heavy drinking, he pistol-whipped a clerk at a second
convenience store, stole cash, and broke Charlie's nose before he
escaped with Audrey and Charlie in his car
- in Ray's cheap roadside motel, Audrey confessed
about her real relationship with Charlie: "He's
just a guy. I picked him up on the street in New York. We pretended
to be married for Mama, and it just carried over to the reunion.
The guy's got a real wife and two real children. It's just a joke
that got outta hand," but Ray wasn't entirely persuaded. Charlie
was ordered to leave and drive back to his suburban home (with Audrey's
car parked outside the reunion), while Ray and Audrey remained in
the motel
- instead of returning directly to his own home in Stony
Brook, Long Island, Charlie made a daring play to return to the motel,
follow Ray's car and take Audrey back; he bought a T-shirt, shorts,
and hat as a disguise at a gas station market, and trailed them into
Virginia, where he spied upon them as the two booked a room at the
Cozy Rest Motor Hotel
- in the company of a few police officers in
a western-themed restaurant near the hotel - Charlie knew that
Ray couldn't make a big scene (due to his past as a convicted felon
with a concealed weapon who had robbed a store and assaulted the
clerk, and was also driving a stolen car and violating his parole
from Pennsylvania); Charlie was able to acquire Ray's wallet and
car keys, and he and Audrey fled to Charlie's home on Long Island
in Ray's car
- they were followed there by
the terrorizing Ray in pursuit in another stolen car; Audrey asked
Charlie about his future plans: "What are you gonna do now you've
seen how the other half lives?...The other half of you"; suddenly,
Ray crashed through a rear patio glass door, roughed up Charlie, and threatened
Audrey: "I'm glad to see you finally made it to the suburbs, bitch!" Ray
handcuffed Charlie to the pipes under a bathroom sink. During a horrific
fight scene, Charlie released himself from the pipes and used the
handcuffs to attempt to strangle Ray
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Horrific Bathroom Fight Sequence - Ending With Ray's
Accidental Lethal Stabbing
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- Ray got the upper hand on Charlie and then produced
a knife, but was shockingly and semi-accidentally stabbed to death
when he charged at Charlie and was struck in the abdomen; Ray's disbelieving
last words were: "S--t, Charlie..."; when the police arrived
at the crime scene to question them, Charlie and Audrey were separated
- in the crowd-pleasing conclusion set shortly later,
Charlie had quit his job, and had a final few words of advice for
his friend Larry: "It's better to be a live dog than a dead lion"
- Audrey (wearing black and white) reappeared in Charlie's life - she met
him at the same coffee-shop that opened the film; to get his attention,
she had taken the $5 dollar bill he had left on the table with his
check for the waitress; she told him: "I never wanted to say
goodbye," and offered: "You wanna ride?"; he answered
emphatically: "Sure, Audrey, why not?" and they drove away in her vintage, wood-paneled,
suburbanite station wagon (1941 Ford Super De Luxe Station Wagon) as
the film ended
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Outside the Diner: Audrey-Lulu to Charlie: "You
didn't pay your bill, big boy"
Lulu to Charlie: "You're a closet rebel"
Lulu: "Ready or not, babe"
Beginning of Lulu's and Charlie's Road Trip to NJ and Pennsylvania
Lulu Undressing Charlie and Forcing Him to Make Phone Calls
New Wardrobes For Each of Them
Lulu (or Audrey) as a Blonde
Sudden Appearance of Ray Sinclair (Ray Liotta) At the 10 Year Reunion
with His Date Irene (Margaret Colin)
Ray Confronting Audrey in a Store
Charlie - Bewildered and With a Broken Nose
Ray Threatening Charlie in His Own Home
Audrey Reappearing to Charlie Outside the Diner
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