Wild Things (1998)
65%RT Audience Score: 53%
Awards & Nominations: 2 wins & 4 nominations
Wild Things is a delightfully salacious, flesh-exposed romp that also requires a high degree of love for trash cinema
Wild Things is the kind of movie that’s so bad it’s good. It’s like a train wreck that you can’t look away from, with a plot that’s so convoluted it’s almost impressive. And let’s not forget about that infamous threesome scene that everyone talks about. It’s not a movie for kids, but if you’re in the mood for some sweaty, sexy, naughty neo-noir, then Wild Things is the perfect guilty pleasure.
Production Company(ies)
Columbia Pictures, Bona Film Group Heyday Films,
Distributor
Columbia Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Wide)
Filming Location(s)
Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park – 1200 S. Crandon Boulevard, Key Biscayne, Florida, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for strong sexuality, nudity, language and some violence
Year of Release
1998
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby SDDS DTS
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Aspect ratio:2.40 : 1
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Runtime:1h 47m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Mar 20, 1998 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 25, 2001
Genre(s)
Mystery & thriller
Keyword(s)
starring Kevin Bacon, Matt Dillon, Neve Campbell, Theresa Russell, Denise Richards, Daphne Rubin-Vega, directed by John McNaughton, written by Stephen Peters, mystery, thriller, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Rocco T Thompson, Bob Thomas, Owen Gleiberman, Stephen Hunter, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Leonard Klady, Kathy Fennessy, Judith M Redding, Joe Lipsett, Mike Massie, MPAA rating R, Columbia Pictures, produced by Steven A Jones, Rodney Liber, Dolby Stereo, Dolby A, SDDS, Surround, Stereo, Dolby Digital, Dolby SR, Scope (2.35:1), nudity, language, violence, strong sexuality, scandal, rape, personal-injury lawyer, detective, high school, debutante, guidance counselor, victim, Southern melodrama, lesbian lust, threesome scene, twists, bad girls, erotic, crime story
Worldwide gross: $30,166,293
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $55,359,401
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,282
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 6,037,012
US/Canada gross: $30,147,739
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $55,325,352
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,023
US/Canada opening weekend: $9,622,444
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $17,658,542
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 717
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $20,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $36,702,820
Production budget ranking: 1,020
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $19,764,469
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$1,107,887
ROI to date (est.): -2%
ROI ranking: 1,406
Matt Dillon – Sam Lombardo
Neve Campbell – Suzie Marie Toller
Theresa Russell – Sandra Van Ryan
Denise Richards – Kelly Lanier Van Ryan
Daphne Rubin-Vega – Det. Gloria Perez
John McNaughton – Director
Steven A. Jones, Rodney Liber – Producers
Stephen Peters – Writer
Director(s)
John McNaughton
Writer(s)
Stephen Peters
Producer(s)
Steven A. Jones, Rodney Liber
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
2 wins & 4 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (64) | Top Critics (22) | Fresh (40) | Rotten (24)
Wild Things is the ultimate ‘90s neo-noir because it checks off all the requisite boxes, only to then become a commentary on the subgenre itself.
May 29, 2022
Rocco T. Thompson
Slant Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Wild Things might qualify as passable Southern melodrama, but Stephen Peters’ screenplay is too ambitious by far. It changes the nature of the protagonists so often that the viewer is left in puzzled exhaustion.
August 7, 2019
Bob Thomas
Associated Press
TOP CRITIC
September 7, 2011 | Rating: B
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly
TOP CRITIC
The movie is as tawdry as someone else’s lingerie, yet not without a certain prurient watchability.
February 11, 2008
Stephen Hunter
Washington Post
TOP CRITIC
What I’m supposed to find ‘satisfying’ is predicated on the idea that almost everyone in the world is trash.
February 11, 2008
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
Sly, torrid and original, pic is certain to shake up an otherwise complacent marketplace.
February 11, 2008
Leonard Klady
Variety
TOP CRITIC
If he has sympathy for these people, and I believe that he does, it’s because he knows the system is rigged against them.
June 19, 2022 | Rating: 3/4
Kathy Fennessy
Seattle Film Blog
Don’t say we didn’t warn you. Although there are moments of lesbian lust between Campbell and Richards, the plot is weak and the film is aimed at a hetero market.
May 24, 2022
Judith M. Redding
Curve
This sweaty, sexy, naughty neo noir is a testament to the kind of film that could never be made today. It is so delightfully convoluted that the explanation for the film’s machinations continue well into the credits
September 15, 2021 | Rating: 4.5/5
Joe Lipsett
Anatomy of a Scream Podcast Network
It’s difficult to dismiss the notoriety – and silliness – of the much-talked-about threesome scene (short and incomplete as it may be), which overshadows the plot.
September 25, 2020 | Rating: 3/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
Absolutely ridiculous. Absolutely riveting.
July 17, 2020 | Rating: 3/5
Leigh Paatsch
Herald Sun (Australia)
Convoluted erotic thriller, not for kids.
January 1, 2011 | Rating: 2/5
Afsheen Nomai
Common Sense Media…
Plot
Having recently been named educator of the year, Sam Lombardo is the well-liked guidance counselor and sailing instructor at Blue Bay High School on the Florida coast just outside Miami. The student body of the school is largely comprised of the offspring of the country club set, and while he helps any student he can, he especially tries to mentor those who are disadvantaged, such as Jimmy Leach who would not have been able to afford being in the sailing program otherwise, and tough Suzie Toller, a proverbial swamp girl who he’s helped through a few scrapes with the law in the absence of any parents, Suzie living with her streetwise grandmother Ruby at an alligator sideshow zoo. Although not socioeconomically part of that country club set himself, he nonetheless has ingratiated himself within it, he having slept with a good number of the country club maidens, he currently settled into a relationship with Barbara Baxter, the well-off daughter of high powered lawyer Tom Baxter. Sam’s world comes crashing down around him when student Kelly Van Ryan, who has made it quite clear to her classmates she is sexually attracted to him and who is the daughter of one of his former bed mates, sexually provocative widow and socially powerful Sandra Van Ryan, accuses him of raping her. Already in trouble in that no one can fight and win against the Van Ryans in Blue Bay, Sam, whose career is ruined regardless of his guilt or innocence in never being able to recover from such accusations, gets into even more problems when Suzie quickly thereafter comes forward also accusing him of previously raping her, her story similar to Kelly’s. The likelihood of Kelly and Suzie colluding together to manufacture similar stories is remote as it is well known that they have always detested each other. Having now become persona non grata among that country club set, Sam is forced to hire sleazy storefront lawyer Ken Bowden to defend him. Blue Bay Police Detective Ray Duquette of the Sex Crimes Division, he investigating with his partner Gloria Perez, goes against her advice and that of DA Bryce Hunter by delving into sensitive areas in believing that not all associated with the case are as they appear on the surface.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The film features a star-studded cast including Matt Dillon, Neve Campbell, Denise Richards, and Bill Murray.
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