Wild Things (1998)

Wild Things 1998 Review takes Born to Watch into the steamy, suspicious world of Blue Bay, Florida. Whitey, Gow and Damo revisit the film that sold a generation on its trailer, its cast and a certain swimming pool scene. Nearly three decades later, does the thriller itself hold up once everyone has stopped pausing the VHS?

Matt Dillon plays Sam Lombardo, a high school guidance counsellor accused of assault by wealthy student Kelly Van Ryan, played by Denise Richards. Neve Campbell’s Suzie Toller adds another allegation, Kevin Bacon’s detective Ray Duquette investigates, and Bill Murray arrives as the lawyer who seems to be having considerably more fun than anyone else. That is the setup. What follows is a pile-up of schemes, betrayals and reveals that sends the boys back through the plot to work out who knew what, and when.

For Whitey and Damo, this is a trip back to seeing Wild Things at the cinema in 1998. The trailer did its job, but their memories of the film are rather more selective. Gow has watched it more often and remembers enjoying the twists. On this rewatch, the three compare the movie they thought they knew with the one actually playing in front of them. Just how much of its provocative reputation comes from a handful of scenes?

The discussion turns to the performances. Is Dillon playing Sam as brooding and mysterious, or is something missing? Does Campbell's character give away more than the film intends? And why does Murray, with relatively little screen time, feel like the only cast member who understands the sort of movie he is in? Richards, Bacon and Theresa Russell all get their moment under the Born to Watch microscope too.

Then there are the clues, the convenient decisions and the increasingly crowded list of double-crosses. The boys pick apart the film's red herrings and ask whether another twist makes a thriller clever or simply harder to care about. A book Suzie is reading, a line from Duquette and a set of muddy footprints all get a second look. If you have only seen Wild Things once, some of those details might send you back for another watch, even if Whitey is in no hurry to join you.

The film's late-'90s atmosphere gets its due, too. There is the soundtrack, the Florida setting, the swimwear and the kind of marketing that could turn a brief scene into the reason everyone bought a ticket. Whitey, Gow and Damo look at how that reputation compares with the film’s actual mix of crime, comedy and erotic thriller. They also tackle a shower reveal that inspires more discussion than its place in the story could possibly justify.

Along the way, Gow brings the taglines and cast facts, Whitey takes Film School for F-Wits through a selection of thrillers built around desire and deception, and the Kick Ass Credit Song finds a very specific subject. The Snorbs Report makes its inevitable appearance. So does the Rank Bank, where the boys make their individual calls without agreeing on whether the film is worth revisiting.

This is Born to Watch, the movie review podcast where we don't take the movies or ourselves too seriously. Put on Wild Things, stay alert through the credits, and join Whitey, Gow and Damo for a review packed with nostalgia, disbelief and more questions about the plot than anyone expected to ask.

What did you make of the rewatch? Tell us whether the twists still work for you, which performance you enjoyed most and whether Bill Murray steals the whole thing.

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