USA 1998
Director: John McNaughton Actors: Kevin Bacon
Pretty cheerleader Kelly Van Ryan (Denise Richards) has a crush on her teacher Sam Lombardo (Matt Dillon). Although he is well known as a "woman's hero", he has his pupil turn down. All advances and seduction skills don't help at all (even a car wash in a soaking wet T-shirt leaves Lombardo cold). However, such a rebuff is not easy for a Van Ryan: she accuses the teacher of raping her, after which Kelly's mother, Sandra Van Ryan, a rock-rich millionaire and at the same time the most influential person in the area, sets everything in motion to finish Lombardo. With success. Even before the trial, the teacher is stamped as a rapist in society. During the trial, the chances of proving his innocence seem to be dwindling as even drug-addicted student Suzie (Neve Campbell), not a friend of Kelly's, Sam Lombardo accuses of rape. But then comes the surprising turn: Suzie can no longer stand up to the lawyer's biting questions (Bill Murray) and the lie collapses: Sam Lombardo is innocent and receives compensation worth millions from Sandra Van Ryan. For most people, this is the end of the story. But not for policeman Ray Duquette (Kevin Bacon). He assumes that the two pupils and the teacher have speculated on this Millilon compensation and are in cahoots with each other.....
At the beginning, everything looks like a common thriller. But while most of the other films would have ended after the surprising turnaround in the courtroom, Wild Things is just beginning. Practically every minute, one's own idea of the further course of the plot is destroyed, while the plot always takes a different direction. In the end, this degenerates into a veritable "orgy of change". The fact that the viewer is told in the credits about the unclear scenes afterwards tells everything about this topic. While the surprising plot leaps at the beginning are quite clear, they become more and more abstruse as the film grows longer. Towards the end of the film, the story becomes so unbelievable that you have to laugh when watching thrilling, not very funny scenes. But this does not harm the very positive overall impression at all. In a way, the movie doesn't take itself seriously and is therefore not necessarily comparable to thrillers like "Basic Instinct". Even though the surprising twists and turns gradually become more and more unbelievable: Some lame thrillers could cut a slice in Wild Things with regard to a varied story. So it is clear that due to the fact mentioned above, boredom doesn't (fortunately) come up in the film. From the acting side Denise Richards and especially Neve Campbell stand out, and not only because of their external attractions. They play their roles convincingly, which is why a story prediction is almost impossible.
In short: A very good thriller that doesn't take itself seriously. Not comparable to "serious" movies of the genre, but nevertheless (or just because of that) worth seeing.
A movie review by Jörn
