jerry springer has got nothing on " wild things .
"
john mcnaughton 's new thriller tackles more tawdry themes in less than two hours than springer 's notoriously sleazy talk show broadcasts in two weeks -- bisexuality
, threesomes , poolside catfights , slutty rich bimbos , even redneck gator - wrestling , they 're all part of the movie 's raucous , complex storyline .
but even trash
tv topicality ca n't drag " wild things " down -- this crazy campfest
plays like something you 'd find late - night on the usa network , only infinitely more palatable and with a solid ensemble cast .
despite a smattering of needless scenes ( most of them sexual in nature ) , there 's wicked fun to be had here .
" wild things " would be a guilty pleasure , only there 's no guilty feeling involved in having a good time with it .
high school guidance counselor sam lombardo ( matt dillon ) is well - liked in the town of blue bay , especially by pretty , popular kelly van ryan ( denise richards ) , whose family name is among the florida yachting enclave 's most financially prominent .
hoping to take her crush to a physical level , kelly seductively slinks into lombardo 's house after washing his jeep for a fundraiser , but , the very next day , tearfully admits to her trollop mother ( theresa russell ) that she was raped .
before long , blue bay detectives ray duquette ( kevin bacon ) and gloria perez ( daphne rubin - vega ) are listening to similar allegations from kelly 's rebel classmate suzie toller ( neve campbell ) .
lombardo , who maintains his innocence , hires neck brace - sporting , opportunistic lawyer ken
bowden ( bill murray ) to defend him in court .
the previews give away the following revelations , so if you have n't seen any of the movie 's spots on the television or in the theater , you might want to skip to the next paragraph .
while cross - examining suzie on the witness stand , bowden gets her to break down and admit that the alleged rapes never took place -- that kelly had concocted this entire scheme because she was angry that lombardo was sleeping with her mother and not with her .
to pay lombardo for the damages , kelly 's mother breaks her daughter 's trust fund and gives him $ 8 . 5 million .
but lombardo , kelly and suzie are actually all working together , and plan to take the money and run as fast as they can .
duquette and perez , however , begin to suspect that there 's more afoot to the case than just false accusations .
if there 's a major drawback to " wild things , " it 's that it 's oversexed to a fault .
the much - talked - about hotel room menage - a - trois between dillon , campbell and richards is a turn - off .
it 's also cut short ( sorry , guys ) , and should have been cut shorter -- the movie grinds to a halt for pure titillation once too often .
what we do n't see is far more effective than what we do .
another example of this is kevin bacon needlessly going the full monty in a shower scene .
er , no thanks .
also , bacon 's duquette feels simultaneously underdeveloped and overwritten .
daphne rubin - vega , from broadway 's " rent , " tries to compensate for a superfluous character .
theresa russell is just plain wooden .
and when , in the end , all is out in the open , ask yourself if certain scenes involving these three were really necessary .
but what keeps the movie from being
throwaway junk is an engaging chain of surprises
( some predictable , some not ) that never seems to end .
" wild things " has more twists than a crate full of corkscrews , and most are so gleefully , over - the - top nasty that you ca n't help but be charmed by their absurd showmanship .
a great deal of amusement also comes from watching bill murray in a supporting part that appears to have been written for his sly comedic talent ;
murray 's a stitch , especially when pulling up beside the van ryan limo after winning lombardo 's case and flipping them off .
and do n't leave when the closing credits hit the screen , or you 'll miss the film 's best part -- four bonus flashbacks that smooth over plot holes while offering a few more tiny turns , plus a final scene that caps everything off with a great stunner of a bombshell .
speaking of bombshells , denise richards , who plays almost every scene in a blue bikini top , does the teen tease thing with a malicious allure that she was never allowed to flaunt in " starship troopers .
"
matt dillon flexes
his sleepy - voiced sex appeal , and pulls off personality changes with chameleonic precision .
neve campbell ,
lovely as ever except when sporting a blond wig , gives suzie a vengeful vulnerability that makes her the most interesting member of the conspiring trio .
re - edited and toned down a bit , the dynamics between these three actors could have carried the film to greater lengths .
but what we 're given works well enough .
" wild things " is highly entertaining and , indeed , very wild .
Output: P