Monday, August 05, 2024

Movie review - "Wild Thing" (1987) **

 This has an interesting Roger Corman style premise (Tarzan in an urban setting) and was written by John Sayles but instead of being directed by Lewis Teague and produced by Julie Corman, who would've kept the pace fast, it's done by someone else and is part Canadian, so has the joy sucked out of it like a lot of Canadian attempts at exploitation.

There are interesting things - 'White Rabbit' over the opening credit, gangsters who dress in bright colours like they're in Death Wish Three, Robert Davi as a stock drug dealer. Betty Buckley is the woman who raises the kid.

Kathleen Quinland feels all wrong - too old, too school marmish.  Robert Knepper is okay. They have nil chemistry. The core of the film should be a love story. They never seen into each other.

When you dig into the premise a little more it kind of wobbles - I mean, Tarzan grew up around apes not humans, whereas Wild Thing is in the city with plenty of people around. He'd know how to talk and interact with people and stuff. 

The movie perks up at the end when Wild Thing goes on a rampage. He kicks arse

The film just needed to be pulpier. More sex, more violence, more emotion. Have wild thing be wilder.

It's a frustrating movie.

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