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Something Wild
Metascore
73 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 14 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 14
  3. Negative: 0 out of 14
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  1. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Dave Kehr
    100
    It has wit, originality, color, warmth and formal intelligence. It tempers its escapist dash with a touch of darkness, and for all of its playfulness, never departs from a fundamental seriousness.... Something Wild is superbly unpredictable. [7 Nov 1986]
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  2. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Peter Stack
    100
    One of the year's most fascinating flicks.... Brilliant performances by Jeff Daniels, Melanie Griffith and a newcomer named Ray Liotta give sparkle, and shadows, to Something Wild. [7 Nov 1986]
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  3. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Sheila Benson
    90
    Demme finds haunting overtones in the somewhat old-hat situations of E. Max Frye's first screenplay. Something Wild also has three first-class performances: by Daniels, who seems to have resources that his earlier roles never touched; by electrifying newcomer Ray Liotta, and by Griffith as the maddening, mysterious Lulu. [6 Nov 1986]
    All this critic's reviews
  4. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    88
    Something Wild is quite a movie. Demme is a master of finding the bizarre in the ordinary.
  5. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Staff (Not Credited)
    88
    With a screenplay from first-time screenwriter E. Max Frye and superior performances from his principal cast, Demme has created a unique and likable film.
  6. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
    Reviewed by: Jay Scott
    88
    Demme not only gives the script's nuttiness its due, he adds to it by filling the frame in virtually every scene with silliness - a motorcycle- riding dog, a harpsichordist, a man wearing a T-shirt that reads, "I don't love you since you ate my dog." [7 Nov 1986]
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  7. Wall Street Journal
    Reviewed by: Julie Salamon
    80
    Besides engineering top-notch performances from his actors, Mr. Demme also put together a soundtrack that enhances the movie's marvelous, quirky rhythms. He keeps you hooked into this unpredictable, pleasurable picture right through the closing credits. [6 Nov 1986]
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  8. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Paul Attanasio
    80
    But for the first time in a long while, this is a movie that lets Demme be Demme, and the result is a film that's more than enjoyable. It's a blast.
  9. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Pat Graham
    80
    Jonathan Demme's picaresque joyride across the American landscape is still arguably the best thing he's ever done.
  10. Variety
    Reviewed by: Staff (Not Credited)
    70
    Conceptually and stylistically compelling under Jonathan Demme's sometimes striking direction.
  11. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Rita Kempley
    60
    Despite the quirky trappings, Something Wild is often as tame as its star couple.
  12. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Michael Blowen
    50
    After an hour of biting charm, Something Wild turns into something else. In a twist that turns the movie into a silly story of violence, Demme surrenders his style to a stupid plot. [7 Nov 1986]
    All this publication's reviews
  13. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Vincent Canby
    40
    Something Wild is often "Something Wrong."
  14. Time
    Reviewed by: Richard Corliss
    40
    The film causes no tremors, only a hemi-Demme-semiquaver.
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