RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / Wild Things
Wild Things

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Buy Poster External Icon
Bookmark and Share

Wild Things (1998)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
64 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:55

Fresh:35

Rotten:20

Average Rating:5.9/10

Runtime: 1 hr 55 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: A seemingly virtuous high school guidance counselor, Sam Lombardo (Matt Dillon), is accused of raping students Kelly (Denise Richards) and Suzie (Neve Campbell). Ken Bowden (Bill Murray), an... A seemingly virtuous high school guidance counselor, Sam Lombardo (Matt Dillon), is accused of raping students Kelly (Denise Richards) and Suzie (Neve Campbell). Ken Bowden (Bill Murray), an oddball attorney, and Detective Ray Duquette (Kevin Bacon) come to Lombardo's aid, unraveling a much larger blackmail scheme involving some of the town's least suspicious residents. WILD THINGS, a veering, breakneck ride, proved surprisingly successful at the box office. It features director John McNaughton's (HENRY PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER, NORMAL LIFE) best talents: sinuous, layered storytelling, racy cinematography, and shocking plot twists. Richards and Campbell sizzle on the screen as they tease, seduce, and entrap. Lying somewhere between black comedy and psycho thriller, WILD THINGS is an unclassifiable, unforgettable original. [More]

Starring: Kevin Bacon, Matt Dillon, Neve Campbell, Denise Richards

Starring: Kevin Bacon, Matt Dillon, Neve Campbell, Denise Richards, Bill Murray, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Robert Wagner, Theresa Russell

Director: John McNaughton

Director: John McNaughton
Screenwriter: Stephen Peters
Producer: Rodney Liber, Steven A. Jones

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Wild Things

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

This is one of those puzzle movies that's quite intriguing while it's feigning superficiality -- and truly funny when Bill Murray is around -- but really dumb once it thinks it's being smart.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/26/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

...Bacon's pork sword alone is not worth the price of admission.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
Andrew Collins
Andrew Collins
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The movie is as tawdry as someone else's lingerie, yet not without a certain prurient watchability.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
02/11/08
Stephen Hunter
Stephen Hunter
Washington Post

What I'm supposed to find 'satisfying' is predicated on the idea that almost everyone in the world is trash.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
02/11/08
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
N/R

They're not calling it Wild Things for nothing.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
02/11/08
Desson Thomson
Desson Thomson
Washington Post

A sleazy, seamy, flashy, steamy, vulgar exploitation thriller that revels in every minute of its own trashiness and delivers some pretty solid -- if prurient -- entertainment.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
02/11/08
Maitland McDonagh
Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Sly, torrid and original, pic is certain to shake up an otherwise complacent marketplace.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
02/11/08
Leonard Klady
Leonard Klady
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

[It's got] Neve Campbell and Denise Richards making out, all the plot twists and double-crossing of a James Ellroy novel, Neve Campbell and Denise Richards having a catfight in a swimming pool and Bill Murray as a sleazy neck-brace-wearing lawyer.

Full Review Source: Rolling Stone | comment Comment
08/14/07
Tom Nawrocki
Tom Nawrocki
Rolling Stone

I heartily recommend Wild Things for its fits of teasing and eroticism (rare in American cinema) and for Bill Murray who has a great role as Lombardo's attorney.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
05/26/06
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Dark Horizons | comment Comment
04/02/05
Garth Franklin
Garth Franklin
Dark Horizons

Wild Things plays like a long Twilight Zone episode with a thick Everglades breeze to it. READ ON (DVD)->

Full Review Source: Blunt Review | comment Comment
05/19/04
Emily Blunt
Emily Blunt
Blunt Review

One of those films for which the phrase 'guilty pleasure' was invented.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
05/12/04
Dragan Antulov
Dragan Antulov
rec.arts.movies.reviews

Aging sexpot Theresa Russell gets the most Skinemax-worthy moment in a picture that purports to humour jailbait fiends

Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | comment Comment
03/31/04
Bill Chambers
Bill Chambers
Film Freak Central

Good, trashy fun, with gratuitous sex and nudity, a ludicrous (in a so-bad-it's-funny way) performance by Denise Richards, and an implausible noir plot that keeps you in the dark until the final credits. The ultimate guilty pleasure.

comment Comment
08/11/03
Carlo Cavagna
Carlo Cavagna
AboutFilm.com

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
05/14/03
Jeanne Aufmuth
Jeanne Aufmuth
Palo Alto Weekly

Call it gratuitous annoyance.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
04/25/03
Rick Groen
Rick Groen
Globe and Mail

One of those thankfully rare pictures that makes every man and woman it portrays seem hollow and insubstantial.

Full Review Source: Nick's Flick Picks | comment Comment
01/10/03
Nick Davis
Nick Davis
Nick's Flick Picks

What “Titanic” supplied for female teens, “Wild Things” will supply for their male counterparts.

Full Review Source: Critics Inc./America Online | comment Comment
01/04/03
Brandon Judell
Brandon Judell
Critics Inc./America Online

...even though the action is spiced up with kinky sex, a quick flash of male frontal nudity and long, lingering shots of voluptuous girls in skimpy clothes, there's a peculiar lifelessness about the whole affair.

Full Review Source: Cincinnati Enquirer | comment Comment
10/15/02
Margaret A. McGurk
Margaret A. McGurk
Cincinnati Enquirer

Personally, even though I think that the film's too twisted to be believable, I enjoyed it.

Full Review Source: Montreal Film Journal | comment Comment
09/10/02
Kevin N. Laforest
Kevin N. Laforest
Montreal Film Journal
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
all

Latest News for Wild Things

March 07, 2008: Paper Magazine Compiles Top Ten Worst Nude Scenes of All Time
Nude scenes: we love them. Well, most of the time, anyway. More...

February 15, 2006: Wild Things: The Reunion
If you're a big fan of 1998's tongue-in-cheek adultery thriller "Wild Things," then you'll be pleased to know that the director (John McNaughton), the screenwriter... More...

See All

More DVDs

Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
15% 15% The Ugly Truth
98% 98% Up
36% 36% G.I. Joe: The Rise of …
52% 52% The Taking of Pelham 1…
45% 45% Ice Age: Dawn of the D…

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
36% 36% Angels & Demons
68% 68% Funny People
25% 25% Four Christmases
45% 45% Shorts

More New Releases…

What’s Hot On RT

Prince of Persia

Prince of Persia

Your first look at the swashbuckler.

Vampires

Vampires

We rank cinema's bloodsuckers.

Avatar

Avatar

The full trailer for Cameron's epic.

2012

2012

12 facts about Emmerich's disaster flick.

Other News

  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Natalie Portman Says Kat Denning Is in Thor Source: MTV
30
  • Disney Restructuring Has Broad Implications Source: Los Angeles Times
10
  • Joel Silver Talks Ninja Assassin, Sgt. Rock, Lobo, and More Source: Collider.com
1
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
112
  • Idris Elba Joins Thor Source: Hollywood Reporter
112
  • Jackass 3D Coming in 2010? Source: Collider.com
32
  • 6 Reasons 'Twilight' Is Doomed Source: The Wrap
64
  • Forbes Names Hollywood's Most Overpaid Actors Source: Forbes
20
  • Chris Weitz Says He's (Almost) Done with Directing Source: Film School Rejects
26
  • Spider-Man 4 Casting Rumors Multiply Like Rabbits Source: Deadline Hollywood Daily
51
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: New Moon Shatters Records
171
  • Critics Consensus: New Moon Wanes
129
  • Tomatometer Watch: Will Twilight's New Moon Dazzle?
97
  • Total Recall: Star-Crossed Lovers
75
  • Total Recall: John Travolta's Best Movies
67
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
56
  • Friday Harvest: New Moon, Avatar, and more!
32
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
8
  • Critics Consensus: Flee From Ninja Assassin
3
  • WB offers DVD to Blu-ray Trade-In Program
2
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
8
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
8
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
19
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
6
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
15
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
19
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
8
  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
28
  • Gavin Hood Talks Wolverine; Possible Sequel
28
  • Duncan Jones talks Moon, Sam Rockwell, and Mute
14
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • Wild Things at Rotten Tomatoes
  • Wild Things at IGN

Fresh Links

Featured
RT on YouTube
RT on YouTube External Link

Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.

RT on Twitter
RT on Twitter External Link

Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.