When I heard the news about Ray Liotta’s untimely death at the age of 67, the first thing I thought about was Goodfellas, of course. The first thing of his I wanted to watch, though, was his “debut” performance in director Jonathan Demme’s 1986 masterpiece Something Wild. It’s a breathtaking movie; at once goofy, romantic, kinky, exciting, and dangerous. It stars Jeff Daniels as a mild-mannered Wall Street exec who harbors a sneaky rebellious streak, one that lands him squarely in the view of Lulu, an extremely unpredictable free spirit (Melanie Griffith) who convinces him to play hooky from his job for an afternoon and accompany her to a seedy fleabag motel for a quickie romp. A one-night stand turns into something more, and something WILD, when Lulu’s ex-husband, played with a menacing gleam by Ray Liotta, enters the picture. It’s a remarkable, ebullient, dare I say groovy movie, one that will make your pulse race and your heart sing.
Photo: ©Orion Pictures Corp/Courtesy Everett Collection
