Review: ‘Something Wild’ lives up to its name in every possible way
1986 / Dir. Jonathan Demme / 2026 Chicago Critics Film Festival
Rating: 4/5
Watch if you like: Stop Making Sense, After Hours, True Romance, running away from your finance job for a manic pixie dream girl and rediscovering your lust for life but also having to deal with a psychotic Ray Liotta who’s trying to kill you.
Jonathan Demme followed up his pioneering Talking Heads concert film Stop Making Sense with this cross-country comedy and uniquely idiosyncratic vision of America—presented in 35 mm for the film’s 40th anniversary screening at the 2026 Chicago Critics Film Festival—that feels deeply indebted to David Byrne and company.
Charlie (Jeff Daniels) is a conventional yuppie finance bro about to be promoted to vice president who gets taken for the ride of his life after intentionally skipping out on paying his lunch bill. Lulu (Melanie Griffith), with a crazy black bob haircut and covered in African jewelry, notices him doing this and semi-kidnaps him. What first seems like a way for Charlie to get a cheap thrill from his mundane life by following Lulu to a dodgy New Jersey hotel room quickly becomes a hilariously wild cross-country adventure, particularly when Lulu’s terrifying ex-con, ex-husband (Ray Liotta) shows up.
Balancing a wide range of tones from screwball comedy to full-on horror thriller, Something Wild lives up to its name in every possible way. Besides a fun story and a terrific cast delivering three outstanding breakout roles, Demme fills the movie with musical moments and strange characters, like a trip to a Pennsylvania gas station featuring a beatboxing rap crew and a class reunion headlined by ‘80s art-punk band The Feelies. Truly the definition of “quirky.”