Filmtracks Traffic Rank: #1,912
Written 1/2/12
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Buy it... as a faithful souvenir of the film, its sultry and seedy
atmosphere representing the America's Deep South and the blatant
sexuality of the plot with stewing, contemporary allure.
Avoid it... if you don't want the feeling that you need to take a
shower after listening to thirty minutes of this rare blend of rhythmic
sensuality and orchestral suspense.
 |
| Clinton |
Wild Things: (George S. Clinton) You don't often
find explicit threesomes, lesbian fluid swaps, full male frontal nudity,
and actors Bill Murray and Robert Wagner all included in the same
mainstream American movie, but the erotic 1998 thriller Wild
Things has achieved cult status for those dubious reasons. A mixture
affluence and trailer trash in a Florida community leads to a mystery
story involving the payoff of a libel claim against a rich family.
Conspiring for the money are characters portrayed by Kevin Bacon, Matt
Dillon, Neve Campbell, and Denise Richards, most of whom having sex with
each other in various eye-catching combinations as they maneuver to win
control of the fortune. The plot misdirects audiences several times by
revealing layers of deceit after each raunchy rendezvous, pushing the
limits of the MPAA's "R" rating for strong sexuality and nudity. While
Wild Things didn't generate massive profits at the time of its
release, a strong secondary life on video (largely due to its
entertaining and effective casting) has propelled it to notoriety in the
years since, spawning at least three sequels that all attempt to
essentially remake the original movie with a different selection of
flesh. To describe the film as seedy and sultry would capture its truly
unholy demeanor, and that tone is extended substantially by George S.
Clinton's original score. Despite the fact that many of the composer's
best triumphs in the realm of B-rate movie scores were still to come,
Wild Things represented a project for which Clinton's
sensibilities were perfectly suited. He played the Everglades atmosphere
of the film in extremely obvious fashion, throwing in performances by
"Morphine" members Mark Sandman and Dana Colley, Sarah Bettens of "K's
Choice," and Greg Camp of "Smash Mouth" to enhance the contemporary
appeal of his soundscape. There is definitely an aspect of the Deep
South that Clinton's jazz and Western style lends itself to well, and
one could say that Wild Things is one of his signature works.
That descriptor applies to one half of the score, that which makes use
of the Southern flavor to such a great end. The other half of the score
consists of rather mundane orchestral thriller techniques, including
nervous piano, harp, and string work that tries hard to emulate the
likes of Jerry Goldsmith and Bernard Herrmann but instead comes across
as contrived. That failure to really generate stellar suspense music is
actually to the gain of Wild Things, however, because there's a
feeling of cheapness to it that enhances the movie's naughtiness.
The generic stringers and quivering strings that occupy
the central portion of the score are sufficient at their task, but
Wild Things is remembered solely for its main theme and the
"Gator Tango." These passages, enhanced by Caribbean flavor that
includes pleasant guitars, steel drums, and a variety of stereotypical
percussion to this locale, is led in personality by the standard Clinton
baritone saxophone that blurts away affably in most of his better known
comedy scores. In
Wild Things, though, this deep sax remains in
purely erotic mode, puffing away in echoing formations that reflect the
surreal nature of the plot. These elements often play in the background
for vague string accompaniment (and what sounds like a rattling
cimbalom), highlighted by the opening and closing title sequences.
Slightly more upbeat tones in "Gator Tango" offer the brightest moments
of the score with these ingredients. The compilation track "Lizard Road"
starts with this sound but the traverses into orchestral stinger
territory while "Gremlin" stays rooted in the contemporary haze of the
sensuality. The cues from "Dfmo" to "Good Shooting" are occupied with
the orchestral suspense, some of which, including the vague strings and
harp phrases, sound humorously similar to Michael Kamen's
Die
Hard. The only extended cue to combine the best of all of
Wild
Things' musical elements is "After Tonight," the long, steamy
sequence of problematic romance. In this cue, you finally hear
full-fledged development of the score's most key asset, the vocal
performances of Bettens. Her somewhat harsh tone is perfect for this
score (as is the fact that she eventually revealed herself as a lesbian,
too), accenting this cue with extremely sensual tones. She performs the
score's most prominent motif as well, its three-note phrases heard
immediately at the outset and a few times thereafter. Aside from the
average suspense material, the biggest missed opportunity in
Wild
Things is the sparing use of her voice; it is so well matched to the
environment of the story that she (and the sax) should have been more
frequent contributors. While some listeners may consider the lack of a
dominant theme and narrative development in the score to be a
significant detriment, too, Clinton does well enough addressing the
atmosphere of the movie to function. There are times when he could have
exercised a bit more outright fun, especially in the "End Credits," but
this film got essentially what it deserved and is smirk-inducing in
context. The first of two vocalized songs by Morphine melds without
issue with Clinton's score, while the second one is a bit too brazen.
Otherwise,
Wild Things is a smoothly alluring soundtrack that
makes you feel like you need a shower after it finishes.
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