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Review of Wild Things (George S. Clinton)

FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:

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.

FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:

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.  ***

TRACK LISTINGS:

Total Time: 36:37

• 1. Main Title (2:56) • 2. Gator Tango (2:17) • 3. I Had My Chance - performed by Morphine (3:02) • 4. Outside (1:58) • 5. Lizard Road (2:23) • 6. Gremlin (1:46) • 7. After Tonight (5:15) • 8. Dfmo (2:06) • 9. Dom Periodontal (2:18) • 10. Dead Kelly (2:10) • 11. Good Shootin (1:14) • 12. Murder For the Money - performed by Morphine (3:30) • 13. End Credits (5:14)

NOTES & QUOTES:

The insert includes no extra information about the score or film.

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The reviews and other textual content contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Christian Clemmensen at Filmtracks Publications. All artwork and sound clips from Wild Things are Copyright © 1998, Varèse Sarabande and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 1/2/12 (and not updated significantly since).