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Wild Things poster

Wild Things

year 1998decade 90sdirector John McNaughton
Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Kevin Bacon Ray Duquette
Matt Dillon Sam Lombardo
Neve Campbell Suzie Toller
Theresa Russell Sandra Van Ryan
Denise Richards Kelly Van Ryan
Daphne Rubin-Vega Detective Gloria Perez
Jeff Perry Bryce Hunter
Robert Wagner Tom Baxter
Bill Murray Kenneth Bowden
Dennis Neal Art Maddox
Marc Macaulay Walter
Cory Pendergast Jimmy Leach
Eduardo Yáñez Frankie Condo
Jennifer Taylor Barbara Baxter

Wild Things | The Rewatchables

host Bill Simmonshost Van Lathanhost Mallory Rubin
Explore episodeClose episode

Producer credits not yet identified.

Watch Party: Best Viewing Scenario

Solo viewing; teenage sleepover

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 00:03:38Read transcript
  • The film is described as a sweaty, campy erotic thriller for the MTV generation. Mallory recalls adolescent sleepover viewing focused on its famous scenes; Van recalls wanting more sex and less courtroom material.
  • Watch-setting choices are solo viewing or a teenage sleepover; Van recalls his father reacting to the movie, prompting a proposed goddamn category.

Apex Mountain

Denise Richards; Dillon’s 1998; Blue Bay; champagne-and-fake-gun threesome; sailing qualified

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:30:34Read transcript
  • The pool-emergence apex is disputed between Richards and Phoebe Cates, with Cates’ cultural impact favored and Jessica Biel another example.
  • Apex: Richards yes; Campbell qualified against Scream and her broader run; the threesome is called unusually publicized, not necessarily the best.
  • Apex: Bacon no, Dillon’s combined 1998 yes; fictional Blue Bay and the champagne-and-fake-gun threesome yes; Murray no; high-school sailing tentative.

The Craig Century Club

108 minutes

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 00:46:41Read transcript
  • Craig approves the 108-minute runtime but expected an extended pool scene; theatrical and unrated versions are distinguished, and Bacon filming the scene is singled out.

Roger Ebert's review

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 00:50:51Read transcript
  • Ebert’s three-star rating is explicit; the hosts praise his lurid-trash description and correct loved it to liked it.

Most Rewatchable Scene

The motel threesome

In the discussion (9)
Approx. transcript time · 00:55:11Read transcript
  • Sailing, the Jeep ride and Van Ryan arrival are scene candidates. Third Eye Blind into Why Can’t We Be Friends is a needle-drop choice; the later shift to jazz may be thematic.
  • Sandra’s sexual dialogue and Teresa Russell’s exaggerated delivery are discussed as poor acting that suits the movie, with Black Widow and Whore career references.
  • The car wash and I Want What I Want cue are praised for deliberate excess, prompting a playful celebrity-attraction hall-of-fame digression.
  • Kelly telling Sandra and the police-station reaction are rewatchable for bad acting; Sandra’s self-centered response and dead-father line reveal character. A different-movie award is considered then rejected because the excess fits.
  • Susie’s police account and Murray’s second-day courtroom scene are candidates, with the sleazy brilliant-lawyer type admired.
  • Reported contractual and filming details of the motel scene are discussed alongside its unusual explicitness for the era; claims about alcohol need exact-source qualification.
  • The motel threesome is praised for revealing the conspiracy while serving the plot rather than merely adding sex, and is declared the leading scene.
  • The pool scene and Bacon’s filming reaction are runners-up; the shower reveal creates an expectation of a Dillon/Bacon relationship.
  • The ending and explanatory credits are candidates, but the motel threesome wins, with the pool scene second and the extended cut recommended.

The Slow Ride / Kid Cudi – Pursuit of Happiness Award for Best Needle Drop

Third Eye Blind into Why Can’t We Be Friends; I Want What I Want

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 00:55:11Read transcript
  • Sailing, the Jeep ride and Van Ryan arrival are scene candidates. Third Eye Blind into Why Can’t We Be Friends is a needle-drop choice; the later shift to jazz may be thematic.
  • The car wash and I Want What I Want cue are praised for deliberate excess, prompting a playful celebrity-attraction hall-of-fame digression.

The Great Shot Gordo Award for Most Cinematic Shot

Dillon’s yeah; wet Kelly in the foyer; pool emergence

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:03:46Read transcript
  • Van chooses Dillon’s brief yeah and appearance during the motel scene for great shot, bringing a printed still and interpreting it as a spontaneous reaction.
  • Great-shot alternatives to Van’s Dillon still are wet Kelly in the foyer and Kelly emerging from the pool.

The most "year the movie came out" thing

Bacon’s camcorder; soundtrack; teacher/student plots; cast; absent ballistics

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:08:06Read transcript
  • Most-1998 choices include the soundtrack, teacher/student plots, cast, absent ballistics and Bacon’s bulky camcorder, the latter called the obvious winner.

What’s Aged the Best?

Credit stingers; throuples; class themes; literary detail; shorts; goth style; Florida; nudity; poster; Rubin-Vega; dialogue; Jeep

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:09:56Read transcript
  • Aged-best choices are credit stingers, throuples, class-war themes, Susie’s literary detail and short shorts.
  • Goth styling, South Florida scandals and the location’s cinematic qualities age best.
  • A counterargument begins that Florida is effective atmosphere but underused in the plot; it continues in the next packet.
  • Florida’s atmosphere is defended, while an objection asks why the alligators never kill anyone or dispose of a body.
  • Bacon’s nudity, the poster, Daphne Rubin-Vega and Sandra’s dialogue are additional aged-best choices.
  • The Jeep receives late praise, qualified by its vacation practicality.

How Would Van Lathan Get Out of This One?

A motel visit framed as adult political and cultural outreach

Flex pick · Van Lathan

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:15:45Read transcript
  • Van explicitly selects How Would Van Get Out of This One, inventing a defense of a motel visit as political/cultural outreach with adult college fans; the lengthy story is a comic hypothetical, not an event.

The Butch’s Girlfriend Award for the Weakest Link in the Film

The missing Sam–Ray relationship

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:19:05Read transcript
  • The missing Sam/Ray sexual relationship is a weak-link and aged-worst choice. Reports conflict on why filming was abandoned, but the hosts think an explicit relationship would make their conspiracy more coherent.
  • The hosts reiterate that the omitted Sam–Ray relationship could be implied without explicit imagery.

What’s Aged the Worst?

Missing relationship; missing soundtrack; school access; extended-cut family reveal

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:19:05Read transcript
  • The missing Sam/Ray sexual relationship is a weak-link and aged-worst choice. Reports conflict on why filming was abandoned, but the hosts think an explicit relationship would make their conspiracy more coherent.
  • The absence of a soundtrack album and more period songs is criticized, prompting discussion of soundtrack decline and a proposed awards category.
  • Sam’s continued school access after accusations is an aged-worst objection, though later conspiracy reveals partly explain improbable investigation choices.
  • The director’s reported objection to the extended release is debated. Mallory says its reveal that Susie is Sandra’s half-sister and Kelly’s aunt radically changes motivation and adds incest, an inappropriate difference between cuts.

Mallory Rubin Award: Did This Movie Need a Better Sex Scene?

Sam–Ray; extended pool; Sam/Gloria; Sam/Sandra

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:21:01Read transcript
  • Better-sex-scene ideas are restoring Sam/Ray and the extended pool material, adding Sam masturbating while watched by Gloria or a Gloria hookup, and a Sam/Sandra reconciliation; pocketing underwear is praised as character detail.

The most GIFable moment

Ray filming the pool — abandoned flex idea

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:33:04Read transcript
  • Mallory recalls a gifable-moment idea for Ray filming the pool, then explicitly selects the modern-technology flex: texts, location data, searches and forensics collapse the conspiracy.

Would Modern Technology Ruin This Movie?

Yes — texts, location data, searches and forensics

Flex pick · Mallory Rubin

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:33:04Read transcript
  • Mallory recalls a gifable-moment idea for Ray filming the pool, then explicitly selects the modern-technology flex: texts, location data, searches and forensics collapse the conspiracy.

The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award

Kill Sandra; disputed objection to Campbell’s contractual boundary

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:34:53Read transcript
  • Mallory’s hottest take is that the schemers should have targeted Sandra to unlock the inheritance instead of using the elaborate lawsuit.
  • Bill’s hottest take criticizes Campbell’s no-nudity boundary as mismatched with the project; the response is divided. Preserve this as a disputed host opinion, not an endorsement or casting fact.

Casting What-Ifs

Downey as Sam; Lyonne as Susie; Reid as Kelly

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:37:20Read transcript
  • Casting What-Ifs begins with Downey reportedly unable to obtain insurance for Sam; the next packet continues the discussion.
  • Downey as Sam is disputed: too obviously untrustworthy versus charismatic enough; Bacon’s role is suggested instead, and Dillon is defended.
  • Casting alternatives include Lyonne for Susie and Reid for Kelly; Richards is defended as ideal. Natasha Gregson Wagner’s identity is corrected in the Two Girls and a Guy comparison.

Half-Assed Internet Research

Swamp interruption; nudity contracts; Sex Crimes title; added ending

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:42:45Read transcript
  • Research reports a dead body interrupting swamp filming.
  • Research discusses nudity clauses and approval of Bacon’s shot; contract practices include speculation.
  • Research reports the Sex Crimes international title and an ending added after test screenings.

Cruise or Hanks?

Cruise as Sam; Hanks disputed

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:47:35Read transcript
  • Cruise is favored as Sam; Hanks is initially entertained for the other role but then rejected, so the discussion is not a unanimous single ballot.

Picking Nits

Car attack; phone during sex; removed teeth; traceable purchases; yacht logistics; Kelly’s survival

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:48:24Read transcript
  • The car attack and its potentially unscripted consequences prompt a nitpick and an alligator-death wish.
  • Answering the phone during sex is disputed as a nitpick, with urgent family calls offered as a counterexample and personal anecdotes.
  • Susie’s removed teeth and full smile at the ending are nitpicked; cosmetic dentistry and the elapsed time are counterarguments.
  • Traceable purchases, yacht travel and Susie’s hiding place raise questions; shared offshore money and sailing rather than flying are offered as explanations.
  • The hosts question whether Sam expected Ray to kill Kelly and whether leaving her alive would risk exposure.
  • Leaving Kelly alive is judged implausible; Sam choosing Susie over wealthy Kelly is explained through shared outsider status and Susie’s blackmail, with disagreement.

Scorsese or Spielberg?

Scorsese

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:48:38Read transcript
  • Scorsese wins the director comparison. Murray’s character is best hang; Walter and his alligator teeth are worst hang.

Best Hang / Worst Hang

Best: Ken Bowden; worst: Walter

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:48:38Read transcript
  • Scorsese wins the director comparison. Murray’s character is best hang; Walter and his alligator teeth are worst hang.

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Kelly and Sandra; Sam’s sport; father’s death; blackmail photos; Ken’s drink; tropical escape; nudity accounts

In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 01:51:49Read transcript
  • Questions about Kelly’s mother relationship are answered through exploitation and blame for her father’s death; killing Sandra is proposed again.
  • Sam’s college sport is guessed to be baseball; football positions are disputed.
  • Sandra’s possible responsibility for her husband’s death is assumed but unresolved, including whether a lover carried it out.
  • Questions ask who took the blackmail photographs and whether Susie poisoned Ken’s drink; a shared outsider bond is offered against the latter theory.
  • The tropical escape ending prompts a joking argument for fugitives choosing ski resorts instead.
  • The hosts speculate about Bacon’s awareness and preparation for the nude shot; being seen by the crew is a counterargument. None of the bodily speculation establishes production facts.
  • The hosts question the reported Party of Five rationale for Campbell’s contract, compare Lisa Bonet, and correct confusion about the Jamie Walters song.

Is This Movie Better With…?

Wayne Jenkins as Ray or another corrupt cop

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:59:07Read transcript
  • Wayne Jenkins is proposed as Ray or another corrupt cop investigating him; a sailing impression follows.

Who Won the Movie?

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 02:10:26Read transcript
  • The opening shortlist jokes about Bacon’s anatomy alongside Richards.
  • Richards receives the first explicit choice.
  • A second choice agrees on Richards and calls her iconic.
  • Dana Delany receives a joking additional mention.
Podcast choices
Speaker not identified
Denise Richards
Speaker not identified
Denise Richards

Producer review

Surprises and pure entertainment

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 02:10:44Read transcript
  • The repeated twists continue to surprise, making the movie satisfying as pure entertainment. — Craig Horlbeck

More from the conversation

Bill introduces Van and Mallory, discussing Ringer Tailgate and Mallory’s recurring erotic-thriller/Harrison Ford assignments versus her wish for fantasy or science fiction.
Approx. transcript time · 00:01:37Read transcript
The hosts connect late-1990s sexual pop culture with this film and debate whether internet pornography reduced mainstream eroticism; these are their cultural theories.
Approx. transcript time · 00:07:44Read transcript
Breaking out of teen-star images and the effect of leaked private images are discussed as speculative cultural commentary, not verified causal history.
Approx. transcript time · 00:10:47Read transcript
Explicit television, Bacon’s brief nudity and changing performer control are discussed, with Oz, Euphoria and newer films as comparisons.
Approx. transcript time · 00:11:45Read transcript
Intimacy coordinators are discussed as supporting performers’ comfort, followed by jokes about needing one for the podcast.
Approx. transcript time · 00:14:49Read transcript
Campbell’s reported contractual nudity restriction and Bacon’s account of approving a take are discussed with explicit skepticism; theatrical reactions and television comparisons follow.
Approx. transcript time · 00:15:40Read transcript
Party of Five memories, its cast and using shared television interests in conversation lead to examples of fictional behavior to avoid.
Approx. transcript time · 00:18:01Read transcript
Campbell’s Party of Five, Craft, Scream and Wild Things run is examined; a claim of limited range is qualified as possibly the host’s own typecasting.
Approx. transcript time · 00:19:59Read transcript
Mallory praises Susie’s contribution to watchability. Campbell’s established image versus Richards’ introduction as a sex symbol is argued to support the surprise; Gellar, Hathaway and Radcliffe are comparisons for escaping typecasting.
Approx. transcript time · 00:21:43Read transcript
Television typecasting is linked to long network seasons and child-centered shows, contrasted with Zendaya and Euphoria’s gaps; the hosts also debate whether earlier stars simply lacked film range.
Approx. transcript time · 00:25:11Read transcript
Richards’ television appearances and film rise culminate in Wild Things/Bond, followed by commentary on her later career and personal-life publicity.
Approx. transcript time · 00:29:04Read transcript
Dillon’s early prominence and mid-1990s return are praised; his mix of attractiveness, creepiness and humor makes Sam a convincing apparent lead who becomes a patsy.
Approx. transcript time · 00:31:29Read transcript
Dillon’s resemblance to Craig prompts jokes about Craig’s hidden dark side and forgotten extra work.
Approx. transcript time · 00:35:28Read transcript
Dillon’s reported missed Butch role in Pulp Fiction is discussed as a career counterfactual, with uncertainty about why he declined.
Approx. transcript time · 00:36:25Read transcript
Bacon’s supporting-star strengths and Murray’s unexpected presence are praised. Murray’s tone changes the film, while the fake-injury office plants clues to his con-man role.
Approx. transcript time · 00:37:08Read transcript
Murray’s friendship with McNaughton and the reportedly late ending addition are discussed; Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer prompts unsettling viewing memories.
Approx. transcript time · 00:40:17Read transcript
The credits’ explanatory twists are praised despite convoluted motivations. Kelly is interpreted as the biggest victim, while Susie’s hero/villain status is debated through class revenge.
Approx. transcript time · 00:41:27Read transcript
Budget, box office and three direct-to-video sequels are reported, including Van’s viewing because of Leila Arcieri.
Approx. transcript time · 00:49:43Read transcript
The hosts praise self-aware entertaining trash and contrast unsuccessful modern versions, including criticism of The Housemaid.
Approx. transcript time · 00:51:17Read transcript
South Florida’s class geography and atmosphere are praised, with Out of Time and southern thrillers discussed; a New Orleans theme is only hypothetical.
Approx. transcript time · 00:53:07Read transcript
Unfaithful’s success and the later decline of erotic thrillers prompt debate over internet porn, exhausted plots, television substitutes and the need for dark comedy.
Approx. transcript time · 01:27:53Read transcript
Generational discomfort with movie sex is debated; Craig distinguishes his cohort from younger viewers, and others defend sexual scenes as ordinary storytelling.
Approx. transcript time · 01:30:40Read transcript
Water-sex personal banter includes a joking nine-minute claim.
Approx. transcript time · 01:45:31Read transcript
The closing discussion values talented actors in entertaining B movies, contrasts Deep Water, and treats a Starship Troopers anecdote as possibly apocryphal.
Approx. transcript time · 02:11:28Read transcript
Host banter and thanks close the episode; first-name producer references remain ambiguous without another unambiguous mention.
Approx. transcript time · 02:13:50Read transcript