--- title: "Something Wild: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/something-wild/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/something-wild" critics_score: 74 critics_reviews: 14 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Something Wild (1986): what the critics said Critics' score 74 from 14 reviews: 13 positive, 0 mixed, 1 negative. ## The AV Club — Scott Tobias Rating A. 11 May 2011. Directed by Jonathan Demme at the top of his game, the film takes viewers on an exciting, dynamic, wonderfully unpredictable ride grounded in the idea that romance is like a long, sometimes contentious negotiation between opposites who grow a little. The opposites-attract chemistry between Griffith and Daniels is electrifying, full of danger, kink, and spark. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/something-wild-1798168196) ## Slant Magazine — Joseph Jon Lanthier Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 9 May 2011. One of Demme’s best films, it stylizes characters addicted to reinvention as a means of expression and exposing absurdity, providing a rhythm to which we can revolutionize our private lives through personal revisionism that is humanistic rather than masturbatory. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/something-wild-blu-ray/) ## Empire — William Thomas Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. The film is breezy fun as an artefact of the mid-80s. It singles out the superb soundtrack and bizarro cameos for praise while noting that the trendiness dates fast. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/something-wild-review/) ## Los Angeles Times — Sheila Benson Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 6 November 1986. Demme returns to form with a free-spirited road movie that mixes '60s energy and '80s yuppie satire, buoyed by three standout performances from Griffith, Daniels, and Liotta. Benson highlights the vibrant soundtrack and production design while noting a lingering late-'60s attitude toward petty crime that feels dated. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-11-06-ca-16498-story.html) ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 7 November 1986. The film starts with a headlong erotic charge in its opening scenes but settles into a more conventional groove later on. It remains a good movie thanks to Demme's skill at finding the bizarre in the ordinary and the strong chemistry between Daniels and Griffith. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/something-wild-1986) ## The New Yorker — Pauline Kael Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 10 November 1986. Demme turns a familiar genre premise into something authentically wild, crossing from anarchic screwball comedy into scary slapstick thriller territory. Kael singles out the performances—especially Griffith's range and Daniels' subtle transitions—and Demme's democratic eye for bit players and pop-culture energy. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1986/11/17/doubling-up) ## Time Out — GA Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 15 June 2017. The critic praises Demme's film as an original mix of screwball comedy and film noir that stands out from similar yuppie nightmare movies through its sympathy for eccentric characters. Demme's warm observation of everyday American life, the rock soundtrack, and strong performances from Daniels, Griffith and Liotta are highlighted as key pleasures. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/something-wild-1) ## Variety — Variety Staff Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 31 December 1985. The critic finds the offbeat thriller conceptually and stylistically compelling under Demme’s direction, with an unlikely couple on the run whose joyride turns into a nightmare after an ex-con appears. Daniels transforms convincingly from straitlaced to loosened-up, though Griffith falls short in fully conveying her character’s complexity. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1985/film/reviews/something-wild-1200426801/) ## The New York Times — Vincent Canby Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 7 November 1986. The film begins with a promising screwball-comedy premise but fails to sustain momentum across its shifting genres, becoming something of a disappointment. Canby praises the performances, especially Daniels, Griffith, and newcomer Liotta, while criticizing the screenplay's lack of real payoff. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1986/11/07/movies/film-something-wild.html) ## The Playlist — Jessica Kiang Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 27 April 2017. The piece celebrates the film as a quintessential Demme work: a fun, funky road-movie romance filled with vibrant Americana details, craftsmanship, and an effervescent spirit that rewards rediscovery. It notes the strong soundtrack and memorable supporting moments while acknowledging its commercial flop status at the time. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/10-essential-jonathan-demme-films-20170427/) ## The Ringer — Lindsay Zoladz Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 26 April 2017. The critic highlights the film's gleeful, sloppy road-trip energy and odd-couple chemistry between Jeff Daniels and Melanie Griffith, calling it the American Breathless of the 1980s with caustic comedy, worn-in texture, and ramshackle rhythms that make it easy to love. [Read the review](https://www.theringer.com/2017/04/26/pop-culture/favorite-jonathan-demme-movies-silence-of-the-lambs-stop-making-sense-65a3105d450e) ## The Skinny — Jamie Dunn Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 27 July 2017. The critic celebrates Jonathan Demme's compassionate, democratic approach to characters and filmmaking, describing Something Wild as his very finest film for its screwball energy, vivid supporting figures, and love of everyday Americana. [Read the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/opinion/in-praise-of-jonathan-demmes-soulful-cinema) ## Collider — Andre Dellamorte Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 27 May 2011. The critic praises Demme's ability to capture quirky Americana and elicit strong performances from the cast, especially Griffith and Daniels, in this tonal-shifting comedy-crime film. It highlights the film's singular vision and charm despite its modest scale. [Read the review](https://collider.com/something-wild-criterion-blu-ray-review/) ## Paste — Kenji Fujishima Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 4 April 2016. The critic praises Demme's 1986 road movie for its philosophical take on self-awareness rather than self-improvement, following the odd-couple pairing of a buttoned-up yuppie and a free-spirited woman on an East Coast adventure that shifts from screwball comedy to thriller. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/jonathan-demme/the-road-trip-within-jonathan-demmes-something-wil) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/something-wild.md