By David Lynch, 1990.
Starring Nicholas Cage, Willem Dafoe, Laura Dern, J.E. Freeman, Crispin Glover, Diane Ladd, Isabella Rossellini, Harry Dean Stanton, Grace Zabriski.
Rating: 5/10, 7.5/10.
I like to pretend that Dune never happened. Therefore, Wild At Heart is the least of David Lynch’s films.
I mean, there’s not really much more to say. A bunch of ridiculous Elvis and Wizard of Oz references, horrendous acting, pointless violence-based "humor," and so forth. It’s full of it. This is the only Lynch film where he seems like he’s struggling to be Lynchian. It feels like he kept saying "Hmm...what can I do here that would be really weird?" whereas most of his films feel like they just can’t help but be weird.
That said, I did have some fun watching the movie. The ending is genius, and very funny, and one scene featuring Sherilyn Fenn (Audrey on Twin Peaks) is chilling, disturbing, and eminently memorable...in fact, that scene is the only one where the Lynchness seems effortless and on. The more I think about Fenn’s scene, the more I wish it had been the centerpiece of an entirely different movie.
Well, David? How about it?