by Peter Schilling Jr.
Thirteen Reasons Why You Could (Not Should) Totally See Wild at Heart Four Times
Thirteen Reasons Why You Could (Not Should) Totally See Wild at Heart Four Times
In his inaugural no-filter column, Fistful of Schillings, author and opinionator Peter Schilling debates the merits of one of David Lynch’s less-appreciated films.
This weekend, the Trylon microcinema is screening David Lynch's controversial 1990 flick, Wild at Heart (full disclosure: I work at the Trylon as a board member, sometimes projectionist, ticket taker, and I make popcorn and fix the vacuum cleaner, too.) They're actually showing his X-rated version (that sounds so much cooler than "NC-17"), which I think involves literally one extra minute of violence against Willem Dafoe. The movie's controversy is contained in the simple question--is it any good? Some say "yes" enthusiastically, others say "no" with the same vigor. Well, when that happens, it should pique your interest. It certainly piques mine, even though I've seen it, and I'm in the latter camp. I plan on seeing it again, though I used the word "hated" multiple times in my original opinion of the movie.
So: why see Wild at Heart?
This weekend, the Trylon microcinema is screening David Lynch's controversial 1990 flick, Wild at Heart (full disclosure: I work at the Trylon as a board member, sometimes projectionist, ticket taker, and I make popcorn and fix the vacuum cleaner, too.) They're actually showing his X-rated version (that sounds so much cooler than "NC-17"), which I think involves literally one extra minute of violence against Willem Dafoe. The movie's controversy is contained in the simple question--is it any good? Some say "yes" enthusiastically, others say "no" with the same vigor. Well, when that happens, it should pique your interest. It certainly piques mine, even though I've seen it, and I'm in the latter camp. I plan on seeing it again, though I used the word "hated" multiple times in my original opinion of the movie.
So: why see Wild at Heart?
1. They're showing it on Valentine's Day. "Wild at Heart on Valentine's Day? Are you freakin' kidding me? I love you, [girlfriend!] [boyfriend!]"
2. Because of Nicholas Cage as Sailor Ripley. Supposedly, Cage landed the role because he and David Lynch would eat hamburgers at the same LA diner and they would stop and talk and chat about who-knows-what on their way to their booth or out the door. Later, when Lynch read the book (yes, there's a book!), he instantly thought of Cage, and no doubt smiled over his French fries and thinned his eyes and began to weave his magic while drinking coffee. Imagine that.
3. This is the movie that made Chris Isaak so famous (for the song "Wicked Game," which appears in the picture.) Chris Isaak had songs in a David Lynch movie and a Stanley Kubrick movie, and he's probably the only one in the whole world who can say that.
4. Diane Ladd and Laura Dern are real-life mother and daughter. I mean, look, how often do people play mother and daughter and are the real deal? Plus, Ladd received an Oscar nomination for smearing lipstick all over her face and pretending to be a cat and for embodying evil, pure evil. Whatever you think of Wild at Heart (awful), Ladd's incredible.
She lost to Whoopi Goldberg.
2. Because of Nicholas Cage as Sailor Ripley. Supposedly, Cage landed the role because he and David Lynch would eat hamburgers at the same LA diner and they would stop and talk and chat about who-knows-what on their way to their booth or out the door. Later, when Lynch read the book (yes, there's a book!), he instantly thought of Cage, and no doubt smiled over his French fries and thinned his eyes and began to weave his magic while drinking coffee. Imagine that.
3. This is the movie that made Chris Isaak so famous (for the song "Wicked Game," which appears in the picture.) Chris Isaak had songs in a David Lynch movie and a Stanley Kubrick movie, and he's probably the only one in the whole world who can say that.
4. Diane Ladd and Laura Dern are real-life mother and daughter. I mean, look, how often do people play mother and daughter and are the real deal? Plus, Ladd received an Oscar nomination for smearing lipstick all over her face and pretending to be a cat and for embodying evil, pure evil. Whatever you think of Wild at Heart (awful), Ladd's incredible.
She lost to Whoopi Goldberg.
5. If I'm right, doesn't Willem Dafoe get his head blown off? We're talking over two decades since I saw the movie, so sorry (not really.) If my memory serves, it goes bouncing around all over the freeway, right? To this day, no one knows where Willem Dafoe's head went (it was fake--he still has his real one.) The head's gone, a mystery of the ages, just like the Eraserhead baby, which also disappeared. Probably they're both in the radiator.
6. Harry Dean Stanton and Crispin Glover should've been in a lot more movies. So, don't miss them here. Truly. Something awful happens to Harry Dean Stanton in the film, and Crispin Glover is crazy here and puts cockroaches in his undies, but he doesn't think that's horrible. It's meant to be fun.
7. Cage's snakeskin jacket (his idea) is a tribute to Marlon Brando's character, Valentine "Snakeskin" Xavier, in The Fugitive Kind, which is based on Tennessee Williams' play, "Orpheus Descending." Williams was a cousin to Laura Dern and Diane Ladd. Also, Crispin Glover's dad once acted in a Tennessee Williams play, but I can't remember which one, though it was Crispin who told me. He also told me that Williams pinched his father's nipple, smiled at the shocked reaction, and then said, "author's privilege."
8. Thus, seeing Wild at Heart is like a night out at some prestigious theater production at the Guthrie or Orpheum. Just in case your Valentine's evening was supposed to be a bit more, er, highbrow. And that's without the pricey tickets or parking or having to dress up and you can't eat popcorn during the show at either of those other places. Score one for the Trylon.
9. Twin Peaks fans! Sherilyn Fenn gets into a sexy car accident and Sheryl Lee plays a sexy Good Witch of the North from the Wizard of Oz. Hell, everything's sexy in Wild at Heart.
10. Lynch is dynamite with his supporting cast. Every one of his movies (yeah, even Dune) has great actors working through great supporting performances--remember Dean Stockwell in Blue Velvet? Dafoe, Glover, Stanton, Ladd... all great. In smaller roles, you've got that really weird, giant-chinned kid from The Warriors, David Patrick Kelly, (he's the one who kept yelling "Warriors...come out to play!") plays a guy named Dropshadow, and Jack Nance, who played Henry in Eraserhead, plays a rocket scientist, just like in real life. That's not really true, but it would be amazing. The rocket scientist thing, I mean.
11. According to Wikipedia, Wild at Heart was nominated for the American Film Institute's "100 Years... 100 Laughs" list, and I'm not even kidding. There were actually nominations for those lists?
12. Isabella Rossellini in a wig. Maybe she wears a wig all the time, but she's sure fetching here.
13. Wild at Heart won the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 1990 (that's French for "place your palms on the oar as you row to victory.") Roger Ebert hated the movie so much he booed when it won and then said "[t]here is something repulsive and manipulative about it," which, you have got to admit, makes you want to see it even more. Right? You KNOW I'm right!
6. Harry Dean Stanton and Crispin Glover should've been in a lot more movies. So, don't miss them here. Truly. Something awful happens to Harry Dean Stanton in the film, and Crispin Glover is crazy here and puts cockroaches in his undies, but he doesn't think that's horrible. It's meant to be fun.
7. Cage's snakeskin jacket (his idea) is a tribute to Marlon Brando's character, Valentine "Snakeskin" Xavier, in The Fugitive Kind, which is based on Tennessee Williams' play, "Orpheus Descending." Williams was a cousin to Laura Dern and Diane Ladd. Also, Crispin Glover's dad once acted in a Tennessee Williams play, but I can't remember which one, though it was Crispin who told me. He also told me that Williams pinched his father's nipple, smiled at the shocked reaction, and then said, "author's privilege."
8. Thus, seeing Wild at Heart is like a night out at some prestigious theater production at the Guthrie or Orpheum. Just in case your Valentine's evening was supposed to be a bit more, er, highbrow. And that's without the pricey tickets or parking or having to dress up and you can't eat popcorn during the show at either of those other places. Score one for the Trylon.
9. Twin Peaks fans! Sherilyn Fenn gets into a sexy car accident and Sheryl Lee plays a sexy Good Witch of the North from the Wizard of Oz. Hell, everything's sexy in Wild at Heart.
10. Lynch is dynamite with his supporting cast. Every one of his movies (yeah, even Dune) has great actors working through great supporting performances--remember Dean Stockwell in Blue Velvet? Dafoe, Glover, Stanton, Ladd... all great. In smaller roles, you've got that really weird, giant-chinned kid from The Warriors, David Patrick Kelly, (he's the one who kept yelling "Warriors...come out to play!") plays a guy named Dropshadow, and Jack Nance, who played Henry in Eraserhead, plays a rocket scientist, just like in real life. That's not really true, but it would be amazing. The rocket scientist thing, I mean.
11. According to Wikipedia, Wild at Heart was nominated for the American Film Institute's "100 Years... 100 Laughs" list, and I'm not even kidding. There were actually nominations for those lists?
12. Isabella Rossellini in a wig. Maybe she wears a wig all the time, but she's sure fetching here.
13. Wild at Heart won the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 1990 (that's French for "place your palms on the oar as you row to victory.") Roger Ebert hated the movie so much he booed when it won and then said "[t]here is something repulsive and manipulative about it," which, you have got to admit, makes you want to see it even more. Right? You KNOW I'm right!
"I've seen the movie twice now. I liked it less the second time." --Roger Ebert, who also didn't like Blue Velvet, for crying out loud. (And before you start crying, it's been long enough so that we can start criticizing the man for his many very poor reviews.)
"You hated Wild at Heart? Well, that's because you haven't seen it four times." --a friend of mine who genuinely said this and believed it (and who shall remain anonymous.) Fortunately, you will have three days and six opportunities to test this theory yourself.
"You hated Wild at Heart? Well, that's because you haven't seen it four times." --a friend of mine who genuinely said this and believed it (and who shall remain anonymous.) Fortunately, you will have three days and six opportunities to test this theory yourself.
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