Wild At Heart
(MGM)

I remember attending a screening of Wild At Heart in Los Angeles when it was released in 1990. Twin Peaks was in full swing and the buzz on David Lynch was huge. As we entered the theater, we were handed candy necklaces like the one Laura Dern wears in the film and t-shirts that read “Hotter Than Georgia Asphalt.” Two hours later, we left the theater scratching our heads and wondering what the hell we had just seen. Fifteen years later, it’s still a weird flick.

Nicolas Cage (Sailor) and Laura Dern (Lula) are lovers on the run, trying to escape the wrath of Lula’s mother (Diane Ladd) and who encounter a series of bizarre and creepy characters. Willem Dafoe is particularly slimy as hitman Bobby Peru, whose death is as hideous as his personality. Events often seem random (not that unusual for Lynch) and odd cameos seem to be an excuse for putting Lynch’s favorite actors up on the screen. Of course we can’t forget the Wizard of Oz tribute with Sheryl Lee appearing as the Good Witch descending from the heavens, or Crispin Glover’s unforgettable line, “I’m making my lunch!” I also think it’s very odd that Cage plays a character with an Elvis fixation and then went on to marry and divorce Lisa Marie Presley in real life. This is Lynch at his least subtle and coherent, but like much of the man’s work, you pays your money and go along for the ride.