Pluskylang
Great Film overall
ThedevilChoose
When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.
Philippa
All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.
cpu-4
If I didn't have a soft spot for 80s movies, I would not have been able to sit through this flick. A movie may still be entertaining without a serious plot or point, but the problem here was that I found the main characters very annoying. Chris Penn was obnoxious and not in a fun way, Eric Stolz was mainly dull, the girls were weak beyond belief. The only one who I cared for was Jim (Ilan Mitchell-Smith of Weird Science fame), and his subplot was the most underdeveloped of all. The conclusion (if you can call it that) was also quite stupid: we are supposed to feel that this was a transformative coming of age and all lived happily ever after.
On the upside, the acting and soundtrack were decent and there were a few entertaining scenes. I have certainly seen worse flicks but would not recommend this to anyone but 80s buffs who have already seen all the good stuff from the era.
SnoopyStyle
Bill Conrad (Eric Stoltz) is graduating from high school and is desperate to be a grown up as he moves into an apartment. He broke up with his donut shop girlfriend Anita (Lea Thompson) who has since moved on having a fling with a married cop. He works with friend Tom Drake (Chris Penn) at the bowling alley. Tom is a hard-partying wrestler. Tom's girlfriend Eileen (Jenny Wright) is best friends with Anita. Bill's brother Jim Conrad (Ilan Mitchell-Smith) is obsessed with the Vietnam war and likes blowing stuff up. Wildness ensues culminating in a crazy party at Bill's new apartment.After the success of Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Cameron Crowe writes a sequel of sorts. He's better off making a straight sequel with the same characters. Instead, this one can only be Faster as the promotions claim. It's not really but more importantly, it's less compelling. This is more like a series of very memorable sequences. Like its predecessor, there are some crazy fun scenes that can be cut into a great trailer. The story isn't quite there and the characters need to be better. It's just that Cameron had already done this and needed to move on.
retrokenn
Anyway I am of this era. I graduated Class of '84. Even saw Night Ranger at Disney World on my grad nite. Fashion and style this movie exemplifies the '80's. Mostly very week. I hate Chris Penn's character. He's looks so much like Alex Winter from Bill and Ted's Excellent Advernture it is scary. Just I hate his character. He has a dumb vacuous look at his face. And he is an idiot. His only funny scene I thought was when he picked up the bridal mannequin in the mall. Otherwise horrible character. A waste of space. Eric Stolz and Lea Thompson, at least you cared about them. The kid in the army jacket was cool and he should have hooked up with the girl he liked in the end. Jeez she does look familiar. I wish someone would tell me who she is. Pretty lame overall. I watched and I was high and didn't enjoy that much. If this was Chris Penn's leading role magnum opus he should be glad he died. No offense. He was much better in Footloose. Anyhow it had potential to better, but didn't try. Lame ending too.
Pepper Anne
The 'Wild Life,' like other 80s teen movies, are just one of those movies you watch not for story (since there really is no single, distinct plot directing the characters), but simply because you can have fun with the series of scattered events with which our characters wade through.This one follows the spirit of 'Fast Times At Ridgemont High,' minus most of the controversial plot lines ('Fast Times' addresses abortion, but this one only somewhat addresses strung out vets). Although, that is not surprising since Chris Penn's character, Tom Drake, so closely models Sean Penn's character, Jeff Spicoli. This movie is what a spin-off of 'Fast Times' would be like if Jeff Spicoli were the main character.There are essentially five main characters: Tom Drake (Penn), the anarchistic party animal; recent high school grad, Bill Conrad (a timid Eric Stolz who once played fellow surfer bonehead to Jeff Spicoli in 'Fast Times') who wants to prove that both masculinity and adulthood hinge on his having his own apartment; Anita (Lea Thompson) who is dating a sleazy cop; Eileen (the spunky Jenny Wright) who is much more independent that Anita, but no less able to entirely refuse her idiot boyfriend, Tom Drake; and Jim Conrad (Ilan-Mitchell Smith), the gloomy brother who is slightly less weirder than Josh Miller was in 'The River's Edge.' A crazy assortment of characters is typical in this variety of 80s comedy. Without a main plot, our characters' situations lead to some pretty hilarious subplots (most of them being between Tom Drake and Bill Conrad, who eventually become the 80s 'Odd Couple' when Drake moves in).Look for minor roles by Rick Moranis, as Eileen's completely nerdy boss, Harry; Randy Quaid as drugged out Vietnam Vet, Charlie; Lee Ving (lead singer of 'Fear') who briefly appears as the cable guy; and Michael Bowen (Tommy in 'Valley Girl') as Tom Drake's equally braindead jock friend.And, of course, it wouldn't be an 80s teen movie without boobs, beer, and house parties.I didn't like this movie the first time I saw it because there is really no point to most things that transpire in the story. Why is the scene at the strip club or the younger brother's fascination with the war important? It doesn't matter. I watched it a second time, a little tired and giddy, and the 'Wild Life' became the perfect late night lazy movie. Turn off your brain and enjoy. (That party sequence at the end is hilarious).
