The Battalion
Monday, August 27,1990
Page 9
Lynch’s ‘Wild At Heart’
misses middle America
Battalion File Photo
By JOHN RICHTER
Samuel Goldwyn, the company
distributing “Wild At Heart,” is mar
keting this latest release of director
David Lynch as a slightly twisted
dramedy that middle America will
be able to stomach, and even enjoy.
Get the — out of here, Sam.
“Wild At Heart” is a mediocre cult
film, at best, and like all cult films, it
will fly over the heads of Mains
tream, U.S.A. Lynch, who directed
the visually stunning and evocative
“Blue Velvet” and “Elephant Man,”
leaves no punches unthrown in this
demented dramedy that takes the
comedic term “black” and darkens it
a few pitches.
“Wild” is the story of Sailor (Nic
olas Cage) and Lulu (Laura Dern),
Southern, white-trash lovers on the
run from Lulu’s mother, Marietta
(Diane Ladd in an awful perfor
mance), and her hired help. Sailor
breaks parole from a sentence he re
ceived for bashing-in his would-be
assassin’s head at the film’s begin
ning (it’s funny—ha, ha), and then
takes Lulu down the yellow brick
road towards the black heart of
America (“The Wizard of Oz” is ac
tually a major tie-in with “Wild.”).
On their trip from South Carolina
to Louisiana and Texas, Sailor and
Lulu run into a managerie of seedy,
freakish characters, a predictable
ploy of Lynch films. The worst of
Lynch’s bowel creations is the devil
ish grease-bag, Bobby Peru (Willem
Dafoe), a skid row Clarke Gable who
“pops” obese women in porno films.
Peru is the final catastrophe for
Sailor and Lulu, naive lovers who
are doomed from the start. He sex
ually asaults Lulu, then sets-up sailor
in a rigged heist. Fortunately, Lynch
displays a sense of justice (Peru kind
of looses his head in all the excite
ment).
By film’s end, there is a coming to
terms for Sailor and Lulu, but what
that exactly is we’ll never know.
A great deal of controversy has
surrounded “Wild At Heart.”
Lynch, co-creator and sometimes di
rector of ABC’s “Twin Peaks,” is op
erating in a new ballpark now. The
success of “Twin Peaks” has un
doubtedly infringed upon Lynch’s
previously unchallenged creative li
cense. Middle America is now a con
cern — unlike before.
Personally, I wasn’t shocked by
“Wild At Heart,” but then I’ve had
“Eraserhead” and “Blue Velvet” as
primers — most of America has only
experienced “Twin 1 Peaks,” the G-
rated David Lynch.
Mystic love-death rituals, shot-off
heads, kinky sex scenes and back
wards-speaking bums are old tricks
in Lynch’s bag.
In fact, “Wild,” for all its critical
acclaim (which 1 don’t understand),
pales in comparison to the smoother,
more enthralling “Twin Peaks.”
Laura Dern and Willem Dafoe
“Peaks” maintains some coherency
and sanity; “Wild” is fragmented
and lost in Lynch’s idiosyncrasies
and shock gimmicks.
Lynch has also lost any sense of
subtletly with his symbolism and
messages. The abstraction of “Era
serhead” is long gone, replaced by
recurring images of striked matches,
fire and unnormal “normal” people,
symbolic passages thrown like a
brick at the viewer.
A few scenes are successful by
themselves.
The story of Lulu’s cousin. Dale
(Crispin Glover), a lunatic patholog
ically in love with Christmas and
deathly afraid of black gloves, is hila
rious, but awkwardly inserted and
then forgotten.
Cage’s Sailor is also funny (Cage is
magnificent, as is Dafoe) and the
only endearing creature of Lynch’s
skewed America. Sailor is the con
summate American rebel-hero, a
likeable freespirit who sounds and
talks like Elvis Presley — Mr. Amer
ica, himself.
Sailor, unfortunately, cannot
avoid trouble, but instead bravely
embraces these predicaments as best
as possible — setting the stage for
Lynch’s most successful moments.
From incident to incident, Sailor al
ways maintains his cool image and
Elvis-speak, the one trace of sanity in
“Wild.”
It’s interesting that “Wild” was the
big winner at the Cannes film festi
val last spring. The announcement
of its award drew as many boos as
cheers. I can empathize. At times,
“Wild” is visually engrossing and
shocking, but these visual screws
come without the nuts and bolts of a
good picture. “Wild” may be wierder
than “Blue Velvet,” but it doesn’t
come close to it as a complete piece
of work.
Lynch appears more concerned
with disturbing his viewers than en
tertaining them.
“Twin Peaks” Ians be warned —
this is not ABC. The only thing
“Wild” has in common with “Peaks”
is Lynch’s pessimistic view of Amer
ica and the use of several “Peakers”
in supporting roles (Sheryl Lee, Jack
Nance, Sherilyn Fenn and David
Patrick Kelly all make appearances.)
Cult-film junkies, though, pay
homage. If you were scared by the
acclaim Lynch received with “Peaks”
... well, he'^asn’t )>61d the farm. In
fact, he tries too hard to make this a
memorable, original film — which
for him it really isn’t.
But, any film that can wrap such
cynicism around “The Wizard of
Oz” storyline, and can camp-up ex
plicit violence and sex so well, will
have an audience somewhere ... but,
not in Mainstream, U.S.A. No way.
TEXAS ASM UNIVERSITY
SYMPHONIC BANDS
OPEN TO ALL INTERESTED STUDENTS
The bands will perform numerous concerts and will
take a spring trip during the 2nd semester. ALL students
are invited to come and be a part of musical friendships
and make new friends. Membership is selected by audi
tion during the 1st week of school. Rehearsal time is
Tuesday and Thursday from 12:30 - 1:45 and on
Wednesday evening from 7:00 - 8:00 pm. The purpose of
the Symphonic Bands is to give students the opportunity
to perform on their instruments and to have a positive
musical experience while keeping in mind academic ex
cellence.
ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING
ON TUESDAY AUG. 28,1990
12:30 P.M. in E.V. ADAMS BAND BUILDING
For additional information call:
Ray E. Toler Jim McDaniel
Director of Bands Assistant Director
Band Hall 845-3529 E.V. Adams Band Bldg.
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