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The Wild Life (film)
Encyclopedia
The Wild Life is a 1984 comedy-drama film, written by Cameron Crowe
and directed by Art Linson
.The movie was an indirect sequel to the film Fast Times at Ridgemont High
. The film is only available on VHS
and Laserdisc
in pan and scan
with stereo analog
tracks. No DVD
version has been released due to music rights issues. Eddie Van Halen
, was responsible for the entire music only part of the soundtrack, due to his southern California style of guitar playing (where the movie was based).
. Bill (Eric Stoltz
), has just graduated from high school and got his first apartment. His younger brother Jim (Ilan Mitchell-Smith
), spends a lot of time practicing with his Nunchaku
s, getting high, listening to heavy metal
, and hanging out with Vietnam
vet Charlie (Randy Quaid
). Other important characters include Tom (Chris Penn
), a hedonistic high-school wrestling champ, a trendy department store manager named Harry (Rick Moranis
), Anita (Lea Thompson
) who works at a donut shop, and her friend Eileen (Jenny Wright) who works at the department store. Anita has a fling with a cop named David (Hart Bochner
), who, unknown to Anita, is married. The three boys set out for a night of fun and craziness at a strip bar and later on have a party at Bill's apartment.
Cameron Crowe
Cameron Bruce Crowe is an American screenwriter and film director. Before moving into the film industry, Crowe was a contributing editor at Rolling Stone magazine, for which he still frequently writes....
and directed by Art Linson
Art Linson
Art Linson is an American film producer, director and screenwriter.He was born in Chicago, Illinois. His directorial debut was the 1980 comedy, Where the Buffalo Roam, which was loosely based on stories by Hunter S. Thompson and starred Bill Murray as the writer...
.The movie was an indirect sequel to the film Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Fast Times at Ridgemont High is a 1982 American coming-of-age teen comedy film written by Cameron Crowe and adapted from his 1981 book of the same name...
. The film is only available on VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
and Laserdisc
Laserdisc
LaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...
in pan and scan
Pan and scan
Pan and scan is a method of adjusting widescreen film images so that they can be shown within the proportions of a standard definition 4:3 aspect ratio television screen, often cropping off the sides of the original widescreen image to focus on the composition's most important aspects...
with stereo analog
Analog recording
Analog recording is a technique used for the recording of analog signals which among many possibilities include audio frequency, analog audio and analog video information for later playback.Analog recording methods store signals as a continual wave in or on the media...
tracks. No DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
version has been released due to music rights issues. Eddie Van Halen
Eddie Van Halen
Edward Lodewijk "Eddie" Van Halen is a Dutch-American guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter and producer, best known as the lead guitarist and co-founder of the hard rock band Van Halen, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...
, was responsible for the entire music only part of the soundtrack, due to his southern California style of guitar playing (where the movie was based).
Plot summary
The plot revolves around the characters of three teenagers living in the suburbs of Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. Bill (Eric Stoltz
Eric Stoltz
Eric Hamilton Stoltz is an American actor, director and producer. He is widely known for playing the role of Rocky Dennis in the biographical drama film Mask, which earned him the nomination for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture...
), has just graduated from high school and got his first apartment. His younger brother Jim (Ilan Mitchell-Smith
Ilan Mitchell-Smith
Ilan Mitchell-Smith is Assistant Professor of English at California State University Long Beach, but he is best known as an actor and co-star of the film Weird Science...
), spends a lot of time practicing with his Nunchaku
Nunchaku
is a traditional Okinawan weapon consisting of two sticks connected at their ends with a short chain or rope.-Etymology:The Japanese word nunchaku is the Kun'yomi reading of the Kanji term for a traditional Chinese two section staff....
s, getting high, listening to heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
, and hanging out with Vietnam
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
vet Charlie (Randy Quaid
Randy Quaid
Randall Rudy "Randy" Quaid is an American actor perhaps best known for his role as Cousin Eddie in the National Lampoon's Vacation movies, as well as his numerous supporting roles in films, including his Oscar nominated performance in The Last Detail, Independence Day, Kingpin and Brokeback Mountain...
). Other important characters include Tom (Chris Penn
Chris Penn
Christopher Shannon "Chris" Penn was an American film and television actor known for his roles in such films as The Wild Life, Reservoir Dogs, Footloose, Rush Hour, True Romance, All the Right Moves and Pale Rider.-Early life:Penn was born in Los Angeles, California, the youngest son of Leo Penn,...
), a hedonistic high-school wrestling champ, a trendy department store manager named Harry (Rick Moranis
Rick Moranis
Frederick Allan "Rick" Moranis is a Canadian comedian, actor, musician, and a magician. Moranis came to prominence in the late 1970s on the sketch comedy show Second City Television, and later appeared in several Hollywood films including Strange Brew; Ghostbusters; Spaceballs; Little Shop of...
), Anita (Lea Thompson
Lea Thompson
Lea Katherine Thompson is an American actress and director. She is best known for her 1990s NBC situation comedy Caroline in the City and her portrayal of Lorraine Baines McFly, Marty McFly's mother, in the Back to the Future trilogy...
) who works at a donut shop, and her friend Eileen (Jenny Wright) who works at the department store. Anita has a fling with a cop named David (Hart Bochner
Hart Bochner
Hart Matthew Bochner is a Canadian film actor, screenwriter, director, and producer.-Life and career:Bochner was born in Toronto, Ontario, the son of Ruth , a concert pianist, and actor Lloyd Bochner...
), who, unknown to Anita, is married. The three boys set out for a night of fun and craziness at a strip bar and later on have a party at Bill's apartment.
Cast
- Chris PennChris PennChristopher Shannon "Chris" Penn was an American film and television actor known for his roles in such films as The Wild Life, Reservoir Dogs, Footloose, Rush Hour, True Romance, All the Right Moves and Pale Rider.-Early life:Penn was born in Los Angeles, California, the youngest son of Leo Penn,...
- Tom Drake - Ilan Mitchell-SmithIlan Mitchell-SmithIlan Mitchell-Smith is Assistant Professor of English at California State University Long Beach, but he is best known as an actor and co-star of the film Weird Science...
- Jim Conrad - Eric StoltzEric StoltzEric Hamilton Stoltz is an American actor, director and producer. He is widely known for playing the role of Rocky Dennis in the biographical drama film Mask, which earned him the nomination for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture...
- Bill Conrad - Jenny Wright - Eileen
- Lea ThompsonLea ThompsonLea Katherine Thompson is an American actress and director. She is best known for her 1990s NBC situation comedy Caroline in the City and her portrayal of Lorraine Baines McFly, Marty McFly's mother, in the Back to the Future trilogy...
- Anita - Brin Berliner - Tony
- Rick MoranisRick MoranisFrederick Allan "Rick" Moranis is a Canadian comedian, actor, musician, and a magician. Moranis came to prominence in the late 1970s on the sketch comedy show Second City Television, and later appeared in several Hollywood films including Strange Brew; Ghostbusters; Spaceballs; Little Shop of...
- Harry - Hart BochnerHart BochnerHart Matthew Bochner is a Canadian film actor, screenwriter, director, and producer.-Life and career:Bochner was born in Toronto, Ontario, the son of Ruth , a concert pianist, and actor Lloyd Bochner...
- David Curtiss - Susan Rinell - Donna
- Cari Anne Warder - Julie
- Robert RidgelyRobert RidgelyRobert Ridgely was an American actor and vocal artist, known for both on-camera roles and extensive voice-over work.-Career:...
- Craig Davis - Jack KehoeJack KehoeJack Kehoe is an American film actor appearing in a wide variety of films, including the crime dramas Serpico, The Pope of Greenwich Village, and Brian De Palma's 1987 The Untouchables, as well as the 1976 comedy Car Wash, and 1988 cult classic Midnight Run...
- Mr. Parker - Simone White - Brenda
- Beth McKinley - Robin
- Michael BowenMichael Bowen (actor)Michael Bowen is an American actor. Films he has appeared in include Jackie Brown, Magnolia, and Less Than Zero. Bowen also had a recurring role as Danny Pickett on the ABC television series, Lost....
- Vince - Ángel SalazarÁngel SalazarÁngel Salazar is a Cuban-American comedian and actor. He is internationally known for saying "Sheck it out" before, after, and during jokes...
- Benny - Randy QuaidRandy QuaidRandall Rudy "Randy" Quaid is an American actor perhaps best known for his role as Cousin Eddie in the National Lampoon's Vacation movies, as well as his numerous supporting roles in films, including his Oscar nominated performance in The Last Detail, Independence Day, Kingpin and Brokeback Mountain...
- Charlie - Dick RudeDick RudeDick Rude is a writer, director, and actor known for his appearance in and contributions to many Alex Cox films. He has directed the music videos "Catholic School Girls Rule" and "Universally Speaking" for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, as well as their live concert DVD, Off the Map.His most recent...
- Eddie - Robert Chestnut - Eddie's Friend
- Reginald Farmer - Reggie
- Sherilyn FennSherilyn FennSherilyn Fenn is an American actress and filmmaker. She came to international attention for her performance as Audrey Horne on the 1990 cult TV series Twin Peaks...
- Penny Harlin - Leo PennLeo PennLeo Z. Penn was an American actor and director, and father of musician Michael Penn and actors Sean Penn and Chris Penn.-Early life:...
- Tom's Dad - Hildy Brooks - Mrs. Conrad
- Lee VingLee VingLee Ving Lee Ving Lee Ving (born Lee James Capellaro; April 10, 1946 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is an American musician, most famous for his role as lead singer and rhythm guitarist for Los Angeles-based punk rock band Fear, and actor. In the late 1960s Ving joined Sweet Stavin Chain Blues Band...
- Installer - Dean DevlinDean DevlinDean Devlin is an American screenwriter, producer, television director and former actor. He is the founder of the production company Electric Entertainment.-Personal life:...
- Liquor Store Clerk - Nancy Wilson - David's Wife
- Ben SteinBen SteinBenjamin Jeremy "Ben" Stein is an American actor, writer, lawyer, and commentator on political and economic issues. He attained early success as a speechwriter for American presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford...
- Surplus Salesman - Keone YoungKeone YoungKeone J. Young is an American character actor. His father is Chinese and his mother is Japanese.He has been prolific in his character work and has made numerous guest appearances on such varied television series as Diff'rent Strokes, The Golden Girls, Murphy Brown, Mad About You, Family Matters,...
- Japanese Bowler - Kevin Peter HallKevin Peter HallKevin Peter Hall was an American actor known for his roles in Misfits of Science, Prophecy, Without Warning, and Harry and the Hendersons. He was also best known as the title character in the first two films in the Predator franchise.-Early life:Hall was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
- Bouncer - Kitten NatividadKitten NatividadKitten Natividad is a Mexican American film actress and exotic dancer, noted for her 44-inch chest and appearances in cult films by her ex-partner, director Russ Meyer.-Early years:...
- Stripper - Cameron CroweCameron CroweCameron Bruce Crowe is an American screenwriter and film director. Before moving into the film industry, Crowe was a contributing editor at Rolling Stone magazine, for which he still frequently writes....
- Cop - Ron WoodRon WoodRonald David "Ronnie" Wood is an English rock guitarist and bassist best known as a former member of The Jeff Beck Group, Faces, and current member of The Rolling Stones. He also plays lap and pedal steel guitar....
- Refrigerator Raider - Tommy Swerdlow - Dork