The Wild Life is a 1984 comedy-drama film, written by
Cameron 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....
and directed by
Art LinsonArt 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 film is only available on
VHSVideo Home System, better known by its abbreviation VHS, was a video tape recording standard developed during the 1970s. It was released to the public during the latter half of the decade. During the late part of the 1970s and the early 1980s it formed one-half of the VHS vs Betamax war, which it...
and
LaserdiscThe Laserdisc is an obsolete home video disc format, and was the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially marketed as Discovision in 1978, the technology was licensed and sold as Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Videodisc, Laservision, Disco-Vision, DiscoVision, and MCA...
in
pan and scanPan and scan is one 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 tracks. No
DVDDVD, also known as Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc,is an optical disc storage media format, and was founded in 1995. Its main uses are video and data storage...
version has been released due to music rights issues concerning the artists on the soundtrack.
The plot revolves around the characters of three teenagers living in the suburbs of
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the municipality 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 StoltzEric Cameron Stoltz is an American actor. He is known for playing either sensitive misfits or sociopathic criminals...
), has just graduated from high school and got his first apartment.
The Wild Life is a 1984 comedy-drama film, written by
Cameron 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....
and directed by
Art LinsonArt 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 film is only available on
VHSVideo Home System, better known by its abbreviation VHS, was a video tape recording standard developed during the 1970s. It was released to the public during the latter half of the decade. During the late part of the 1970s and the early 1980s it formed one-half of the VHS vs Betamax war, which it...
and
LaserdiscThe Laserdisc is an obsolete home video disc format, and was the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially marketed as Discovision in 1978, the technology was licensed and sold as Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Videodisc, Laservision, Disco-Vision, DiscoVision, and MCA...
in
pan and scanPan and scan is one 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 tracks. No
DVDDVD, also known as Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc,is an optical disc storage media format, and was founded in 1995. Its main uses are video and data storage...
version has been released due to music rights issues concerning the artists on the soundtrack.
Plot Summary
The plot revolves around the characters of three teenagers living in the suburbs of
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the municipality 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 StoltzEric Cameron Stoltz is an American actor. He is known for playing either sensitive misfits or sociopathic criminals...
), has just graduated from high school and got his first apartment. His younger brother Jim (
Ilan Mitchell-SmithIlan Mitchell-Smith is an American assistant professor of English at California State University Long Beach in Long Beach, California, but he is best known as an actor and co-star of the movie Weird Science...
), spends a lot of time practicing with his
Nunchakuis a traditional weapon of the Okinawan kobudō weapons set and consists of two sticks connected at their ends with a short chain or rope.-Etymology:...
s, getting high, listening to
heavy metalHeavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in England and the United States...
, and hanging out with
VietnamThe Vietnam War or the Second Indochina War was a Cold War military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1959 to 30 April 1975...
vet Charlie (
Randy QuaidRandall Rudy "Randy" Quaid is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his roles in the National Lampoons Vacation movies, Independence Day , Kingpin , Brokeback Mountain , and the CBS miniseries Elvis...
). Other important characters include Tom (
Chris PennChristopher Shannon "Chris" Penn was an American film and television actor known for his roles in such films as Reservoir Dogs, Footloose and True Romance.-Personal life:...
), a hedonistic high-school wrestling champ, a trendy department store manager named Harry (
Rick MoranisFrederick Alan "Rick" Moranis is a retired Canadian comedian, actor and musician. Coming to prominence in the 1980s on Second City Television, before moving on to appearances in several Hollywood films including Ghostbusters; Spaceballs; Little Shop of Horrors; Honey, I Shrunk the Kids;...
), Anita (
Lea 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 Marty McFly's mother in the Back to the Future trilogy.-Early life:...
) who works at a donut shop, and her friend Eileen (
Jenny WrightJennifer G. Wright is an American actress who made her film debut portraying the role of Cushie in The World According to Garp in 1982. That same year she made an appearance in Pink Floyd The Wall, playing an American groupie....
) who works at the department store. Anita has a fling with a cop named David (
Hart BochnerHart Matthew Bochner is a Canadian film actor, screenwriter, director, and producer.Bochner was born in Toronto, Ontario, the son of the actor Lloyd Bochner and his wife Ruth....
), 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 Penn
Christopher Shannon "Chris" Penn was an American film and television actor known for his roles in such films as Reservoir Dogs, Footloose and True Romance.-Personal life:...
- Tom Drake
- Ilan Mitchell-Smith
Ilan Mitchell-Smith is an American assistant professor of English at California State University Long Beach in Long Beach, California, but he is best known as an actor and co-star of the movie Weird Science...
- Jim Conrad
- Eric Stoltz
Eric Cameron Stoltz is an American actor. He is known for playing either sensitive misfits or sociopathic criminals...
- Bill Conrad
- Jenny Wright
Jennifer G. Wright is an American actress who made her film debut portraying the role of Cushie in The World According to Garp in 1982. That same year she made an appearance in Pink Floyd The Wall, playing an American groupie....
- Eileen
- 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 Marty McFly's mother in the Back to the Future trilogy.-Early life:...
- Anita
- Brin Berliner - Tony
- Rick Moranis
Frederick Alan "Rick" Moranis is a retired Canadian comedian, actor and musician. Coming to prominence in the 1980s on Second City Television, before moving on to appearances in several Hollywood films including Ghostbusters; Spaceballs; Little Shop of Horrors; Honey, I Shrunk the Kids;...
- Harry
- Hart Bochner
Hart Matthew Bochner is a Canadian film actor, screenwriter, director, and producer.Bochner was born in Toronto, Ontario, the son of the actor Lloyd Bochner and his wife Ruth....
- David Curtiss
- Susan Rinell - Donna
- Cari Anne Warder - Julie
- Robert Ridgely
Robert Ridgely was an American actor and vocal artist, known for both on-camera roles and extensive voice-over work. Ridgely started his television career with guest roles in such 1960s series as Maverick, Sea Hunt and Surfside 6. He landed a regular role as Lt. Kimbro in the short-lived World War...
- Craig Davis
- Jack Kehoe
Jack 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 Bowen
Michael Bowen is an American actor. Films he has appeared in include Jackie Brown, Magnolia, Less Than Zero and as Buck in Kill Bill: Vol 1...
- Vince
- Ángel Salazar
Ángel Salazar is a Cuban-American comedian and actor. He is internationally known for saying "Sheck it out" before, after, and during jokes...
- Benny
- Randy Quaid
Randall Rudy "Randy" Quaid is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his roles in the National Lampoons Vacation movies, Independence Day , Kingpin , Brokeback Mountain , and the CBS miniseries Elvis...
- Charlie
- Dick Rude
Dick 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 Fenn
Sherilyn Fenn is an Emmy and Golden Globe award-nominated American actress. She came to international attention for her performance on the 1990 cult TV series Twin Peaks...
- Penny Harlin
- Leo Penn
Leo Z. Penn was an American actor and director.-Early life:Penn was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts, the son of Russian Jewish immigrants Elizabeth and Maurice Daniel Penn...
- Tom's Dad
- Hildy Brooks - Mrs. Conrad
- Lee Ving
Lee Ving is an American musician and occasional actor, most famous for his role as lead singer and rhythm guitarist for Los Angeles-based punk rock band Fear. In the late 1960's Ving joined Sweet Stavin Chain Blues Band in Philadelphia, playing with Michael Brecker and Eugene Busnar; they played...
- Installer
- Dean Devlin
Dean 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
Nancy Wilson is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who, with her older sister Ann, became a part of the Seattle/ band, Heart....
- David's Wife
- Ben Stein
Benjamin Jeremy "Ben" Stein is an American actor, writer, and commentator on political and economic issues. He attained early success as a speechwriter for American presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Later he entered the entertainment field and became an actor, comedian, and Emmy...
- Surplus Salesman
- Keone Young
Keone J. Young is an American character actor. His father is Chinese, 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, The...
- Japanese Bowler
- Kevin Peter Hall
Kevin Peter Hall was an American actor famous for his roles in Misfits of Science, Prophecy, Without Warning, and Harry and the Hendersons. He was best known as the Predator in Predator and Predator 2.-Early life:Hall, an African-American, was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
- Bouncer
- Kitten Natividad
Kitten 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 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....
- Cop
- Ron Wood
Ronald David "Ronnie" Wood is an English rock guitarist and bassist best known as a member of The Rolling Stones and Faces.-1960s:...
- Refrigerator Raider
- Tommy Swerdlow - Dork