Sadly Over-hyped

Good movie but grossly overrated

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

I didn't get it. Literally, this movie is about nothing...absolutely nothing. Characters so dull, you don't care what they say, or what they do. Hell, you almost want it to be a horror movie, so that they get axed off, and you don't have to look at them any more. Okay, so maybe it's not that bad, but I did find this a major bore fest. It just seems to be a random mashup up of everything that the 80's had done at that point in time ( this was a 1984 film.) I did laugh a few times, but 90 percent of the movie falls completely flat. The funniest scene isn't until the 45 minute mark, when a fight abruptly begins in a nude bar. The Wild Life is from the same makers as Fast Times At Ridgemont High, which I think has its share of problems too, and that, also, had a few laughs, but that was another movie about absolutely nothing. Maybe its a good thing, then, that these makers have cranked out what they're good at, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING in the last 30 years.

At the time of this writing (January 25, 2006), I am saddened to hear of the passing within the past few hours of Chris Penn. Other than Footloose, The Wild Life is the film that I remember Chris most from.I still remember in the film, with slight fondness, of Chris' wrestling character and teammates sitting in their favourite restaurant with a huge plate of french fries in front of them, drowned in an entire bottle of ketchup.Anyhow, my comment is in regards to the title track sung by Bananarama. After these many years, I still remember the rumour (Canadian spelling -- lol) that Bananarama was called in at the very VERY LAST moment to compose the track for the film and that they wrote the song on the plane bound to the recording studio to record the song and just after they recorded the song they went to shoot the low cost video for their title track. I heard that this entire process (from start to finish) took 4 hours to do! If this is true, then they truly are worthy of being the most successful female band of all time.Anyhow this is just a rumour I had heard back in the day and still remember a generation later. Perhaps anyone who reads this can comment and clarify. Thanks.

There are a lot of people that put down on these type 80's movies but those people may not have been coming of age during this time. I was just starting college when this movie was released so I could really appreciate it at the time and my friends and I still, to this day, will occasionally joke about certain lines in the movie. As much as I liked Sean Penn's Character Jeff Spicoli in "Fast Times", I actually enjoy Chris Penn's Character "Tommy" more because he is the lead character with more of a actual speaking roll opposed to just a series of one liners such as with Spicoli. Chris Penn should probably pop this film in his VCR and use it for motivation to lose some weight. Yes, the subplot with the Randy Quaid, Vietnam vet character does seem a little out of place, but he does a convincing job in the role. If there is anyone out there that hasn't seen this movie but liked the other similar type movies such as "Fast Times", etc. I highly recommend it.

Sometimes I don't want to watch a classic film. No thought provoking drama, or a witty snappy comedy. Sometimes I just want to watch a silly little meaningless film on a rainy or snowy day. This is the film to watch.It has some good talent in it who were just getting started. That is always interesting to see. The story is this, kid(Eric Stolz) leaves high school and wants to move out on his own, trouble ensues. Freaky friends(Chris Penn, Rick Moranis), unattainable girl(Lea Thompson) and a over nagging family is all featured here. There is also a nude scene in a bar, so beware. There is a minor storyline about the little brother(Ilan Mitchell-Smith) who befriends a Vietnam vet who he starts looking up to, and later learns a little too much about his past.So if you want to give your mind a rest, your sick with the flu, snowed in or just feeling kind of silly, watch this movie and enjoy. I do own this movie and have enjoyed seeing it about 8 times now.