Wild Orchid (1989)

User Rating:

4.0/10   

Director:

Zalman King

Writers (WGA):

Patricia Louisianna Knop (written by) &
Zalman King (written by)

Release Date:

27 April 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

A woman lawyer becomes mesmerized by a self-made millionaire during an encounter in Rio setting off a series of erotic encounters.

Plot Keywords:

Brazil | Sex | Millionaire | Lawyer | Water

Awards:

2 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Wed. Nov. 18

12:15 AM

MAX

Cast

Mickey Rourke	...	James Wheeler
Jacqueline Bisset	...	Claudia Dennis
Carré Otis	...	Emily Reed
Assumpta Serna	...	Hanna Munch
Bruce Greenwood	...	Jerome McFarland
Oleg Vidov	...	Otto Munch
Milton Gonçalves	...	Flavio
Jens Peter	...	Volleyball Player
Antonio Mario Silva Da Silva	...	Rambo
Paul Land	...	Big Sailor
Michael Villella	...	Elliot Costa
Bernardo Jablonski	...	Roberto
Luiz Lobo	...	Juan
Lester Berman	...	Interviewer #1
Steven Kaminsky	...	Interviewer #2

Runtime:

105 min | Canada:117 min (Ontario) | USA:111 min (unrated version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Portuguese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:R (Ontario) | Portugal:M/16 | Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Singapore:R(A) | Singapore:R21 | Australia:R | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | South Korea:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Bahia, Brazil

Company:

Vision PDG

Trivia:

Brooke Shields turned down the role of Emily because she knew that nudity would be required.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the end, when Wheeler and Emily ride off on the Harley, Wheeler is wearing a leather vest in some shots, and a long sleeved leather jacket in others.

Quotes:

James Wheeler: How come you're always following her around? I mean, don't you have anything better to do with your time? Hey, you better stay away from that one. Otherwise, she's gonna break your heart.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Luke Wilson/U2 (#30.6)" (2004)

Soundtrack:

LOVE SONG

More than meets the eye

There is more, I think, to this film than most people give it credit for. Sure, it's full of sex and naked people, but it also manages to be erotic and sensual at the same time. It's certainly not the commercialized absurdity that you'll find late night on certain premium channels. More than that, though, is that it's a decent psychological study of a man who's completely divorced himself from reality. Like so many celebs of our time, money and success has allowed him to distance himself from whatever parts of reality that make him uncomfortable. Emily's naive and honest approach manages to reach him. His speech near the end, before the final 'scene,' is really impressive, and Mikey really is a great actor. Sure, Ms. Otis leaves something to be desired, but she's working in a role where her lack of comfort helps the part. Emily is out of her element, just is the actress playing her is, and even if this makes her transparent, it also makes her believable. Jaqueline Bisset is wonderful as always. All in all, if you watch this film without fast forwarding from sex scene to sex scene, you'll see a fairly human story mixed with a sexual journey that I think Zora Neale Hurston would have appreciated.