Wild At Heart ( * * * )

This Palme D'or winner by David Lynch is, as he describes it (and I'm paraphrasing from some old interview) "like a bunch of B movies all thrown together...a little swarm of B's." The Wizard Of Oz figures heavily, as does Elvis, and most of the rest is stuff only Lynch and screenwriter Barry Gifford would come up with.

The Acting: There are some amazing star turns. Cage as "Sailor Ripley" does a pretty solid Elvis impression, and Laura Dern and her mom get into all kinds of crazy shit, including Diane Ladd smearing her entire face with lipstick and become the wicked witch. Sherilyn Fenn has never looked hotter than she does as a car accident victim who touches her own brain and asks, "What's all this sticky stuff in my hair?" And Willem Dafoe, fresh off of playing Jesus, is at his absolute ugliest (inside and out) as the sadistic hitman Bobby Peru, who Lulu (Dern) claims is a "black angel." He nevertheless manages to turn her on during a scene of quasi-sexual assualt. This movie's fucked up.

The Story: Nic Cage makes some black dude's head stick to a floor. He points menacingly at Diane Ladd. He goes to jail. He gets out. He and Lulu go dancing. They break parole. She gets knocked up. He robs a bank. A guy gets his hand shot off and a dog runs off with it. Bobby Peru's brainpan gets blasted into the air in one of the coolest visual effects shots ever. Cage goes back to jail. He gets out. Diane Ladd melts. He calls a bunch of guys fags, and they beat him up. Sheryl "Laura Palmer" Lee plays the good witch and gives him advice, which is fucked-up. He sings Elvis on top of a car. Your usual.

The Direction: David Lynch.

Overall: Isabella Rosselini, J.E. Freeman (The Dane from Miller's Crossing), Harry Dean Stanton, Grace Zabriskie, David Patrick Kelly and Crispin Glover in the most memorable role of his career ("I'm making my lunch!!") fill out the overpowered cast. And Chris Isaak's song "Wicked Game" is perfectly wed to this movie.

Tredekka Rules:

• Rule 4: Sweet Actor Bonus--Sheryl Lee, +1 star
• Rule 5: Sptting = Good Acting--and so is having a little bit of throw-up on your hair. Thanks for that image, Diane Ladd. +1 star.
• Rule 6: Over The Top Acting Award--I'm awarding 1 point to Dafoe for Bobby Peru, who is so menacing that I can't believe he ever played somebody as nice as the Green Goblin, much less Jesus.
• Rule 17: The "Don't Fuck With The Fourth Wall" Penalty--minus 1 star for the nonsequiter sequences where a scene cuts to an image of that scene in a crystal ball, and to all of the completely random shit that causes undue turbulence in one's willful suspension of disbelief, like the metal band suddenly playing an Elvis tune and all the girls in the mosh pit swooning. When directors wink at me like that, I want to poke they eyes out. The fact I'm only deducting one point for that shit is a testament to Lynch's genius.
• Rule 35 (NEW RULE): Any David Lynch Movie with Jack Nance, +1 star.

Tredekka Score: ( * * * )