Orquídea Selvagem

Lawyer (Carre Otis) is sent to Rio to help her boss with a real estate deal (Jacqueline Bisset) and gets herself mixed up with her client (Mickey Rourke) and throwing her morals out the door in the process. Steamy and very erotic with some very hot sexual encounters and a great looking cast, but empty and with little to offer besides lots of hot sex and lush cinematography.

The biggest thing about this movie is how beautiful it is. Yes, symbols are somehow too transparent, plot and music a bit cheesy,a bit too superficial, but it is so beautiful that you kinda forget those things. actors are beautiful , setting is beautiful, sex scenes are beautiful. Very sensual, but making-love-in-the-light-of-a-setting-sun-on-the-beach kinda way. however the funny thing is that you will enjoy the film nevertheless and not only because of sex, but somehow this film is appealing. thought you understand the flaws of this film, you still get aesthetic pleasure on some basic, unspoiled by good taste and good movies level. I like this film because it proves that good film can be made in any genre. You should remember that this is an erotic film. otherwise, if you expect an independent film about love, you should watch something else.

Wild Orchid is one of the most sexually explicit movies I recall seeing as a child. While the film is tame by today's standards when released in 1990 it was very explict. The storyline isn't to much to really speak of but Zalman King keeps Carrie Otis naked enough times to where the male viewer doesn't really care. The final sex scene makes you wonder if Rourke and Otis really went at it.

Back in 1990, people didn't have to deal with the horrible slate of fly-by-night movies that die at the box office after one week. So many movies that would have been rejected by the studio heads for mainstream distribution back then have been allowed in (Glitter, Freddy Got Fingered, Tomcats, Ready To Rumble, the N'SYNC movie, Teen Movie, and 30 lame horror films, etc.), and then throw in the over-hyped blockbusters. Altogether, a good enough reason for a true lover of cinema like myself to stay clear of movie theaters.

Because of all that, I think this movie deserves to be looked at again. If it was the worst film for 1990, then yes, it's a contender. Carre Otis is very beautiful, but her presence as an actress is awful. She either stands there and looks pretty or delivers small lines in a forced manner. Mickey Rourke, playing the same character he portrayed in the "pre-quel" 9 1/2 Weeks, just walks around trying to be cool. Jacqueline Bisset and Bruce Greenwood do a good acting job, but their role in the film are to support the growing sexuality between Otis and Rourke. And yes, the storyline is nothing but an excuse for Zalman King's arty sex coupling.

BUT, if you compare this film with the drivel coming out these days, then this movie is much better. First, it was highly controversial (for a reason or two). Second, I think the sensuality is very erotic, because of the behind the scenes relationship of Mickey and Carre, or in a lot of the other assorted scenes. Third, Rio is a truly beautiful setting for sin, and the movie depicts it's partying attitude in spades (almost too much). And finally, this movie doesn't lie about it's intentions. If you wanted a sexually charged erotic drama/thriller, it doesn't disappoint. Yes, it's pretty slow, but the it's erotic build-up is very good. Bonus: no fake bodies.

Bottom line: It's not Citizen Kane, and for 1990 it was terrible, but for 2001-02, it's a heck of a lot better than today's releases.

Wild Orchid is a steamy erotic flick that probably won't please everybody. Young lawyer Emily is signed to a law firm and flies with her boss to Rio and when Emily's boss leaves for a meeting, she sets Emily up with Wheeler, a successful real estate developer who Emily is attracted to, but cannot have because he is impotent. This leads to Wheeler setting Emily up with an American business man for sex, cross dressing, and steamy sexual pairings. While the R Rated cut of Wild Orchid is quite graphic, the Unrated version is even more so. If you like trashy drama and erotic scenes, then you might enjoy Wild Orchid.

Wild Orchid is Unrated for extremely strong graphic sexuality, nudity, adult language, and for some mild violence.