Jeffrey Wells over at Hollywood Elsewhere has asked an interesting question: what the hell happened to Jonathan Demme.
"Demme’s key period lasted about 13 years — Melvin and Howard (’80), Swing Shift (’84), Something Wild (’86), Swimming to Cambodia (’87), Married to the Mob (’88), The Silence of the Lambs (’91 — his biggest success) and finally Philadelphia (’93)"
"Demme’s key period lasted about 13 years — Melvin and Howard (’80), Swing Shift (’84), Something Wild (’86), Swimming to Cambodia (’87), Married to the Mob (’88), The Silence of the Lambs (’91 — his biggest success) and finally Philadelphia (’93)"
My response: Yeah, more or less until Philadelphia, although I find the latter hasn't aged well over the years. Also you have to add Stop Making Sense, one of the greatest shot concerts of all-time. As far as latter-day Demme goes, along with the aforementioned Rachel Getting Married I'd say The Manchurian Candidate remake was pretty solid and highly underrated. There is nothing else worthy of mention. He definitely failed with his last film, Ricki and the Flash, and his next release seems to be a TV episode he directed for the show "Shots Fired."
Something Wild will always be my favorite Demme. There has never been anything like it, before or after its release. I'd probably rank it in my top 20 of the 1980s.
I still hold out hope with Demme, whose been concentrating mostly on non-fiction documentaries the last 15-20 years.
I still hold out hope with Demme, whose been concentrating mostly on non-fiction documentaries the last 15-20 years.