The River Wild

This blog is my New Year resolution. I have to admit that nothing about this blog is a unique idea of my own. It’s more of a perfect storm of other people’s good ideas. I was inspired to start this blog by the movie, “Julie & Julia”. I loved that both women in the movie were looking for some direction in their lives and chose something they enjoyed doing to occupy their time. I’m too lazy and uninterested in cooking mouthwatering meals like Julia and Julie did, but I do love watching movies! So, I’ve decided to watch 365 movies in 365 days and blog about each experience.

To add a little twist to the plan, I’ve decided to build off of the concept widely known as the “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon”. Whether you’re into romantic comedies, creepy dramas, or something in between (80’s teenage movies incorporating singing and dancing perhaps), there’s a good chance that you’ve seen Kevin Bacon in a movie you love. He’s certainly in a few of my favorites. So, I plan to both start and end my journey with a Kevin Bacon movie, and find my way throughout 365 days to view at least 66 separate performances of Kevin Bacon. And so, 365 Degrees of Kevin Bacon begins. I’ll choose one actor or actress from the first movie to link me to the next movie and use the same process for each movie for the entire year. Let the blockbusters begin!

Given that this whole silly plan was conceived from watching “Julie & Julia”, I thought it only appropriate that my first Kevin Bacon movie, and thus the movie to kick off the project, should also star Meryl Streep, who I thought was amazing as Julia Child in “Julie & Julia”. So, the first movie that I’ve chosen to start off the year is “The River Wild”. I would put this movie in the “creepy drama” category. But I’m not saying this in a negative way. I actually enjoyed it. I remember watching it back in the 90s when it first came out but watching it over 10 years later was a completely new experience. I think it’s amazing how you can see the same movie several times and the fact that you’re at a different point in your life each time causes you to have a different experience each time.

Okay, so, the basic set up of the movie is that a mother, father, and son are on an outdoorsy, adventurous kind of vacation, traveling in a raft down a river that is full of exciting bumps and rapids and twists and turns. The mom, Gail, played by Meryl Streep, is a super kick-ass river rafter, highly experienced in getting through the bumpy parts. Can you say, “upper-body strength that I don’t have”? The beginning of the movie made me want to take up rowing and go back to New Mexico where I grew up to take on rivers in the Rockies! It was inspiring! I know, I know, you can probably tell by now that I’m easily influenced to take on new projects that may or may not realistically be possible outside of movie land.

Enter Kevin Bacon, and my visions of fun-filled white-water adventures vanished. Bacon plays a super-creepy vacationer, Wade, who latches himself to the family to get down the river without dying. Kevin Bacon is entirely too good at super-creepy. Bonus, Wade’s equally creepy, slightly goofy sidekick is played by one of my personal favorites, John C. Reilly. The last time I watched this movie I had no idea who John C. Reilly was so it was fantastic to recognize him this time around. I was so happy to see that he was in this movie that he’s my chosen link for tomorrow’s movie!

All in all, The River Wild was really quite an enjoyable film. I don’t want to share too many details, I just recommend picking it out for an enjoyable couple of hours on a lazy weekend. The end is very exciting!

Now, what to choose for my next John C. Reilly movie…