Movie Review: The River Wild

Okay, so this isn’t a Taped Treasure from my basement; rather, it is a gloriously successful suggestion from a friend.  It is the movie “The River Wild” from 1994, starring Meryl Streep, Kevin Bacon, John C. Riley and David Straithairn, ably abetted by a whole bunch of people whose names escape me.  I talked Linda out of going to this movie when it first came out, on the grounds that it was perfectly obvious from the first that Bacon and Riley were bad guys and would get their comeuppance in some dramatic manner at the end.  That was, of course, true – but, boy! What comes before is gripping.

I learned two things tonight:

1)      Meryl Streep can punch in the same weight class as the best Brits: Judy, Maggie, Helen, Emma:  And that’s saying something.

2)      It was wise of me not to take up whitewater rafting as a pastime. 

So, the plot is predictable.  Bad guys steal money, attempt a get-away down a nasty river, coerce Streep – an experienced river guide – to assist them – and meet their Heaven-ordained end.  Don’t see it for the plot.  Rather, see it for the splendid acting, and the scenery.  But, whatever: see it.

Sorry, Linda.  I hope you went out and saw it without me.