Wild Orchid (film)

Wild Orchid
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Zalman King
Produced by	Mark Damon Tony Anthony Lester Berman
Written by	Patricia Louisiana Knopp Zalman King
Starring	Mickey Rourke Jacqueline Bisset Carré Otis Assumpta Serna
Music by	Simon Goldenberg Geoff MacCormack
Cinematography	Gale Tattersall
Edited by	Marc Grossman Glenn Morgan
Distributed by	Entertainment Film Distributors MGM Home Entertainment (DVD)
Release date	December 22, 1989 (Italy) April 27, 1990 (United States)
Running time	105 min. Unrated version: 112 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$7 million
Box office	$11,060,485

Wild Orchid is a 1990 American erotic film directed by Zalman King and starring Mickey Rourke, Carré Otis, Jacqueline Bisset, Bruce Greenwood, and Assumpta Serna.

A sequel was released in 1992 entitled Wild Orchid II: Two Shades of Blue.

Young lawyer Emily Reed (Otis) travels to New York City for an interview with an international law firm, which immediately offers her a job on the condition that she can fly to Rio de Janeiro the following morning. Emily agrees and is introduced to Claudia Dennis (Bisset), one of the firm's top executives. They arrive in Rio to finalize the purchase of a hotel, but angry Claudia must fly to Buenos Aires, Argentina, to meet the hotel's owner. Claudia instructs Emily to cover her date for the night. While viewing the hotel, Emily sees two locals having animalistic sex, which unnerves her and she returns to her own hotel. She meets Claudia's date; a wealthy man named James Wheeler (Rourke). They have dinner, accompanied by James' bodyguards.

James intrigues Emily; he is quiet and asks personal questions without being demanding or rude. After dinner, they attend a street carnival; Emily leaves after a masked man who looks like James tries to seduce her. The next morning, Emily wakes to find James watching her. He gives her a bouquet of orchids and denies making advances to her the previous evening, and as an apology, he offers to show her the city. She is initially reluctant but consents; they attend a party with a married couple that they noticed in the restaurant the night before. Some navy sailors at the party try to make advances on the wife; James fights them and he, Emily, and the couple leave quickly in his limousine. The married couple is having marital problems because of the wife's infidelity. She wants to reconcile with her husband. James encourages the couple to have sex in the limo, which they do. Emily finds their actions disturbing. Emily and James then visit the hotel that her firm wants to buy, and she tells James that she fears he would disappear if she touched him. When Emily hugs James, he pulls away from her, telling her that he does not like to be touched.