was the wild orchid movie the culmination for mickey rourke?
Wild Orchid is the title of a 1990 erotic film starring Mickey Rourke, Carré Otis, Jacqueline Bisset, Bruce Greenwood, and Assumpta Serna. It was directed by Zalman King, from the screenplay by King and Patricia Louisiana Knopp. Plot summary Emily (Otis), a young woman, travels to New York City for an interview with an international law firm. She is immediately hired and her first assignment is to fly to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil with one of the company’s top executives, Claudia (Bisset), to help with the purchase and development of a dilapidated beach hotel. But when Claudia is forced to fly to Argentina for business reasons, Emily is left behind to oversee that the deal goes smoothly. She is also introduced to Claudia’s enigmatic friend Wheeler (Rourke), a reclusive millionaire. Emily is intrigued by Wheeler and is drawn to him, but Wheeler is more interested in subjecting Emily to a series of psychological and sexual games, with the apparent intention of breaking down her inhibitions a
Though he emerged onto the film landscape loaded with talent and promise, actor and former amateur boxer Mickey Rourke squandered what could have been a long, prominent career, thanks to hubris and his combative nature. Rourke first made his presence known with a scene-stealing turn as an arsonist in the erotic noir, “Body Heat” (1981), before spending the next few years playing roles that would be looked back upon as the beginnings of his greatness. His performances in “Diner” (1982) and “Rumble Fish” (1983) were clear signs to some that the world was witnessing the emergence of another James Dean or even Robert De Niro. But by the time he starred opposite the latter in “Angel Heart” (1987), Rourke was well on his way to career obscurity – and he had no one to blame but himself. Even as a struggling actor, Rourke ran afoul of many co-stars and directors, while not taking seriously the business side of making good in Hollywood, leading to often disastrous parts in films like “Harley Da
