Guilty Pleasure: Hari Kondabolu loves ‘Untamed Heart’
Hari Kondabolu
In the mid ’90s, when all of his buddies were watching action movies, 14-year-old Hari Kondabolu was secretly obsessing over a romantic drama, “Untamed Heart.”
The movie stars Marisa Tomei as a waitress at a diner in Minneapolis. She falls in love with a mysterious busboy played by Christian Slater, but there’s a catch — Slater’s character claims to have a baboon heart, which ultimately leads to a tragic ending.
oembed://https%3A//www.youtube.com/watch%3Ftime_continue%3D29%26v%3DI0D98nH3Syw
Ridiculous conflict device aside, pubescent Kondabolu knew it wasn’t the kind of movie he could tell other people was his favorite.
“As a teenage boy … you’re not supposed to want to fall in love, and you’re not supposed to appreciate two characters who are in love. We’re not really taught that.”
Nevertheless, “Untamed Heart” was just the gateway drug for Kondabolu, who has been mainlining sappy romance films ever since.
The World is an independent newsroom. We’re not funded by billionaires; instead, we rely on readers and listeners like you. As a listener, you’re a crucial part of our team and our global community. Your support is vital to running our nonprofit newsroom, and we can’t do this work without you. Will you support The World with a gift today? Donations made between now and Dec. 31 will be matched 1:1. Thanks for investing in our work!