Something Wild... underrated gem or just plain weird?

Okay, so I just re-watched "Something Wild" (1986) and I'm still not sure what to make of it. Like, it starts out as this quirky rom-com/road trip movie, right? Melanie Griffith is amazing as Lulu, dragging Jeff Daniels' character, Charlie, out of his boring yuppie life. The cinematography at the beginning during their impromptu dates is so vibrant and captures that '80s aesthetic perfectly...almost a little too perfectly? I mean, the color palette is practically screaming at you. But then, boom, Ray Liotta shows up and everything goes completely off the rails. Honestly, the tonal shift is jarring in a way I'm not sure is intentional or just bad filmmaking? Maybe the director was trying to mirror Charlie's own disorientation as he's pulled further and further away from his comfort zone? The performances are top-notch across the board, but it's still a weird ride. Especially the ending. So, here's what I'm wondering: does the abrupt genre change work for anyone else? Is it a clever commentary on the fragility of appearances and the darkness lurking beneath the surface of "normal" life? Or is it all just a haphazard mess that somehow manages to be entertaining anyway? I'm particularly curious about other people's interpretation of the shift when Ray appears... Like, did it make the film stronger, weaker, or just plain stranger? Let me know what you think!