'The Crossing Guard'

Rated R

I

he Crossing Guard is an odd
mix of melodrama and sus-
pense, as if writer-director
Sean Penn couldn't quite let
go of his tough-guy pretensions.
The sensitivity of this somber tale
— a mother and father are riven
by the death of their young daugh-
ter by a drunk driver, and the
drunk driver, now out of prison,
is ridden with guilt — is cut with
a large dose of machismo.
We see Freddy Gale, a dissi-
pated jewelry-store owner played
touchingly by Jack Nicholson,
spending his nighth in strip clubs
drinking with his perpetually guf-
fawing buddies, waking up next
to a mountainous ashtray, an
empty glass and a leggy dancer.
His coping skills are built
on denial via booze and
women, but he cares little
for either. He believes he'll fi-
nally be vindicated by taking the
life of the driver, John Booth
(David Morse).
Freddy's estranged ex-wife,
Mary (Angelica Huston), on the
other hand, lives in a cheerful
home with their twin sons and a

new husband. She has gone on And Robin Wright as Booth's new
with her life; Freddy is among the friend is convincing as a woman
who casts about in her own web
walking dead.
In the movie's pivotal scene and of denial.
The lesson here is that neither
perhaps its best, Mary softens to-
ward Freddy, but he vio-
lently rejects her because
he probably recognizes that
he has become the "weak
and small man" she accus-
es him of being. He then
leaves to fulfill his mur-
derous objective, which
leads to a foot chase
through a Los Angeles sub-
urb and the final scene, in
which Mr. Penn's inten-
tions become rather obvi-
ous. Mr. Morse plays John
Booth as an unlucky guy Jack Nicholson (left) and Anjelica Huston (right) in
who believes he deserves Sean Penn's The Crossing Guard.
to die by Freddy's hand. In the man can be "saved" by a woman;
meantime, has a job on a they must play out the testos-
boat, a new woman terone-driven drama that starts
friend, loving parents. It with a threat, continues with a
is Booth who has held onto sweaty chase and ends with their
his humanity, while Freddy has tacit acceptance of each other.
An interesting story, but one
not.
Mr. Nicholson's performance as that spends too much time on the
a man who blindly stumbles question of whether Freddy will
through his life is almost free of really kill Booth. 2 out of 4. bagels.
the devilish Nicholson persona.
—Julie Edgar
Ms. Huston, as usual, is riveting.

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'A...My Name Is STILL Alice'

I

What sparks there are come
Men — unless they're New Age
men — are deftly skewered in a from the cast outclassing the ma-
parodic song called, what else, terial: to the aforementioned I
"Sensitive New Age Guys." They would add Janie Braxton, whose
don't understand. Make that un- top note at the end of "Lifelines"
derstand, sisterhood. This musi- is a small treasure, as is her por-
trayal of Ida Mae Cole,
cal review is here to teach and
and Jean Lyle Lepard,
enlighten. If only it were as
THEATER
who makes of the
entertaining as it is en-
phrase "Armani Shades"
lightening.
Not that, at times, those two a world of meaning.
All of the women stand tall
elements don't come to-
gether, as in Judy Dery's among the mediocre material, a
"So Much Rain," a bitter- sequel to its earlier sibling,
sweet recollection; or Karen A...My Name Is Alice. The mu-
Kron's wonderful "Wheels," sical support is friendly to the
the irony about freedom de- singers under Benjamin Cohen's
livered in a musky, lovely direction; the costume design by
vocal; or the sad monologue Suzanne M. Hannah is apt, each
played so sweetly by P.J. character clothed to highlight her
Jenkinson. (Be careful when type (though the execution of
someone tells you to get a Janie Braxton's costume is exe-
life — you could end up like crable and should be remedied
immediately). Dan Mailley moves
her.)
Pictured from left to right: Judy Dery, Karen
The material — songs, the actresses adroitly enough.
Kron, Janie Braxton, P.J. Jenkinson and Jean
Reid Downey is credited as set
Lyle Lepard from A ... My Name Is STILL Alice. skits — is credited at the
head of the program; from and lighting designer; the light
ers are feeling and share their sen- Marion Adler to Steve Tesich, plot works well enough, but the
timents. Even the tough Ida Mae there are 27 responsible parties. entire set is infelicitous. It looks
Cole who says "attitude is passé" I don't know if it was a group ef- grimy and second-hand.
• Sum total? The Attic's New
and goes beyond into "posture," fort — it seems unlikely. (It was
knows instinctively that the conceived by Joan Micklin Silver Center Theatre production has
woman who confronts her on a and Julianne Boyd.) But only a an attractive cast of women mak-
bus is a sister under the skin, group could have come up with ing the most of modest material.
sharing oppression by males as so much material that seems 2 out of 4 bagels
clearly as if it were a caste mark borne of compromise, and only
—Michael H. Margolin
on her forehead. And Ida Mae rarely sparked by individual cre-
ativity.
backs down. Yes. She does.

he Alice in A ..My Name Is
STILL Alice is a New York-
er raised in the Midwest
with a ghetto background
from the South with a California
attitude. And in the guise of five
talented women, she is as unlike
her sisters as peas are like their
pod sibs.
On the other hand, they seem
to know instinctively what the oth-

PHOTO BY DEBORAH R. KI NGERY

/-

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