*

Macomb Center
for t4e Performing Arts
eema ffeo

Chicago City Limits

8 P.M. Friday, February 9
adult $18 • student/sr. cit. $16

Shirley Jones

7 P.M. Sunday, February 11
adult $24 • student/sr. cit. $22

La Traviata

7:30 P.M. Tuesday, February 13
adult $29 • student/sr. cit. $26

Five Guys Named Moe

8 P.M. Friday, February 16
adult $26 • student/sr. cit. $24

-411

77G
M
-7E&'44.44.STEM®

HUDSON'S, HARMONY HOUSE
& BLOCKBUSTER MUSIC

CaII-For-Tix (810) 645-6666

Hall (M-59) at Garfield Road

One mile east
of Lakeside Mall

(810) 286-2222

For more information
on the
1995-96 season
MACOMB CENTER
and to order tickets,
call the
For The Performing Arts
Macomb Center Box Office. "P"--11\-47–
"-

1p

A community service program of Macomb Community College.

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Robert Downey Jr. and Meg Ryan star as a surgeon and his mistress in
Restoration.

'Restoration'

Events tend to develop slowly
sing traditional stan- and with increasing predictabil-
dards, Restoration ity. Good scenes follow weak
does not qualify as an ones: Call it cinematic schizo-
epic. The film only phrenia.
The one constant is the per-
lasts one hour and 50 minutes
and doesn't span decades or gen- formance of the actors, both main
erations. But if a succession of characters and bit players.
failures and triumphs, tragedies Downey Jr. is fine enough, and
and redemptions count, then Sam Neill seems to be having fun
Restoration can accurately be de- playing King Charles II. Hugh
Grant makes a brief appearance
scribed as an epic.
Set in England in 1663, the as a portrait artist commissioned
story follows the exploits of physi- by the king and provides some
cian Robert Merivel (Robert much needed comic relief. Meg
Downey Jr.) in the period just af- Ryan, breaking typecast, makes
ter King Charles II's return to the a decidedly uncutesy appearance
throne. The king's restoration as an asylum dweller impreg-
ended the period of puritanism nated by Merivel.
The publicity notes indicate
in England under Oliver
Cromwell and marked an awak- that Restoration was edited and
re-edited several times before fi-
ening of spirit and mind.
As the film opens, Merivel is nally being released. Apparent-
introduced as a gifted but anony- ly, even the creative forces
mous physician, mixing potions weren't quite sure what to do
with their product, and the
and pills in hopes of heal-
tinkering is evident
ing the wretched citizens
MOVIES
throughout the film. Like
of London. Through a se-
all movies, Restoration is
ries of serendipitous
events, Merivel finds himself the equal to the sum of its parts:
Royal Physician (and veterinar- Some good parts, just as many
ian), with the king's excessive bad. It adds up to a very mediocre
bounty at his disposal. He wines; movie.
he dines; he frolics with beauti-
— Richard Halprin
ful maidens until, alas, the king
requests a favor that Merivel
can't refuse.
Throughout the remainder of
the film, Merivel experiences
more adventures, tribulations
and reversals of fortune than
anyone since Forrest Gump.
At the onset, Restoration ap-
pears to be a period movie, a
pageant of costumes and charac-
ters, with extravagant sets and
lush settings. Initially, the tone
of the film is light. But as Meriv-
el's fortunes change, so does the
tone. After 30 minutes or so, it is
evident that the film is not a com-
edy. The story evolves into a dra- Hugh Grant provides comedic relief in
ma, a tragedy, a fable and back. Restoration.

Rated R