SIN Entertainment
'Frank And 011ie'
of Disney characters they drew out years later, in the same town,
both had fathers who were edu-
and breathed life into.
Witness the magical transfor- cators; as boys they liked the same
n endearing story of an en-
during and artistic friend- mation of these two men into your books (Ivanhoe, Robin Hood).
Such remarkable similarities
ship, Frank and 011ie tells favorite Disney creatures - Bam-
the story of the two men most bi, Thumper, Baloo — and remain lead us to believe they are twin
transfixed as they replicate sons of different mothers. Indeed,
responsible for develop-
the body language of they marry women (Janette and
ing the art of "personali-
MOVIES
Pinocchio; Mowgli and Marie, respectively), move in next
ty animation" during
door to one another, carpool to
Captain Hook.
their lifelong working rela-
The Queen from Alice in Won- work, and their sons are born
tionship at Walt Disney Studios.
Think of an actor or director derland as well as the snooty within one week of each other.
This is a charming and senti-
whose career you have followed doorknob, Bernard the mouse
faithfully for many years. Seen all from The Rescuers, Lady and the mental documentary directed by
of Alfred Hitchcock's or Francois Tramp, and countless other cre- Frank's son, Theodore Thomas.
Truffaut's films, you say? ations flowed from their pens to He has captured the essence of two
genuinely gifted and expressive
Watched all those John Wayne or the page to the screen.
Their story starts with an im- geniuses. Frank's and 011ie's in-
Paul Newman movies two or three
times? Well, chances are you've mediate friendship in art school, sights into the necessity for
seen more of Frank and 011ie's then on to their hiring at Walt Dis- "pathos" in an animated film and
work on the screen behind the Dis- ney Studios and the creation of character are splendidly com-
ney name than any of your pro- Snow White, called "Disney's Fol- pelling. The world of films would
ly" by Hollywood. They recount not be the same without their con-
fessed favorites.
Frank's and 011ie's reminis- what great insight Walt Disney tributions. Film historians John
cences and anecdotes are retold possessed and how he recognized Culhane and John Canemaker,
lovingly through interviews and the need for a story's universal ap- also interviewed, provide addi-
tional perspective and credence to
fanciful pantomimes intercut with peal.
Frank and 011ie sit talking, fin- these two animators' legendary
classic Disney animated clips.
Frank Thomas and 011ie Johnson, ishing one another's sentences work.
now in their 80s, gracefully reen- without ever stepping on a line.
c..)
act the physical movements and They are in perfect synch, an un-
usual
combination.
Born,
they
find
facial expressions of a multitude
—Dick Rockwell
Rated PG
'The Truth About Cats & Dogs'
Rated PG-13
C
02
ross a subdued Ace Ventura
with a reticent Howard Stern
and you get Abby Barnes
(Janeane Garofalo), a suc-
cessful but self-esteemless veteri-
narian and radio talk-show host
who takes center stage in The
Truth About Cats And Dogs.
This film, yet another Gen X ro-
mantic comedy, reignites many of
the old troublesome philosophical
inquiries: What is beauty? What
is talent? What is love? Had the
screenwriters presented a clearer
understanding of What is humor?
— the answers to these perpetual
mind-bogglers might have kept us
interested. Because, as its ployful,
playful premise suggests, Cats and
Dogs is first and foremost a com-
edy.
It begins with Abby doling out
helpful advice to a caller about his
misbehaving Great Dane. The
grateful recipient, photographer
Brian (Ben Chaplin), is immedi-
ately enamored of Abby's lascivi-
ous speaking voice and profound
wisdom, prompting him to ask her
on a harmless date.
"Great," replies Abby; "But
hetr battered ego,
wait!"
w hi ch is reluc tan t
fact — to show Brian the real
woman behind the impressive
voice. She stands him up, yet Bri-
an is persistent. Thus commences
the confusion.
You see, Abby has a new friend,
model Noelle Slusarsky (Uma
Thurman), who, despite being a
bit flighty, is absolutely gorgeous.
When Brian unexpectedly shows
up at the station one day to see
Abby, it's only a convenient coin-
cidence that Noelle is around.
"Pretend you're me!" beseeches a
flustered Abby to her friend.
Though she knows Abby is be-
ing foolish, Noelle agrees, and
needless to say, Brian is impressed
by the 5-foot-10-inch beau-
ty. Hence, the wheels of
Muir
a messed-up romance are
set in motion.
Soon, visually awe-inspiring if
intellectually uninspiring ren-
dezvous with Noelle are supple-
mented with deep and passionate
phone conversations with Abby,
and hopelessly deceived, Brian
falls in love with the perfect
woman (stress on the singular) —
brilliant, sensitive, blond and
beautiful. A dream come true. Un-
fortunately fbr him, as the situa-
tion progresses, this dream is
about to turn Kafkaesque.
In fact, it's quite bizarre that a
film comprising such a clever
premise and likable cast can come
across so bland. Despite a few
clever scenes, including a heated
phone-sex encounter, and Garo-
falo's proven comic ability (as ex-
hibited on "The Larry Sanders
Show" and "Saturday Night Live"),
the element that draws the most
laughs is the Great Dane, whose
stint on roller skates is admitted-
ly funny.
But when an animal is the
biggest crowd pleaser in a roman-
tic comedy, then something is
missing — in this case, a strong
performance by Garofalo; her hu-
mor strikes a bit wry and
dry for the silver screen.
1 E S
Thurman's cute quirkiness
and Chaplin's amiable
doofishness add comedic flavor but
fail to fully compensate. Pure ro-
mance fans, however, will find
plenty of mini-tragedy and mushi-
ness to sate their palates.
So there you have it: The truth
about The Truth About Cats And
Dogs. Despite the film's philo-
sophical implications, as a come-
dy it just doesn't cut it.
c.)
— Dan Zimmerman
Sharon Stone is a death-row inmate and Rob Morrow is the novice attorney who is
assigned to review her case in Last Dance.
'Last Dance'
was supposed to be slam-dunk,
but Hayes finds it an opportu-
nity to show that he can be ef-
n a perfect world, every new fective and committed to
film would be judged solely on something for once, and, in the
its own merit; each screenplay, course of his investigation, he
each actor's performance, every comes to know the person inside
soundtrack would be examined the prisoner.
in a vacuum and considered
What made Dead Man Walk-
strictly on the basis of whether ing so compelling was its exam-
or not it was worthy of an audi- ination of capital punishment
ence. Of course, it is not a perfect from all perspectives: the victims,
world, and Touchstone Pictures' their families, the inmates, their
new release, Last Dance, has the families, public interests, law en-
misfortune of being released forcement and clergy. The com-
while Dead Man Walking is still bination of these competing
playing in the dollar theaters. concerns created great tension
Comparisons are inevitable.
and an even greater sense of the
Like Dead Man Walking, Last complexity of the issue.
Dance tells the story of a death-
Last Dance aspires to do the
row inmate during the
same thing, but lacks the
dwindling days before ex-
emotional and intellec-
M 0 11 S
ecution. Genders are re-
tual impact. Because the
versed here, with Sharon
film focuses so closely on
Stone playing the condemned Liggett and Hayes, it relies heav-
prisoner, Cindy Liggett, and Rob ily on their individual perspec-
Morrow ("Northern Exposure," tives to swing the dramatic
Quiz Show) as Rick Hayes, the weight that the controversial sub-
attorney who gets involved for ject demands, and though Stone's
professional reasons but finds performance is competent (she is
himself personally intrigued by no Sean Penn), her character
Liggett's plight.
does not come across as sympa-
Both of these characters have thetic or worth of redemption.
been underdogs their whole lives,
The problem is exacerbated by
although on vastly different the fact that Morrow's character
planes. Liggett comes from a is rather likable and, as a result,
background of deprivation and he attracts much of the focus
drugs, the combination of which away from the drab, trashy
led her to committing a brutal Liggett — thereby diluting the
murder; Hayes was raised in gravity of her predicament.
wealth and privilege, but always
Presumably, this was sup-
in the shadow of his older broth- posed to be a message movie, but
er, John (Peter Gallagher), the ifDead Man Walking were to be
governor's right-hand man.
characterized as a daring tango,
Following some post-gradua- then Last Dance is just a simple
tion drifting, Hayes gets a job, box step.
through his brother, on the
Clemency Board, and his first as-
signment is Liggett's case. This
—Richard Halprin
Rated R
I