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May 10, 1996 - Image 94

Resource type:
Text
Publication:
The Detroit Jewish News, 1996-05-10

Disclaimer: Computer generated plain text may have errors. Read more about this.

'Forever Tango'

'The Pallbearer'

at could be better than women, the only one to wear her
watching seven svelte hair unbound; auburn and below
women and seven lithe her shoulders; it is a sensual act
men dance the tango, on its own.
In "La Mariposa," Elsa Maria
along with a little help from four
steps onto Mayoral Maria's shoe
bandoneons, two violins, a viola,
as she swings, at arm's
cello, bass, piano, key-
length, from right to left.
board and one romantic
In "Libertango," Cecilia's
balladeer, Carlos Morel?
kicking legs and feet
Forever Tango — The
would, in a James Bond
Eternal Dance, now play-
film, be lethal weapons.
ing at the Fisher through
Here, they are testa-
May 19, is two parts of
ments to the trust be-
song and dance. The first
MICHA EL H.
tween Cecilia and her
contains the basics, the
MARG OLIN
partner Guillermo.
rhythms and the un-
SPECIAL TO THE
This trust is a tango
complicated style. The
JEWISH NEWS
staple: partners are
second part has the gloss-
rarely out of each other's
es —the extra fillips, ac-
robatics and lusher music; Astor arms. All that said, at the end of
Piazzolla's "Adios Nonino" has its Part II, Miriam and Fabio do an
own unique sound with
its almost-pop melodies
merged with the stricter
rhythms of the tango.
Still, it's the dancers
one comes for. The tango,
like tap dancing, is a kind
of dance with themes and
variations: the athletic
Gene Kelly kind; the
quicksilver Twyla Tharp
style, with angular arms
and legs akimbo — Bob
Fosse-like; and the
gliding ballroom versions.
All of them are in Forev-
er Tango, which is a se-
ries of dances — mostly
partners, sometimes a
trio or group of partners
— interspersed with bal-
lads or orchestra inter-
ludes.
The team of Jorge Tor-
Miriam and Fabio tango the nights away in the final
res and Karina Piazza is show of the Fisher season.
first up in Part I. Her ball-
bearing hips are extraor-
dinary; later on one sees his athletic dance in which, among
impossibly patent leather-like hair other things, he holds her aloft
and his large and expressive above his head and simply turns
hands. They caress his partner, like a windmill turned on its side
in a windstorm. Whew.
guide, support and control.
Hands are great to watch in . But mostly, it is the glamour of
men in well-cut tuxedos or
tango. In "Felicia," Claudia
dinner jackets and slicked
and Luis dance side by
THEATER
hair; women in gowns of
side; he puts one hand in
velvet and taffeta, bugle
his pocket, lifting ever so
slightly the hem of his double- beads cut to reveal the back in a
breasted jacket to reveal a silver deep V, the thigh revealed in a
watch chain in a graceful arc from high slit, cleavage bound but beck-
waistband to front pocket. Neat- oning.
It is a hyper-real world that the
0.
In Part II, we see Carlos Gav- tango lives in. For a couple of
ito and Marcela Duran for the first hours you can escape there with
time, spotlighting their passion- these beautiful, well-dressed peo-
ate energy in "A Evaristo Car- ple who rule passion with taut,
riego." He is a handsome George rhythmic body language.
C. Scott patriarch of tango. She is
4 .)Zh.. Co)
young and beautiful and, of all the

Rated PG-13

( .

I

magine your friend just signed
a seven-picture deal with Mi-
ramax. You'd definitely show
up to cheer him on in his de-
but performance on the silver
screen. Well, one of America's
Thursday night "Friends," David
Schwimmer (aka Ross), has done
just that and stars in The Pall-
bearer, a brooding, semi-sophis-
ticated, dark comedy.
Schwimmer plays Tom
Thompson, a loser-type, recent
college graduate (surprise) who
is eager to move on, but has ab-
solutely no idea where to begin.
Living at home with an overly
nice, overbearing mother (Carol
Kane) doesn't help matters much,
nor does the fact that getting that
first job as an architect is not so
easy.
But Tom does have something
going for him: a group of friends
(surprise) — including high-
school buddies Scott (Michael
Vartan) and Brad (Michael Ra-
paport), who have jobs and life-
partners, Cynthia (Toni Collette)
and Lauren (Bitty Schram) — to
support him and provide an in-
spirational daily reminder of his
own failures.
Life, however, is looking up.
High-school dream girl Julie De-
Marco (Gwyneth Paltrow — Brad
Pitt's real-life girlfriend) is back
in town, fumbling with her own
emerging adulthood, and seem-
ing just vulnerable enough to give
Tom confidence that he can fi-
nally enter into her life.
It's at this point, however, that
Tom receives a mysterious phone

call: "Your friend from high Tom is her only link to memories
school, Bill Abernaby," says the of her dead son and, first out of
female voice, "has killed himself, charity, then out of curiosity, Tom
honors her desire to
and I want you to be a pall-
spend time with him.
bearer at the funeral."
MOVIES
But this relationship is
Tom agrees, despite one
about to turn weird — in
small problem: Who's Bill
a scenario reminiscent of The
Abernaby?
Graduate.
And this creates a dilemma, es-
pecially when Julie gives in to
Tom's wooing. Balancing two re-
lationships is a difficult task, par-
ticularly for a young man living
with his mother in the shadow of
his past.
Amidst all this uncertainty,
Schwimmer shines. The film in-
cludes a plethora of awkward mo-
ments in which Schwimmer, with
his poor posture and perpetually
despairing demeanor, thrives. In
fact, he may emerge as the suc-
cessor to Woody Allen as the
screen-king of awkwardness. And
despite their similarities, Ross
(his '71-lends" character) and Tom
Thompson are not one and the
same character.
Tom's a bit less aloof, a bit sad-
der than his counterpart. All in
all, it's a commendable debut per-
formance that serves to carry the
rest of the film, which, unfortu-
nately, is not interesting or inno-
vative enough to be really
memorable.
But have some compassion,
David Schwimmer (Tom) and Barbara
show some appreciation and
Hershey (Ruth), whose love advances
make your way to the theater —
beyond motherly to erotic and then
heck, it's not every day that your
obsessive.
friend's in a movie. Though, with
While Bill means little to Tom, six pictures to go, it may soon be.
Tom means a lot to Bill's mother,
ZIk..
blond, young-looking Ruth (Bar-
—Dan
Zimmerman
bara Hershey). Ruth thinks that

'It's My Party'

Rated R

W

hen whimsical archi-
tect Nick Stark (Eric
Roberts) learns that
his AIDS virus has
caused brain lesions that will
soon rob him of his wits and dig-
nity, he takes the "You can't fire
me, because I quit" approach to
death by planning a two-day, go-
ing-away bash culminating in
his suicide.
In Its My Party, everybody is

invited, including Nick's loving to reconcile before it's too late.
mother (Lee Grant), his loyal sis- With so many issues and emo-
ter (Marlee Matlin), his es- tions under the same roof, this
tranged father (George Segal), is one party that doesn't require
his foppish pal (Bronson Pin- board games to keep things live-
ly.
chot) and an assortment of
Written and directed
sympathetic friends and
by Randal Kleiser
associates.
MOINES
(Grease and Blue La-
And although he is not
goon), It's My Party is an
on the guest list, Nick's for-
mer companion, Brandon (Gre- examination of life based on
gory Harrison), appears, at first Kleiser's own experience with a
out of guilt for casting him aside, former lover. The issues of love
and then out of a genuine desire and loss are heavy, but are

L7'

c7,/

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