'The Fan'

Rated R

PHOTO BY LINDA R. CHEN

'A Very Brady Sequel'

D

Rated PG-13

alumni ("Knowledge is good")
urprise was what the initial would be proud of Otter's work
film adaptation of the ever- here, shamelessly mugging for
popular "Brady Bunch" was the camera, letting us all know
all about. Sneaking up on how out of sync the Bradys are.
He calls the Bradys "decade-
nostalgia-hungry audiences like
a stealth bomber, it unloaded tons impaired" and urges them to "get
of subtle, subversive double en- yourselves to the Gap — fast!"
tendres while proclaiming fami- Roy's arrival forces the Bradys
out of their comfortable suburban
ly values. The gags flew over
nest and into adventure
the kiddies' heads and
MOVIES
— although their sun-
struck a rich vein of adult
shiny search for their kid-
funny bones and big box-of-
napped mother has all the
- fice receipts.
A Very Brady Sequel launches suspense of a picnic in the park.
In her feature-film debut, Di-
another strike, tries valiantly to
hit the bulls-eye with affection- rector Arlene Sanford's crew has
ate parody and smug, genre- faithfully recreated the Day-Glo
tweaking hindsight, and succeeds pinks, yellows, and oranges of the
mostly. But, this time the element Bradys' TV world for the big
screen. Whether you think the
of surprise is missing.
Shelley Long and Gary Cole Brady Bunch are an insipid brood
reprise their roles as Carol and of morons — a chromosome link
Mike Brady, and the cast of away from terminal cuteness —
Brady children has evidently or you wax nostalgic about this
been cloned from DNA found on disarmingly charming wholesome
the polyester wardrobe of the TV family, you won't be disappointed.
originals. They are uniformly, Both of these paisley Rorschach
sublimely ridiculous. The three tests are there waiting to be re-
older children, Greg (Christopher viled or reveled in.
Daniel Barnes), Marcia (Chris-
1/2
tine Taylor) and Jan
(Jennifer Elise Cox), play stuck-
— Dick Rockwell
in-the-'70s oblivious teens with
elan. The three younger children,
Peter (Paul Sutera), Cindy (Olivia
Hack) and Bobby (Jesse Lee),
plus faithful household staple, Al-
ice (Henriette Mantel), add fod-
der for the foolishness.
C.) c))cia-)* ....Outstanding
This time, Tim Matheson (Eric
"Otter" Stratton, in Animal
Very Good
House) shows up on the familiar
brown tri-level doorstep, assert-
ing himself as Carol's missing,
long-lost first husband, Roy Mar-
tin. But don't expect The Return
of Martin Guerre. Faber College

S

•

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1

108

XXII ■
11 ►W•41 11 RIIIIIIII•Vi•Good

***** * ..M.SMIKUUNit

'The Island Of Dr. Moreau'

Rated PG-13
ith The Island of Dr.
Moreau, Director John

a plane crash in
the Pacific and is
rescued by Mont-
Frankenheimer makes a gomery (Val Kil-
stunning and spectacular mer), a quirky,
bid at creating the worst film in cackling scientist
sailing toward an
the history of cinema.
Because such a distinction car- undisclosed desti-
ries decidedly subjective criteria, nation.
That destina-
it is safer to simply declare it the
worst film of 1996 thus far. Based tion turns out to
on the RG. Wells literary classic be Dr Moreau's
about the intersection of science island, a pic-
and conscience, this film update turesque paradise
of the story of an unscrupulous populated by hu-
geneticist secluded on a remote man beasts. The
island seems unconcerned with mysterious Dr.
trivialities like plot, dialogue or Moreau (Marlon
purpose. It appears content just Brando) has been Marlon Brando stars in New Line Cinema's sci-fi film.
abandoning a few human char- experimenting
with gene splicing in an at- unnatural order and leads to
acters among a herd of
tempt to create the perfect much destruction and death.
mutants to see how
MOVIES
race of humans, and, in the
Somewhere in the tangled jun-
they interact.
process, has anointed himself gle of ideas that comprise this
, One of the humans is Edward
Douglas (David Thewlis), a Unit- "god" over his creations. Douglas' movie is a proposition that man
ed Nations worker who survives arrival on the scene disturbs the is really an animal and will re-

W

PHOTO BY PETE R SOREL

It's the story of a man named Brady ...

on't look for Tri-Star Pic-
tures' The Fan to be
added to any lists of all-
time great . baseball
movies.
With Robert De Niro star-
ring as yet another deranged
killer, this silly film more
closely resembles Natural
Born Killers than The Natur-
al. De Niro plays Gil Renard,
a knife salesman who is as big
of a failure as a huckster as he
is a husband.
Divorced and on the verge Robert De Niro is The Fan. Wesley Snipes is the tormented baseball superstar.
of losing his job, he derives plea- (Wesley Snipes), to the Giants. reer path, one could expect that
sure from two sources, his When Rayburn enters a hitting De Niro might next replace Den-
beloved son and his beloved San slump, combined with mental nis Hopper as the psycho refer-
Francisco Giants — and don't anguish from his rival team- ee in those Nike commercials.
ask him to choose between them mate, Renard does some psy- Yes, he is that close to becom-
because he has been a fan chotic favors and is thoroughly ing a caricature.
longer than he has been a fa- miffed when Rayburn neither
Wesley Snipes and John
ther.
acknowledges nor appreciates Leguizamo turn in solid perfor-
Renard is no ordinary base- Renard's gestures for "the mances as the spoiled athlete
ball fan, either. He recites
team." Such ingratitude and his doting agent but, in a
bad poetry about base-
hastens Renard's de- film without a message to the
MOVIES
ball, plasters his walls
scent into lunacy as he madness, their performances
with baseball news clip-
becomes a killer, kidnap- are wasted. Given the discord
pings and obsessively expounds per and, even, an umpire.
between professional sports and
on the purity of the game to any-
Utilizing his vast arsenal of its fans, the time is ripe for an
one who will listen. Early in the twitches, ticks and gesticula- insightful exploration into the
film, the obsession appears tions, De Niro's performance is dynamics of that perverse rela-
harmless, but, since we know not to be criticized as much as tionship, but The Fan chose not
De Niro wasn't cast solely be- his choice to appear in the to delve into any important is-
cause of his impish grin, we movie. As an actor at the high- sues and, consequently, is as
have a foreboding sense that Re- est echelon of his craft, De Niro meaningless as batting practice.
nard's going over the edge.
should not only be challenging
tO
Stimulus comes in the form his audience, he should also be
of a trade that sends his idol, su- challenging himself. Following
— Richard Halprin
perstar slugger Bobby Rayburn the logical progression of his ca-