'Ambassador Bridge Party'

I

n the second act of Second City's current the middle. Here, too, many just dribble of
show, Ambassador Bridge Party, the cast
There is a "fat" skit that is so maudlin it
asks the audience for key words to use in is embarrassing. And the end of the first
a sequence of improvisations. On a good half in which cast members go into the au-
night, "tree," "4th of July," "Einstein," "pri- dience to touch the paying public is so un-
vate lake" and "kiss my ass" might have focused that discomfort is the outcome
been turned into some hilarity.
rather than the intended satire of forced
Last Thursday night was not a partic- intimacy. It ends when one actress tells us
ularly good one. And if I may pick
that during our intermission the cast
the key words to describe the
members will be washing their
THEATER
scripted remainder of Ambassador
hands.
Bridge Party, the ones which come
Too bad they didn't wash their
to mind are "turkey," "'Saturday Night Live' hands of most of the material and start
leftovers" and "yuck."
over.
The theme — tenuous as it may be — is
However, the parole board scene with
life in (southwest) Detroit and crossing the song nearly works, and the idea of psychics
border to Canada: hence the Bridge in the playing charades is damned fine.
title. And two of the numbers written
This, my third time out at Second City,
around the theme do have some punch and I'm beginning to complain about the regu-
satirical edge. In particular, a settled lar-as-clockwork Detroit-bashing songs and
African-American couple — well-played jokes. Usually dressed up as liberal winks
by Rico Bruce Wade and Angela Shelton at race relations and prejudice, they have
— come into vivid contact with yuppies in always seemed self-serving, appealing to
their gentrifying neighborhood.
latent prejudices of most-
But too many of the pieces end up lame. ly white audiences while pretending
In past shows, skits have come to a snap otherwise.
ending, like a fresh green bean broken in
The latest variation, a brief song, sung
with audience participation, contains these
Michael Margolin writes about the arts.
lines: "Ifyou lived in Detroit, you'd already

'love Jones'

Rated R
egged as a film that breaks away
from stereotypical African-American
cinema, love jones, despite a lack of
gratuitous violence, is a film with a
tired theme that falls into the trap it sets
out to avoid. Still, humorous dialogue and
a look at the lifestyle of intellectual ur-
ban blacks is new and appreciated.
Written and directed by newcomer
Theodore Witcher, love Jones is a ro-
mantic story about starting over again.
Darius and Nina's (Larenz Tate and Nia
Long) relationship is a rollercoaster of
desire, with a predictable on-again, off-
again attraction between the two pro-
tagonists.
Set against the backdrop of a poetry
bar called the Sanctuary, their relation-
ship begins when Darius recites a poem.
Drenched with sexual innuendoes about
Nina, whom he has just met, the poem
foreshadows the depth of their relation-
ship. They soon start dating, but the au-
dience is privy only to the intimate details
of their bedroom.
Conversation? No.
Discussions? No. They Lia Long ) and Larenz
claim they're just Tate k love Jones.
"kickin"' (a noncommittal relationship).
The rest of the story follows accord-
ingly. They break up, third parties cause
problems, they get back together, they
break up again, become successful in

p

80

Emily Sendler is an aspiring filmmaker.

their careers, and finally, they find each
other again.
It's unfortunate that love jones comes
with an unoriginal plot because Witch-
er's writing is fresh and very funny. Fu-
ture efforts by this new writer should
prove even more exciting if he allows his
characters room for development.
The dialogue between the main char-

The cast of Ambassador Bridge Party, Second City's newest revue.

be home, so raise up a glass that is filled.
The city's improvin' so think about movin,'
we promise you will not get killed."
If you like those lines, this show's for you.

V

— Michael Margolin

acters' friends is in tune with the film's
far more intriguing than the lead char-
rhythm, superb in its realistic content.
acters. It's a shame they aren't on screen
Yet Darius' best friend, Savon (Isaiah more.
Washington), is the only character in the
As for Witcher's directing talents, he's
film to exhibit any thought or feeling competent, but unoriginal. The pace is
dealing with more than prepubescent
slow at times, and cliches abound: Rain
rhetoric. His wife and son have left him
is used as a plot-turning device three
for unknown reasons; Savon
times, and there's even a mad chase
wisely advises Darius that love
through a train station. But the at-
MOVIES
is only what you make of it.
mospheric cinematography of
The remaining entourage
Ernest Holzman is engaging.
(Bernadette Clark, Bill Bellamy, Khalil
Witcher's characters are supposed to
Kain, Leonard Roberts) that regularly be intelligent, artistic individuals doing
goes to poetry readings at the Sanctuary some soul-searching about love. Witch-
comprises a fine group of young actors,
er allows us to see only funny little vi-
gnettes of these people. We
learn very little about who
they are and why they make
their choices.

— Emily Sendler

Bagel
Barometer

0

(
4.)

.®.Outstanding

C)C."- ) . .. . . _Very Good

Good

Fair

No Bagels

Awful