'Con Air'

'Man Of La Mancha'

an of La Mancha is about a certain cragginess — the baby-
illusion versus disillusion. doll good looks mellowing into
"What is the difference handsome middle age. His stolid
between poets and mad- acting style lends an air of digni-
men?' Don Quixote/Cervantes is ty to the role, and if it is not an
asked. "We select from life what Academy Award performance, it
pleases us," he says.
After 30 years,
Man, with its story
set in 16th-century
Spain and its heart
in the highlands,
still can move one to
a lump in the throat
if not tears on the
cheek.
It tells the story of
Miguel Cervantes,
in prison awaiting
interrogators of the
Inquisition. He, in
turn, tells of the
naive Don Quixote
who tilts at wind-
mills and imagines
the slutty Aldonza
as the Lady Dul-
cinea. Quixote's
faith is so strong
("To Dream the Im-
possible Dream")
that Aldonza ends
up believing she's
better than she is —
that she is Dulcinea.
Dale Wasserman Robert Goulet plays Don Quixote in Man of La Mancha.
wrote the script
based on a small bit
of Cervantes' novel Don Quixote. is an honorable mention. The
It is a deft, small-scale musical fo- Voice? Still warm whiskey, but
reined in, less drawl, more
cusing on the Don, his ser-
bite. Just right.
vant Sancho Panza and
The cast is good: Su-
Aldonza/Dulcinea. At least
san Hoffman as Aldon-
the usual triangle is differ-
ently constructed — no sex, za/Dulcinea; Darryl Ferrer as a
sweet not-quite-Jack-Gilford but
please, we're Spanish Catholic.
going
in that direction Sancho
For music, there is Mitch
Leigh's melodic score, including Panza. There is a strong sup-
"Dream" and "Dulcinea" and a porting cast as well, and a well-
dozen or so graceful tunes with wrought production, ably, if
unsubtly, staged by Albert Marre,
singable lyrics by Joe Darion.
There is something appealing after his own original.
about Goulet in the role. He has
ct
'
Michael Margolin writes about
— Michael Margolin
the arts.

Rated R

M

the daughter he has yet to meet.
After eight years, Poe's parole is
approved, and he is sent home
ne hundred million dollars aboard a state-of-the-art plane
could buy enough tar to fill sponsored by U.S. Marshall Vince
all the potholes in the state's Larkin (John Cusack) and de-
highways.
signed to transport the nasties of
In the case of Touchstone Pic- the federal prison system to a new-
tures' Con Air, $100 million buys ly opened prison catering specifi-
two hours of high velocity non- cally to the most sinister of public
sense.
enemies.
From its implausible
Once aboard, Poe
premise to its fraudulent
meets evil genius Cyrus
MOVIES
finish, Con Air begs its au-
"the Virus" Grissom (John
dience to ignore all notions
Malkovich), militant mur-
of logic and reason and to forget
every other action movie previ-
ously released.
Nicolas Cage plays Cameron
Poe, a decorated Army ranger,
who is inexplicably incarcerated
after defending his pregnant wife
from the assault of some drunken
brutes outside a local bar.
Early on, the film focuses on Poe
as he endures the rigors of prison
life with the singular motivation
of returning to his loving wife and

PHOTO BY SCOTT WI NDUS

0

Richard Halprin is an
attorney I film critic.

THE DETR OI T JEW IS H NEWS

=ID

BO

Corrections

In last week's issue, Gary Graff's "The Beat" column featured
Howard Kramer, as assistant curator at the Rock and Roll Hall
of Fame. Kramer's mother's name is Lily (not Lillian) Kramer,
and the family business is Marwil Bookstore (not Marble Book
Co.). Kramer's brother Brian currently operates the bookstore at
the Wayne State campus.

In last week's In Focus story, "Great Lakes! Great Music," the
photo of James Tocco is by Lara Anne Salter. The photo of Pe-
ter Oundjian is by Christian Steiner.

The Jewish News regrets the errors.

derer Diamond Dog Jones (Ving
Rames) and a slew of cartoonish-
ly insane convicts who have se-
cretly conspired to seize control of
the plane and navigate it to a for-
eign country that doesn't extradite
violently deranged criminals.
Ten minutes into the air, the
plot is hatched, and no one can foil
the plan but Poe, who maintains
his cover as a prisoner, not a
parolee. Even though it could like-
ly prevent him from ever being re-
united with his family, Poe is
determined to bring the bad guys
to justice and
finds an unlike-
ly ally in T Arkin
on the ground
below.
Brazenly
stealing plot
lines and de-
vices from such
films as The
Rock, Die Hard,
Speed and Un-
der Siege, Con
Air is not so
much an origi-
nal work as it is
a hollow com-
posite of other action
films, deliberately
crafted to obtain
blockbuster status.
The energy of the
highly likable cast is
wasted amidst an
endless barrage of
shootings, explosions
and illogical plot
twists. Contrived,
convoluted and all
too convenient, Con
Air is nothing but a
high-tech con job.

— Richard
Halprin

Top: John Cusack stars
as U.S. Marshal Vince
Larkin.

c75

1` Middle: Nicolas Cage lets his hair down
in Con Air.

c's Bottom: John Malkovich stars as Cyrus
"The Virus" Grissom.

O

Bagel Barometer
® Q.)
Outstanding

®QA -

Very Good

Good

'0
No Bagels

Fair

Awful

