STN Entertainment
'Pippi Longstocking'
Rated R
PHOTO BY SAM E MERSON
ith undeniable looks, tal-
ent and energy, Cop
Land has all the ele-
ments of a great film.
But, like an underachieving
high school student, Cop Land
has so much going on, that it
has difficulty maintaining prop-
er focus and harnessing its po-
tential. As a result, this film
about a town of corrupt cops and
the inept sheriff who oversees
them, finishes with some high
marks but no honors.
The film certainly isn't lack-
ing in plot lines. If anything,
Cop Land suffers from too much
plot. In fact, any one of the sub-
plots could have made for an in-
teresting film.
For instance, the entire movie
could have focused on slow-wit-
ted but soulful Sheriff Freddy
Heflin (Sylvester Stallone), the
figurehead law enforcer of fic-
tional Garrison, N.J., a city fi-
nanced by the mob as a haven
for New York City cops on the
take. Years earlier, Freddy's
childhood aspirations of joining
the police were dashed by a dar-
ing underwater rescue that left
ed by his police buddies, he
seems to leap off a bridge to his
death, a maneuver orchestrat-
ed by fellow cop "Uncle Ray"
(Harvey Keitel).
Uncle Ray, it turns out, is the
one connected to the mob and
orchestrates everything in Gar-
rison, from who gets bank loans
to who gets to be sheriff. Ray's
sphere of influence extends from
the artificial town — where he
reminds Freddy that he isn't a
real cop — to New York City,
where he gets real cop Moe
Tilden's (Robert De Niro) Inter-
nal Affairs investigation
quashed.
After introducing other fuzzy
subplots involving grudges, ar-
son and unrealized romances,
the film culminates in a show-
down, where Freddy finally de-
cides that if he can't join 'em,
he'll beat 'em. The stellar cast,
which also includes Ray Liotta,
Anabella Sciorra, "Chicago
Hope's" Peter Berg, Cathy Mo-
riarty and Janeane Garofalo,
performs reliably, and Stallone
distinguishes himself as the
sheriff with a jelly belly, gran-
ite brain and heart of gold.
Writer/director James Mangold
Robed De Niro, Sylvester Stallone and Harvey Keitel on the set of Cop Land,
written and directed by James Mangold.
him partially deaf and ineligi-
ble for the force. His job as sher-
iff is to let the boys be boys and
ticket only the tourists.
Freddy's story intersects with
that of "Superboy" (Michael
Rappaport), a rookie cop who,
while driving home to Garrison
drunk, fatally shoots two black
men he mistakenly believes
have pointed a rifle at him. In
the commotion surrounding the
on-scene investigation conduct-
Richard Halprin is an
attorney I film critic.
(Heavy) shows great ambition
but has difficulty juggling the
various plots, characters and
motivations. Lacking a harmo-
nious balance of its elements,
the film fails to sustain the dra-
matic or moral force required to
elevate into the realm of great-
ness, leaving visitors to Cop
Land with only a few memories
but no genuine souvenirs.
V V'
— Richard Halprin
Rated G
Pippi and her father's treasure
chest of gold and decides that a
ometimes perkiness can hurt. young girl with that much mon-
Pippi Longstocking, the new ey would be much safer in a chil-
animated musical version of dren's home.
Astrid Lindgren's Swedish
Meanwhile, two bumbling
classic children's tale, is a case in criminals have heard about Pip-
point.
pi's vast wealth and decide to try
The movie begins with Pippi and take some of it off her hands.
(the voice of Melissa Altro) on
This film tries so hard to -be lov-
board a ship, of which her
able and charming that it
father is captain. When
overcompensates, turn-
MOVIES
he falls overboard during
ing winsomeness into
a storm, he promises his
tiredness.
daughter that he will make it
Purportedly, the character of
home safely and tells her to wait Pippi is just a harmless, kick-up-
for him there. Pippi returns home your-heels kind of girl meant to
where she cooks and cleans for make parents and children smile
herself, plays with her pet mon- and say, "Gosh, that Pippi, what
key Mr. Nilsson, and makes a rascal!"
friends with the neighbor chil-
In the books, the author pulled
dren.
this off, but in the movie, she be-
Things go great until the nosy comes the kind of child every par-
Mrs. Prysselius (the voice of ent hopes their own kids can
Catherine O'Hara) takes notice of avoid. Pippi can't read and write?
S
Hey, that's OK! Pippi is selfish
and doesn't understand that the
feelings of others are important?
She eats entire cakes, ruins par-
ties and never once apologizes?
Hey, why not? The kid's perky!
Concepts such as good manners
and responsibility go unrecog-
nized in this film.
Toward the end, Pippi Long-
stocking seems to forget it's a mu-
sical. This is not necessarily a
complaint, considering most of the
songs are disappointingly similar
and sung with a headache-in-
ducing gusto that makes listen-
ers appreciate just how hard good
song writing must be.
To its credit, Pippi Longstock-
ing tries to be a good family film.
It's unfortunate that it doesn't suc-
ceed.
1/2 (.4.) '
— Liz Lent
'Box Of Moonlight'
Rated R
n Box of Moonlight, John Tur-
turro (Do the Right Thing, Bar-
ton Fink, Quiz Show) plays Al
Fountain, a by-the-book elec-
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trical systems engineer. While on
an out-of-town job with his crew,
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Al begins to suspect that some-
thing in his life — he can't quite
put his finger on what — isn't
right.
Al is the kind of man who is
loyal to his work, loyal to his wife,
but can't seem to help being emo-
tionally distant from it all — es-
pecially his son, who aches for
more from his father than en-
couragement with his times ta-
bles.
When his far from adoring co- John Turturro and Sam Rockwell in Tom DiCillo's Box of Moonlight.
workers are sent home early from
Al and the wild-but-kind Kid end ity bring it to a higher level, mak-
the assignment, Al Fountain uses
up stuck together for the Fourth ing it the most enjoyable part of
the opportunity to play hooky
of July holiday.
the film.
from his life. Setting off on a dri-
While Al doesn't clue in to why
Box of Moonlight is director
ve through the countryside, Al's
this is all happening to him un- Tom DiCillo's third film (the oth-
not exactly lost, but he's not
til the end of the film, his er two being Living in Oblivion
sure of where he is head-
destination will proba- and Johnny Suede); this is the
ed either.
MOVIES
bly be obvious to the au- film he's been trying to get made
By chance, Al meets up
dience much earlier. for the last six years. Unfortu-
with the Kid: a strange, un-
Most of the characters in Box of nately, the script doesn't show
predictable (but well-meaning)
Moonlight are really just carica- the same kind of dedication,
young man with car trouble, half
tures, and none more so than Al which is disappointing.
a trailer home, and a penchant
himself,
with the others appear-
In Moonlight's place, I recom-
for stealing other peoples' cement
ing only to help him to his reve- mend renting Living in Oblivion,
lawn ornaments. Through a se-
lation.
for which DiCillo won the Sun-
ries of mix ups, the nice-but-stuffy
The one exception to this is the dance Film Festival award for
Kid, played by Sam Rockwell. Best Screenplay in 1995.
Jeffrey Hermann is associate
While the part doesn't have much
editor at Visible Ink Press,
®
more going for it than the others,
publisher of VideoHound's
Rockwell's energy and personal-
— Jeffrey Hermann
Golden Movie Retriever.
■•••■•■1,
PH OTO BY BILL BETTENCOU RT
'Cop Land'