'Hoodlum'

'Texas Chainsaw Massacre:
The Next Generation'

W

Laurence Fishburne and Andy Garcia in Hoodlum.

Rated R

A Smile Like Yours'

14

by two sequels, neither doing jus-
tice to the original.
Now comes the third, Texas

ien I was younger, there
were a handful of movies Chainsaw Massacre: The Next
that scared me to death, Generation.
The film was made
and I loved them for that. in 1994, and stars Renee Zell-
The Exorcist was one, as it weger
— pre-Jerry Maguire and
probably was for most
The Whole Wide World —
people. Another was
and Matthew Mc-
Evil Dead, a shoe-
MOVIES
Conaughey — pre-A Time
string-budget horror
To Kill and Contact. The
film that my friends and
movie was co-written and di-
I loved to watch repeatedly,
rected by Kim Henkle (along
creeping us out beyond words
with Tobe Hooper), one of the
every time.
original movie's screenwriters. A
The creepiest by far, though,
Texas native, Henkle conspired
was a dark, mysterious and
bizarre film called Texas Chain- to fill his film with Texas talent
saw Massacre; the title alone (Zellweger, McConaughey) and,
in the much-coveted role of
brought on dark, disturbing im-
ages. This 1974 movie about a
chainsaw-wielding backwoods
family of psychos has now be-
come a legend, a pillar of low-
budget ingenuity and creativity
in the horror-film genre: It helped
bring about the small handful of
horror classics of the 1970s and
early '80s.
Recent years, though, have
seen a glut of bad, formulaic hor-
ror films (with the possible ex-
ception of Scream), mostly
sequels of once-original ideas like
Halloween and Nightmare on
Elm Street. Even Texas Chain-
Jeffrey Hermann is associate

ed almost as an afterthought by
the end.
Chris Brancato's script moves
intage cars, men in fedora along at a crisp pace, with enough
hats and a guy named
intrigue and action to make the
Bumpy. Hollywood loves film's nearly 2 112-hour running
nothing more than a gang-
time feel fleeting. His vivid sec-
ster flick.
ondary characters add depth, res-
And for good reason. When
onance and credibility to the story,
done well, gangster movies make
good entertainment; Hoodlum is as does his subtle message about
the nature of violence and the fury
good entertainment.
with which it travels once it is un-
The film follows an episode in leashed.
the life of real-life gangster Bumpy
With its snappy script and
Johnson (Laurence Fish-
Bill Duke's confident di-
burne) as he battles fellow
rection, Hoodlum is an
MOVIES
tough Dutch Schultz (Tim
entertaining look back at
Roth) for the lucrative
the days when gangsters
Harlem numbers game, which
reigned not just in the big cities
kept hundreds of people employed
but on silver screens across the
during the Depression.
country.
Bumpy gets into the tangle
editor at Visible Ink Press,
while guarding the bank of the
publisher of VideoHound's
Queen (Cicely Tyson), the reign-
Liz Lent Golden Movie Retriever.
ing monarch of the numbers, who
kept things peaceful for 10 years.
When she's jailed, Bumpy is put
in charge of her operation and vi-
olence breaks out as he tries to
maintain dominance against
Schultz.
Trying to keep the whole affair
Rated PG-13
in check is Lucky Luciano (Andy
a child. Jennifer desperately
Garcia), king of the downtown
wants one and has been trying
mobsters, who just wants to keep
for months to get pregnant. Dan-
omantic comedies, dramas, ny is all in favor of having chil-
his neighborhoods intact.
gangster films and musicals:
The film is at its best when its
dren, but doesn't want it to take
cr)
There are dozens of differ- over their lives. When it's dis-
three gangsters are wheeling and
ent movie genres. So there covered that he has a fertility
Li., dealing, clawing for control. Both
z
should be a special category for
Fishburne
and
Garcia
wield
a
ma-
problem, it does just that,
m
disposable movies. The
cn licious calm that plays well
putting their marriage to
kind
that
take
up
two
against Roth's ridiculous crass-
MOVIES
the test.
u.,
hours pleasantly enough,
ness and overt cruelty. Chi
The main problem
but
are
instantly
forget-
1– McBride and Loretta Devine also
with A Smile Like Yours is
table upon exiting the theater.
D
cc shine as Bumpy's loyal cousin,
A Smile Like Yours is a dis- that it possesses an overwhelm-
1– Illinois Gordon, and his would-be
ing blandness which prevents
1..,
posable movie. The film tells the the audience from making any
cm girlfriend, Pigfoot Mary.
story of Danny and Jennifer
u..,
The film's only real stumbling
sort of emotional connection with
Robinson, a happy suburban cou-
m point is the romance between
1–
the characters. Part of this re-
ple who have everything except
Bumpy Johnson and the angelic
sults from the utter lack of
Francine Hughes (Vanessa
charisma exuded by either Greg
Liz Lent is a local freelance
Williams). After being set up well
Kinnear or Lauren Holly. Kinn-
writer.
in the movie's first half, it's treat-
ear is an everyman in the worst

R

saw Massacre has been followed

Leatherface, Texas playwright
and radio personality Robert
Jacks.
This is a terrible movie, and
the reasons are too many to
count. Mostly, the film is con-
fusing, with at least five plot
twists which are never followed
through. And the acting is bad.
The film was released for fans
of Zellweger and McConaughey,
as well as Chainsaw admirers,
and is worth a look for those
groups only. Others will proba-
bly be angry at having spent the
time and money on another un-
inventive horror movie.

1/2 ®'

— Jeffrey Hermann

Renee Zellweger in Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation.

sense of the word, with nothing Lucy" segment has far more
to distinguish him from a dozen emotional impact than the main
other leading men — he's just scene itself. What's more, it's just
plain dull.
plain lazy, using someone else's
Holly fares a little better, es- work to express sentiment.
pecially playing straight woman
A Smile Like Yours is just an-
to her bizarre business partner other one of those movies that's
Nancy, played with charm by not bad, but not good, either. It
Joan Cusack.
just takes up time, playing like
Co-screenwriter and director a watered-down TV movie of the
Keith Samples must share the week.
blame with a script that substi-
tutes music-laden montages and
other tricks for emotional turn-
— Liz Lent
ing points. At one
point, Danny finds Jen-
nifer watching an
episode of "I Love Lucy"
where Lucy tells Ricky
she's pregnant. This
scene is supposed to
show us Danny's ac-
ceptance of having chil-
dren and convince the
audience of how much
he loves his wife. In
truth, the "I Love Lauren Holly a nd Greg Kinnear in A Smile Like Yours.

10TO BY

Rated R