/- 7c dumped in a Mexican hellhole, we feel his pain. He's a jerk, but a vaguely humanized jerk. And when he gets a big pistol and demands answers, that leads to the morally fated reworking of the "primal scene," the suicidal leap of his dad that stunted Nick's life and made him a business creep (this is what pop movies call psychology). So, it's only a movie, just a game. But The Game starts off with a false premise (a rabid control freak like Nick would never consent to a game he doesn't believe he can soon master). It moves on to absurdities, with Nick doing dumb things to keep him on the game board of torment. This rich, connected guy can pull no strings, the police throw up their hands, and even dear Carroll Baker is useless except for making snacks. The film hits its marks, but it's like a belabored Hitchcock story designed by a computer virus. Almost everyone in it is a touch nasty, brittle with sour atti- tude. The plot steamrolls us, without the macabre fun of The Most Dangerous Game, the chic flair of The Tenth Victim, or the arch cleverness of Sleuth. Instead, The Game feels like a cor- porate expansion of Misery, with the tormented writer (James Caan) replaced by a business fanatic who incarnates the film's real values. I never thought I'd miss Kathy Bates in that torture party, but at least, unlike CSR, she has a human face. Rated R. ## Reviewed by David Elliott. * * * * * * * * . 4. . . No Stars earthy .Mixed .:Forget It Movie reviews are written by David Elliott, film. critic for The San Diego Union- " b sne and News Service . David Elliott is a former film critic far 'L 54 today and the Chicago 13aily News Nan Fink's delusional and self-aggrandized account of her life is a difficult read. s a convert to Judaism and a writer for the Jewish press, I readily volunteered to review an Fink's account of her own conversion and her experiences in the Jewish community in her autobiog- raphy Stranger In The Midst: A Memoir of Spiritual Discovery (BasicBooks 1997). I couldn't wait to see what interested her about Judaism, what drove her to jump into the mikvah's waters, if she liked and disliked the same things I did about my chosen religion. Boy, was I disappointed! Fink's journey depicts a life more like a car spinning out of control than of an individual in the driver's seat nav- igating a thoughtful spiritual path. She begins her life as a Protestant from a wealthy family who shuns the AN / - /-) Jill ' Davidson Sklar converted to Judaism after 12 years in Catholic school. 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All for our low weekend BounceBack' rate of just $75 per night. So remember us for your next simcha pER ROOM and get a great deal that will wiriyou congratulations all around. PIER NIGHT For reservations, call your professional travel agent, 1-800-HILTONS, or the Southfield Hilton Garden Inn at 810-357-1100. other staff` writers for Copley Book Review /- Mazel position money brings. Then, she mar- ries a Protestant minister and has three children. Then, she becomes an atheist, at about the same time she becomes a self-proclaimed "'60s radical." Then, she becomes and teacher and psy- chotherapist and falls in love with an Orthodox Jewish man, with whom she founds Tikkun magazine, using some of the wealth she shunned in the past. Then, Fink and her husband break up, and she leaves the magazine as well as the Orthodox lifestyle to becomes a secular Jew. Finally, she abandons het- erosexuality in favor of a homosexual relationship with a Buddhist. All the while, Fink expects to have all of her changes accepted readily by the Jewish community. Although she paints herself as an intellectual, she doesn't seem to grasp why the Orthodox community shuns her when she is engaged in an interdating situa- tion with a member of their communi- ty. Nor does she understand why the CONFUSED on page 117 SHANGRI-LA FEATURING Authentic HONG KONG Style Cooking Wonderful traditional favorites... superb variety of dining specialties Tim Sum lunch specials 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. • Live fish, lobster and crab in our tanks, cooked to order • 'Banquet 3acilities • 'Business Lunches HOURS: Monday thru Sunday 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. 6407 Orchard Lake Road • In The Orchard Mall (248) 626-8585 in Cantonese, Szechuan Aandarin joods • Excellent (Vhite Dish and Steaks W LCY Orchard Lake Rd. • 932-3133 Lunch 'Buffet • Tanquet Room L.Available y-Thursday (11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.) 9/19 1997 115