The Michigan Daily-Saturday, September 15, 1979-Page 5 'BR EA AKING A WA Y': On going light and shifting gears* By OWEN GLEIBERMAN «When it comes to social status, mericans tend to be absolutists. We ear the words "class system," and Miink of czars putting the squeeze, on starving peasants, or stuffy noblemen dazing down their long, English noses at slobbering debtors. The truth is often a whole lot blurrier I or instance, take the myth of social r iobility. According to U.S. of A. I end, if your neighbor brings home a ligger piece of the pie. than you, it's ypur God-given right to equalize the kes; it's an anti-class ethic built I rght into our economic fabric, and w4en that ethic doesn't work, we can write off its failure to invincible outside forces: racism, sexisn| or imperious bisiness tycoons sitting atop their thrones. Somehow, you and I are never tdblame. ;BREAKING AWAY gently turns that notion on its ear. The film is a fresh, sonny comedy about four working-class youths in Bloomington, Indiana, but for ab American movie, it's as different as tley come. The class rivalries don't enmesh the characters' lives; nor are they treated with harmless satire, like the rival fraternities in Animal House. Instead, Dave (Dennis Christopher) and his three cohorts experience class rivalry as a dull, nagging ache. ,Their fathers were workers in the Bloomington limestone quarries, where they cut the stone for the Indiana University campus. But the snobbish college kids 'have only contempt for their townie rivals, who they call "cut-, tors," a label as indelible as a lower- class Englishman's cockney twang. The college, bursting with people smart or lucky or just plain rich enpugh to spend four years in academic summer camp, is a spectre of opportunity, a relentless reminder of that one, elusive piece of the American Dream some may never get hold of (and what, after all, is the American Dream if you know in your heart you can never have it, all?). By all rights, this should have been a dark, disturbing probe into the under- side of Middle America, but Breaking Away is all lazy summer afternoons and romantic whimsey. The movie whiaks by with such breathtaking ease t t a friend of mine branded it "pure fantasy." My friend was born with a huge Devil's Advocate streak, but he has a point. Zany generation gaps, sports events climaxing with Rocky- style histrionics and kids who feign ab- surd Italian accents are a barrel of fun, but what are they doing in a movie about the American class system? An- swer: Smoothing off the rough edges, pRlishing the package till it shines with alayer of unearned sweetness. Breaking Away breaks new ground without once getting its hands dirty. By the end, even the vilest villain - an ob- noxious frat rat - gets a warm,pat on the back. Yet there's passion, in- tglligence and, yes, integrity at its heart - if not a great deal of guts. (Unlike in The Seduction of Joe Tynan, where the whqle texture of the drama is thin and phoney - a sham.) Despite pulling a few punches, Breaking Away 'ig almost always splendidly fresh. That's apparent in the opening sequen- ce, as our four cutter friends amble through hilly terrain to their quarry- hole swimming pool. The four share a past as well as a present, and the swimming scenes have an almost ritualistic feeling of communal iden- tity. Later, when some ritzy Indiana U kids invade the premises, they're like another species - none of them under- stands what it's like to have grown up taking summer dips in cutter quarries. The time is the sumter following high school graduation, when all face the question of what the hell to do with their lives. In Breaking - Away, the problem is compounded by dire finan- cial straits and wavery ambition. Mike (Dennis Quaid), a star quarterback in high school, lives out a classic (and tragic) post-graduation quagmire, cannibalizing the memory of his glory days. Cyril (Daniel Stern), the group's eeyore-the-Mule, is a canny and engaging kid, but too insecure to admit he has a head on his shoulders. Moocher (Jackie Earu Haley), spunky and suf- fering from terminal short-person's complex, can't seem to find enough room in life for his gang and his girl, who he wants to marry. Only Dave has focused his energies - into cycling. His dedication to the sport goes beynd hours of daily practice. Driven to mad emulation of his heroes, an Italian cycling team, he Incomes an Italian, adopting Italian accent and gestures, renaming his cat Fellini, and generally behaving like some Neapolitan nut. All of this goes on to the dire dismay of his father (Paul Dooley) - or "Papa," as he's affectionately dubbed by Italian Dave - an irate, stuffy sort with no patience for his son's newly-found "Itie" ways. Dave's dad came up the hard way, graduating from his quarry job into the wonderful world of used-car salesmanship. He uses his bewilderment at his son's wacky metamorphosis as an excuse to avoid giving him the affection he can't ex- press. THERE ARE scenes in Breaking Away that should give any regular readers of this newspaper a jolt. When the cutters ride through the serene Bloomington campus, fixing their eyes on the students with an even mixture of envy and contempt, the scene rings so stingingly true that it hurts. Director Peter Yates (Bullitt, The Deep) isn't exactly known for his sensitivity, but portrays all the campus types without a trace of condescension; we're seeing ourselves, only the point-of-view is so strikingly uncollegiate that you're thrown off base. You start looking for cheap shots, and it's rather dismaying to realize there aren't any. Not all the college scenes, are equally eloquent. When the cutters enter a campus cafeteria, all the preppie heads SWivel coldly likecsomnething out of an E. F. Hutton commercial. The cutters don't dress or act differently than the college students, but the scene makes them seem ludicrously out-of-place; they might as well have ambled into the Russian Tea Bloom wearing clown suits. This willingness to trade dull reality for dramatic effect is the film's most persistent flaw. As Dave's father, Paul Dooley trots out the same set of loutish, Middle-American mannerisms he used in Robert Altman's A Wedding. Huffing and puffing like one of Archie Bunker's lodge brothers, he's amusing, and that's about all. And Breaking Away is obviously reaching for something beyond amusing: a father-son embrace right out of East of Eden is played deadly serious, and a scene with Dooley visiting his old quarry buddies is gen- tly, soothingly moving. The shallower scenes only illuminate the wonderfully naturalistic interplay of the four leads. These talented unknown actors project remarkably vivid and realistic personalities. Their sunny chit-chat is the heart of the movie, their small friendship an oasis of camaraderie amidst their lowly status in Bloomington. SINCE THE movie transmits this warm, communal feeling, it's discon- certing when it does an about-face and endorses the gung-ho, get-ahead ethic at the core of the American class system. The title is cycling terminology for the moment a team member makes his move to leave the other racers behind. It's a bid for victory, and a risky one. Above all, "breaking away" has in- dividualism written all over it. The movie's final setpiece is a bike race pit- ting the preppies against the oppressed - all in grand symbolic fashion. Cinematically, it's an exhilarating sports spectacle. Dave is clearly the top cyclist on the track, but cutters who want to cut the mustard must battle steeper odds, symbolized by Dave's second-rate bicycle, injured leg and rag-tag teammates. Like a good American, though, he leads his team to victory. And as he holds up that gleaming trophy, his former adver- saries cheering as loudly as his working-class chums, Breaking Away neatly sweeps every one of its conflicts under the rug. Even on the movie's own terms, these guys haven't beaten the rat race; they've just been co-opted. Sure enough, in the last scene, there's Dave, tromping around the serene U of I campus, his worries behind him, a college boy at last! Even a cutter can make the grade! (Never mind about Mike, Cyril and Moocher; Dar' won the race, and as Vince Lombardi was so fond of saying "Winning - isn't everything - it's the only thing.") Im probably being too hard on Breaking Away. It's still one of the most enjoyable, invigorating movies of this past summer, and I don't think director Yates consciously com- promised himself with his happily-ever- after finale. Unfortunately, I can't look at the movie's failures without stacking them up next to its immense promises. There was a great American movie buried in here somewhere. For what it's worth, Breaking Away is a damn good one. w* ,Ginme a D Gimme an A' Gimme an... L ...Y Give the MICHIGAN DAILY that old college try.. * CALL 764-0558 to order your subscription Francois Truffaut SMALLCHANGE 1977 A precocious 3-year-old pushes the family cat out the window; a teenager is infatuated with his friend's mother; a grounded policeman's daughter uses her father's bullhorn to get even-a few of the delightful stories told in this humorous but eloquent appeal for the rights of children by France's favorite director. Sun: A LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT CINEMA GUILD TONIGHT AT 7:00&9:05 OLD ARCH AUD. $1.50 Hey! Pssssssssst! Wanawrite for us*? After all the notes have been played, all the dancers have lifted their legs for the last step of the evening, and the whrrrr-cklcklcklcklcklckl of the film projector becomes a purring sssssscclihhh and g then a h..., what happens? When the biggies are done creating, to where do they turn for the aesthetic box scores? They look where you are looking-they check out the Daily Arts page. Now, it's not all Peaches and Herb with the Arts staff. We get nasty letters, people stop us '.in the hallways to call us louts and miscreants, and dogs frequently defecate on our lawns. But still, it's worth it. To join the Arts staff means to have the readership of the paper of record in Ann Arbor see your byline and read your words; you have the potential to earn a salary, and, of course, the respect of your editors. So if you're interested at all in writing reviews, features, or profiles, howsabout dropping by 420 Maynard, just behind the Barbour and Newberry dorms, for our first organizational meeting? We'll be waiting for you Monday night at 8:00 p.m. Please bring some representative sample of your reviewing or feature writing abilities. Oh, and tell all your friends. _A 1 4 , $-N CINEMA 11II PRESENTS HEAVEN CAN WAIT . 4 (WARREN BEA TTY, BUCK HENRY, 1978) The romantic fantasy of the 70's. WARREN BEATTY stars as Joe Pendleton, a Los Angeles Rams quarterback who is accidentally summoned to heaven by an overly zealous celestial escort, and is returned to earth in the body of another man-a titan in the world of Big Business. While trying to get in shape for the Super Bowl, he escapes attempts on his new life by an unfaithful 'ife and treacherous male secretary (DYAN CANNON and CHARLES GRODIN) and pursues Julie Christie. Only Warren could do it all. With JACK WARDEN, JAMES MASON. (101 m:) ANGELL HALL, 7:00&49:00 - $1.50 .. .. - r i ?.. L Tomorrow: BANDWAGON & IT'S ALWAYS FAIR WEATHER i -.rommoo.a - "Ilmop I I m UIAvenue Ii LIER I I-YI - Formey Filth Forum Theater7 ti FINAL DAYS! Laura Antonelli Marcello Mastroianni ' Sat &8Sun 2:10, 4:05, 6:10, 8:05, 10:00 Mon & Tues 6:10, 8:05, 10:00 AqluIts $1.50 til 2:30 (or capacity) The Ann Arbor Film Ceoperstive Presents at MLB $1.50 SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15 BANANAS (Woody Allen, 1971) 7 & 10:20-MLB 3 This time Woody is Fielding Melish, an inept tester of bizarre gadgets. After losing Louise Lasser, a strike-oriented New York radical with an irresistable overbite, Woody heads for South America, revolution, and a fake Fidel Castro beard only to earn the enmity of the C.I.A.-F.B.I. Can this schlep survive? "An indecently funny comedy"-Vincent Canby. With HOWARD "the man you love to hate" COSELL. WHAT'S UP TIGER LILY? (Senkichi Tanizuchi and Woody Allen, 1966) 8:40 only-MLB 3 A Japanese agent named Phil Moscowitz (!) searches for a stolen formula to the perfect egg salad sandwich. What happens from then on is anybody's guess, as Woody Allen gives the gold finger to the James Bond epic with this hilarious jumble (a real Japanese thriller which Allen rewrote and redubbed). Allen's most anarchic film, with some of his best one-liners. WOODY ALLEN, FRANK BUXTON, MIE HAMA, AKIKI WAKABEYSHI, TIGER LILY. Next Tuesday: IN THE REALM OF THE SENSES at Aud:A. Rated X. Membership applications are being accepted, forms available at all Ann Arbor film cooperative showings. ARE YOU LETTING CLASSES GET TO You? 00 RELAX Take a itl break ... you deserve it! e -_ .