Wednesday, March 21, 1973 THE MICHIGAN DAILY Fage lliree Wednesday, March 21, 1973 THE MICHIGAN DAILY Page Three Row, tonight 6:00 2 4 7 News 9 Courtsip of Eddie's Father 50 Fintstones 56 Operation Second Chance 6:30 2 CBS News 4 NBC News 7 ABC News 9 I Dream of Jeannie 50 Gilligan's Island 56 Making Things Grow 7:00 2 Truth or Consequences 4 News 7 To Tell the Truth 9 Beverly Hillbillies 501 Love Lucy 56 Zoom 7:30 2 What's My Line? 4 Festival of Family Classics 7 Wild Kingdom 9 Irish Rovers 50 Hogan's Heroes 56 Consumer Game 8:00 2 Billy Graham Crusade 4 Adam-12 7 Paul Lynde 9 Hooray for'Hollywood 50 Dragnet 56 America '73 8:30 4 Banacek 7 Movie "Toma" 50 Golddiggers 9:00 2 Medical Center 9 News 50 NHL Hockey 56 Festival Films 9:30 9 Images of Canada 56 Naturalists 10:00 2 Cannon 4 Search 7 Owen Marshall 10:30 9 This Land 11:00 2 4 7 News 9 CBC News CUf'uURE CALENDiAR FILM-Ann Arbor Film Co-op presents Bogdanovich's Tar- gets at 7 and 9 tonight in Aud. A Angell; Cinema Guild offers Corman's St. Valentine's Day Massacre at 7 and 9:05 tonight in Arch. Aud. MUSIC SCHOOL-U Symphony Orchestra with Josef Blatt, conductor, at 8 tonight in Hill. MUSIC-Musical Society brings Angelicum Orchestra of Mi- lan at 8 tonight in Power. ART-Union Gallery shows original lithograph, intaglio, serigraph, and woodcut prints, from 1 to 7. 11:20 9 News 11:30 2 Movie "The Black Scorpion" (1957) 4 Johnny Carson 7 Dick Cavett 50 Movie "Dark Hazard" (1934) 11:40 9 Curling Report 12:00 9 Movie "The Young Warriors" (1966) 1:00 4 7 News 1:15 2 Movie "The Vanishing American." (1955) 2:45 2 TV High School 3:15 2 News wwcbn 89.5 fm 9:00 Morning After Show 12:00 Progressive Rock 4:00 Folk 7:00 Talk Back 8:00 Rhythm and Blues 11:00 Progressive Rock 3:00 Sign Off cable tv channel 3 3:30 Pixannle 4:00 Today's Woman 4:30 Something Else (Rock) 5:00 Stratosphere Playhouse 5:30 Local news and events 6:00 Consumer Forum 6:30 NCAA Sports 7:00-8:00 Community Dialogue A cynical By RAOUL FOOT Whether or not The Heart- break Kid was consciously con- ceived as a commentary on The Graduate and on the audience who first welcomed that film so warmly five years ago is a ques- tion we may never have ans- wered for us. Yet consciously or not, what Elaine May, Neil Si- mon, Bruce Jay Friedman et. al. have done here it to attempt a very ugly, cynical, totally pes- simistic reworking of that oc- casionally ugly, occasionally cynical but desperately hopeful 1967 American film classic. This crew of villains has tried to do nothing less than to eliminate all sense of the possibility of human decency. And they've replaced it with a vision of hu- man smallness and materialism. The two films' basic plot out- lines seem almost identical. Young man finds himself trap- ped in horrible bourgeois situa- tion (in Heartbreak Kid, mar- riage to an intolerable Jewish boor of a wife), falls desperately for a beautiful dream girl (here Kelly, played by Cybil Shep- herd), defies social convention (by divorcing his wife and chas- ing Kelly), and against all odds, wins her. Yet while Mike Nichol's film left one with a feeling of crazy elation, his ex-partner's work is designed to leave one feeling quite hollow. How can a movie protagonist's final victory leave one feeling hollow? By having that protagonist, his lucious girlfriend and his not so lucious wife all be as hopelessly mater- ialistic as the society and con- ventions against which they re- bel. Cynical, cynical, cynical. And dramatically foolish. The very conception, of the film is tremendously flawed. Since ev- eryone in the movie is intended to be totally corrupt it's virtual- ly impossible to become the least bit involved. To humanize Heartbreak Kid's people might mean allowing some value to seep into these characters. And as the movie's makers seem to place toughness above all other virtues, the possibility of a third dimension being added to these people is sacrificed for the sake of cynicism. A truly lousy idea for a movie. And one that is matched by truly lousy execution. Heart- break Kid is as disastruous an example of miscasting as one can find in recent cinema. Charles Grodin, as the super striving protagonist for whom love seems to be nothing more than a good pair'of tits and a hot time in the sack, probably comes off best. Jeannie Berlin's gross Jewish bride is ridiculously unappeal- ing:uwhygwould as looks-con- scious a guy as Lenny (Charles Grodin) be at all interested in her, never mind marry the girl? Cybil Shepherd presents an op- posite problem: she too is a very superficial, purely physical person. Certainly, she's beau- tiful enough for Lenny to be in- terested. But why should she reciprocate? Cybil Shepherd would have no problem finding ci: nematic better pieces of meat than Len- ny. Elaine May's obvious direction doesn't help the casting prob- lems. She treats us to glittery shots of Cybil diving into the surf. And she renders daughter Jeannie as contrastingly unap- pealing as possible. See her chomp on a candy bar directly after screwing. Watch her stuff a double egg salad sandwich into her mouth, sharing it with the table and the floor in the pro- cess. Enjoy seeing her get a lob- ster red sunburn. Then watch her spread greasy creme all over her body. Etc., etc., etc. Other directorial sloppiness: hatchet job editing (for example, a back shot of someone who is supposed to be talking - but whose mouth is shut tight), heavy - handed reaction shots and close-ups, and a very dull Jewish weddinq eouence. Altogether quite a rotten mov- ie. But it's damn cynical, and cynicism is presently in some demand. Here's hoping people won't be sucked in by The Heart- break Kid simply because it's pessimistic. Superficial pessi- mism can be . (and often, is) as blind and limiting a world view as Panglossian optimism. ARTS JOIN WEDNESDAY Jason Robards George Segal Ralph Meeker as as as Al Capone Peter Gusenberg Bugs Moran St. Valentine's Day Massacre Fine documentation of an immortal gangland shootout, by Roger Borman "Chicago, its my kind of town" Frank Sinatra 7 and 9 ARCHITECTURE AUD. $1.00 written by NEIL SIMON directed by ELAINE MAY "ONE OF THE YEAR'S BEST" -N.Y. TIMES -NEWSWEEK -TIME -NEW YORKER 2 ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATIONS Jeannie Berlin, best supporting Actress. Eddie Albert, best supporting Actor. NEXT STREISAND IN "UP THE SANDBOX" Y a I (( Local Poets The Michigan Daily Arts Page is now accepting poetry for publication. Submit work to Arts Editor c/o The Daily. - ..*- .s 9 LU A scene from the Broadway hit musical "Applause" which will be presented by .the Professional Theater Program this weekend. i I ! Reid's more matureRiver': eroded rock and slower roll Amp Give-Away Sale Used and New List $495.00 or best offer Best Offer Best Offer FENDER PLUSH GBX SOUND CITY 50-400 Watts RMS 1 50 Watts RMS 120 Watts RMS and up 120 Watts RMS and up By MIKE HARPER A few years back, Terry Reid was j'ist another punk kid, a pouting-faced innocent - b u t with one difference. With two re- cord albums to his credit, Reid had already established himself as an "innocent" intent on and very capable of making g o o d rock 'n' roll., His first, Bang, Bang, You're Terry Reid, brought the artist into the limelight with its inter- esting arrangements and its un- easy sense of unevenness. Though a good deal of the first record contained "cover" ver- sions of already-established songs, the second, called more simply Terry Reid, included sev- en excellent original tunes along with "new" re-makes of Dono- van's "Super Lungs (Supergirl)" and Dylan's classic "Highway 61 Revisited." Reid's tough vocals were matched by equally crun- chy rock 'n' roll, with the overall effect being one of infectious, imaginatively-powerful sound that sent our artist to the forefront of English rockdom Musically inactive since that time, Reid now returns with his third American release, an al- bum called River (Atlantic SD 7259) that shows the listener the effects of aging on a rock 'n' roll star. No longer a naive or greatly intent creator, Reid's "ripening" results in an album of good, seemingly-improvised music that rarely over or under- plays its simple nature. Side one starts off with "Dean," a chunky cut that seems more like an offhanded attempt than it is "set" in its tuneful ways. Reid's vocals are strained and slightly flat, the cymbals clash madly about, as David Lindley's slide guitar slips soothingly in and out. "Dean" fades into a light blues called "Avenue," a number that feels louder b u t nonetheless is "sleepy"-sounding. The voice is uttered coolly, maintaining its edge above the slide guitar, which in turn sweet- ly overrides the basic bass and percussion. BEST OFFER TAKES ANN ARBOR MUSIC MART A country-ish intro begins "Things to Try," which features Reid's more even vocals and good accoustical guitar work. Lindley's steel guitar echoes quietly, while Conrad Isidore's busy percussive backing adds to make "Things" a nice, e a s y - going tune. Finally, another ac- coustical guitar intro and the last song on the first side, a lyrically trite but musically-jumping rock- er called "Live Life." "Live" fea- tures uneasy drumming and Reid's loud and raucaus vocals that prove quite persuading as the final outcome in indeed "live- ly," Side two opens with the tittle cut, a jazzy but unsuccessful piece that fails due to weak vo- cals and guitar. Reid somehow sounds comatose, as his words are mumbled rather than sung, the final effect being muddled and stale. Willie Bobo's common- place percussion work is set- tling, the bass fills holes, but something is still "missing." Next up is perhaps the b e s t song on the album, a soft and sentimental work c a 11 e d "Dream." "Dream" is an off- handedly pretty song, as Reid's voice soars clearly, his words wavering above his guitar and Lee Miles' simple but adequate bass playing. With history told, Reid ends the song off an odd, off-key blues note that makes one wonder if the artist' couldn't decide between romance and the blues . . . and therefore chose both. The album, though, ends on a more decided note with a dis- quieting fragile song called "Milestones." "Milestones" is simple, as Reid's voice teams with his own cross-weaving chor- al patterns to blend a nice, thoughtfully painful sense of "well-being." In other words, a singer "slave" to his own "song." . . . Inside the double cover of the new album is a picture of Reid seated by the banks of an unnamed river. The innocent, in- tentful look is gone, as is the half-hearter pout that made him- every young girl or boy's desire . . . The "new" Reid is older, his hair longer and ragged, his face now lined and bearded. The necklaces and stage gear have been replaced by blue denim, and. the music has indeed chang- ed too - once vibrant and ample, it is now softer, and somewhat more self-conscious. Trailing a distant second to his thoroughly engaging second al- bum, Terry Reid's latest, River is disappointing rock 'n' rollwise, but it remains a 'reasonably con- sistent and enjoyable offering nonetheless. . . . And in these days of porous plastic pap, "en- joyable" will do just fine. MONDAY-SATURDAY 9:30-9:00 336 S. State 769-4980 I _____________________ CA AL 0 El Joseph E. 0 0 U C U 1- C C) a U Levine presents a Mike Nichols Film starfrfg Jach NchcsCn -Candce Bergen ? c "'Carnal Knowledge' is brilliant. A feast of a film!" Judith Crist, N.Y. Magazine "'Canal Knowledge' is one of the best movies ever!" -Liz Smith, Cosmopolitan n) I U I Mike Nichols, Jack Nicholson, Candice Bergen,Arthur Garfunkel, Ann-Margret and Jules Feiffer. Carnal Knowledge. o 0 C 0 z +w w'ri I I .' I i __ - ,: