ts &ent THE MICHIGAN DAILYI S n Cr an Friday, January 30, 1976 Page Five Arts~. LII~III.IJI1IIIII1THE ICHGAN AIL OFFICE OF STUDENT LIFE Presents Cifemc week Pick of the Week: his best performance since again proves he really isn't that Goodbye, Columbus. funny). The Sunshine Boys But the picture, directed with But what he does from there The Movies, Briarwood little flair by Herbert Ross, be- is chaos. The plot, admittedly longs to Matthau. Matthau's feeble, never surfaces to the There's nothing very deep in wily characterization unques- point of even providing a frame- Neil Simon's plays. Simon em- tionably ranks as one of the work for an excuse. There are ploys the simplest forms of con- great acting jobs of 1975-second a couple amusing bits, most flict, and clearly defines each only to Jack Nicholson's work notably an elegant luncheon of plot twist and emotional burst. in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's cheese and crackers in a seemy There are few hidden implica- Nest. basement, but the majority of end Young Frankenstein. This may well prove to be Brooks' best film, as the direc- tor pours gags on the audience while consistently keeping to his premise. Mary Shelley's monsterous characters, dipped in Mel Brooks' own sauce, produce unique results. The film begins with a scattered paranoiac W hat's playing this Cinema Weekend Friday-Phantom of Liberty, Aud. A, 7, 9; It's A Won- derful Life, Arch. Aud., 7:00, 9:05; Young Frankenstein, Nat. Sci. Aud., 7:30, 9:30; Freaks, MLB 4, 7, 10; Even Dwarfs Started Small, MLB 4, 8:15. I Saturday-Greetings, Aud. A, 7, 9; Marnie, 7, 9:05;Young Frankenstein, Nat. Sci. Aud., The Devil in Miss Jones, MLB 3 & 4, 7, 8:30, 10. Arch. 7:30, Aud., 9:30; tions or ambigious passages of -David Blomquist the elaborate visual puns are F brainsurgeon, played with zeal dialogue in one of his scripts. * * weak, with Wilder himself com- by Gene Wilder, who attempts But what makes Simon's work igoftewre so special-what differentiates Sherlock Holmes' ing off the worse. to escape the implications of Plaza Suite, The Odd Couple, or With his usual embarrassed the fact that his grandfather SSi sue fo aSmarter Brother charm gone, his timing on every was the famed Victor Franken- any othe monsuccess from State scene becomes such a gross mis- stein. The young Frankenstein a run-of-the-mill situation corn-ca edy-is his remarkable agility The mere thought of Gene calculation, it's embarrassing. is condemned to follow in bis to capture a character with Wilder writing, directing and: Perhaps something can be said grandfather's footsteps, travel- amazing precision and detail, acting in a film over which he for a film that extracts its ing to Translyvania and finding Simon's home base is Broad- has virtually total control ap- novelty from a spontaneous Victor's notes entitled "How I way, of course, and some of his peared an idea too good to be song and dance number (a la Did It." drama has not fared well-in- true. And the result, The Adven- The RulingClass)vthat ultimate- F deed has seemed rather stilted tures of Sherlock Holmes' Smar- IV proves the movies highlight. siFrankenstein's hunchback as- deedtnt hasr seemed rahe stiledy -when transferred to film. But ter Brother, is a disappoint- (Wilder must have thought so Feldman, has a hump that's not this MGM-Ray Stark version of ment. too. He uses it twice-the second F ta hasy and he as Sunshine Boys sparkles, even if Wilder is a consummate actor time to close the film!) But Frankenstein iary, ang ais Franknsten increating ahis it is a bit long. who handles the art of comedy whatesber that something is, it Simon here projects a sad in a manner unlike any other remains a muddled mystery tos monster, played by Peter Boyle. Dressing the monster in top hat dilemma of old age with unusual screen personality, but the me.--James Valk and tails, he takes him to a warmth. A once-great vaude- truth of the matter is that he - * * medical convention for a ren- { ville star, portrayed exquisitely has simply spread himself too dition of 'Puttin' On the Ritz. by Walter Matthau, refuses to thin. Young Frankenstein admit an inevitable loss of phy- Starting with the lucrative Nat. Sci. Aud. The monster becomes an ob- sical endurance that has inexor- premise of a stylish detective 7:30, 9:30 ject of interest to Frankenstein's ably slowed down the pace of genre films, Wilder assembled stuffy fiance, Madeline Kahn, his career. the former Mel Brooks troupe While Mel Brooks suffered for some mysterious reason . George Burns nicely plays of Madeleine Kahn (who is suc- bouts with the critics over his And so the film goes on end-I Matthau's former vaudeville cessively losing her charm with low-brow, a-joke-at-any-cost at- ing with the audience literally partner, a role originally intend- e v e r y performance), Marty titde in Blazing Saddles, his laughed out. Brooks' humor is ed for the late Jack Benny. Feldman (who proves that those refined taste and seemingly anything but tactful, yet still Richard Benjamin, playing Mat- eyes alone really aren't that matured wit have given him a manages a genuine charm. thau's nephew-agent, turns in funny) and Dom DeLuise (who'first-class comedic effort with -Veronica Smith Sunday-Experimental Film Festival, Aud. A, 8; The Damned, Arch. Aud., 7, 9:05. All weekend-Take the Money and Run, Matrix (994- 0627; One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Sunshine Boys, The Hindenburg, The Movies, Briarwood (769-8780); Dog Day Afternoon, Fox Village (769-1300); Romeo and Juliet, Michigan (665-6290); The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother, State (662-6264); Le Secret, Campus (668-6416). Peter Gary Frampton Wright TON IGHT-8 P.M. EMU-BOWEN FIELD HOUSE Tickets available at the door Available at Huckleberry's Party Store, Ann Arbor Music Mart, All Hudsons, Wards, Mc- Kinney Union B 0 I - - ---- TRY DAILY CLASSIFIEDS "1i. PIRGIM thanks those who have supported its public interest work. For those who wish not to fund, PIRGIM announces a PIRGIM FEE REFUND 1. Your tuition bill shows the $1.50 PIRGIM fee. 2. To eliminate the fee a. simply fill out the enclosed card (or any piece of paper) .. b. with your nome, i.d. number, signature, c. and send or take the card ... d. to the Student Accounts Office (2nd floor SAB) or the Cashier (lobby, L.S. & A. bld.), e. ANY time this term. (We hope, of course, you will want to support our activities as set out elsewhere in this paper.) I 6.. , bryHELD OVER! Second Big Week AIN Shows Tonight at 7:00 & 9:15 Open at 6:45 Paramount Pictures presents the return of the greatest love story of all time. PARAMOUNT PIcTURES pre.nt. A SHE FIIA FRANCO ZEFFIRELU Produco ...f ROMEO Oft (&JULIETAW i I I I o r - I 'Loot' blends style with MONDAYS-12 Rackham-East+ noon Conf. age By JEFF SELBST T OOT is not a bad play. It shows its age, with such dated satirical targets as the Catholic Church, the police, bureaucracy, and, unusually, the medical profession. But it is funny and conscientiously jogs the audience into a laugh fairly often. Performed in well- intentioned manner at the Arena, under the auspices of the University Showcase Pro- ductions, it made for a most- ly enjoyable evening. The trouble is with the play itself. It seems strange to watch and find it creaky - it first. saw the light of day in 1967 - but one is aware of two things. First, the play is of the genre of cynical black comedies that includes The Real Inspec- tor Hound and Black Comedy, but neither aided in the crea- tion of nor enlarged the genre; secondly, it could only haveI been written then. Instantly it evokes the mod world of Georgy Girl and Carn- aby Street with its bright and (hopefully) shocking British- isms. Homosexuality is no long- er considered a taboo subject, but the audience tittered pre- dictably at many homosexual references. PAUL D. PALMORE, anr alumnus of the Boccaccio Festi- val's Mandragola last fall, play-E ed Inspector Truscott. One can1 just imagine director Kathleen1 Conlin telling him repeatedly what pigs policemen are. Pal-, more obligingly bellowed every line as if competing with cult I star Divine for volume. Pruett and Martin were some- what better. Not so obvious, not saddled with such underwritten roles, they gave the impression of sly, engaging young crooks. They weren't as depraved as Orton would have liked. Thisi is an asset, because their moral turpitude would be ridiculous if played up. Martin's conceal- ing smile and his neurasthenic 'portrayal of the undertaker cum bank robber was perfect. Denise Cole tried her best. The Agatha Christie-type role of the private nurse who mur- IIr%^%MaTrAI ders her charges for Loot, is audience had to be hit over the, a caricature, and she played it head. Where is imagination, in like that. She was a good car- Conlin's scheme of things? toon, a sort of lovable witch, The set was functional. The though her character, written' Arena Theater is not hospitable' with all the depth of a postage, to large sets or anything more stamp, was not engaging. As the than mere suggestion, and so play tended to be more and the little furniture that appear- more fantastic, interest in the ed on stage was adequate. TheI proceedings waned. Her char- focal point was, after all, Mc- acter was largely responsible Leavy's brilliant orange coffin.' for this. DNA Recombinant Research: Key Issues FEB. 2: Susan Wright, Don Michael "Community involvement in decisions" WPOPi .. ... 4} ." ,E _.__... GI#If G PddWOUMI flf1URf , . } iI I FEB. 9: Research panelists and STARTS TONIGHT Shows at 7:10 & 9:10 Open at 7:00 See it from the beginning! Magazine. "S T U N- News. "SUPERIOR,' FILM NIGHTMARE," continued discussion EATMAN WAS SHOCKED. He spent two and a half hours be- ing shocked. His face went from mild disapproval to a Milton:I Berle-type mugging of disbelief. The direction, of which I've already made mention, was overdone. Pace and tempo are' one thing, but every movement was rushed, every sexual over- tone played to the hilt, and no prescribed writhe or wriggle overlooked. One would think the' ACC YU IC I AS A MUSEUM piece, the play. is fun and interesting. Close See LOOT, Page 3 FEB. 16: Further discussion I n I.. . I.. 1. N I N G," N.Y. Daily L.A. Times. "A TAUT S.F. Chronicle. { i I (Tod Browning, 1932) MLB 4-7 & 10 DUN 1 M1S3 t n15 To people his nether world of the circus sideshow, Ted Brown- ing used not only real dwarfs but a family of "humans" whose deformities are today confined to medical iournals. Brownina treats the "small" people in a completely straight- forward way, and then lets them win out against the so-called "normal" humans. Andrew Sarris calls it "the most compas- sionate movie ever made. about the human condition." Even Dwarfs Started. Small (Werner Herzog, 1970) MLB 4-8:15 only Twenty-seven dwarfs, inmates of a reformatory, rebel when one of their own, a grinning halfwit named Babe, is put under harsh restraint after making sexual advances towards the institution's cook. Grotesquely humorous, bizarre. All dwarf cast. German with subtitles E NEXT WEEK: JOHN FORD MOVIES $1.25 Single Show $2.00 Double Feature I I THE CONTRIVED plot con- cerns the efforts of two bank- robbers(James Martin, Glen Pruett) to hide their Loot (get --- it?) from the inquisitive Inspec- tor Truscott of the Yard (Paul D. Palmore). It also involves private-duty nurse Fay McMa- hon (Denise Cole) and old Mr. FRI.-SA McLeavy (Rodney Eatman). You see, McLeavy's wife died (murdered by McMahon) and the loot is hidden in the coffin by Dennis and Hal, the robbers. Now Hal loves Fay, but Fay wants to marry McLeavy for his loot. Meantime, one by one, S they are all drawn into the robbery coverup, and the body long re of Mrs. McLeavy is tossed as one hither and yon while ... oh, you writersa get the idea. has bee Ronstad The director was either aware that the gags were all somewhat' Fel more .than twice-told, or per-: haps she thought that the audi- 1421 ence wouldn't understand them; T.-SUN. $3.00 1 S PAUL SIEBEL INGER-SONGWRITER I ._ cognized by other performers of the finest singers and of the decade, Siebel's music n recorded by many, including t. David Brombera, Emmy Lou PG. PARENAL GUIDANCE SUGGESTED 275 A'.ANA(\A OPQArO HELD OVER! Second Smash Week Shows Tonight at 7:00 & 9:05 Open at 6:45 YOU'LL LAUGH YOUR WINKLE* OFF Gene Madeline Marty Wilder Kahn Feldman OC, Bonnie Riatt, Linda Harris, etc. b. 2 Mon.: TOM PAXTON H IL LST. 8:30 761-1451 in any case the effect was the same. The lines were spoken with the subtlety of Hurricane Clara, although they were aid- ed by the playwright himself who insisted on giving away every good gag ten minutes be- fore it ripened. TONIGHT UNIVERSITY SHOWCASE PRODUCTION J0OR BY JOE ORT NI I "' R' , _ ' ;,\ r '. :a ;. 1 \ f K. U . i V ;I " "\ ; k\\ r - " /ta 1 I . .r tt I