M ARTS The Michigan Daily Wednesday, March 4, 1981 Page 7 "Competition' not worth the fight PUT'EI AWAY If you can live without your cigarettes for one day, you might find you can live without them forever. By ANNE SHARP The Competition is a run-of-the-mill -Hollywood romance, and that's about all one can say for it, good or bad. If you liked Somewhere in Time, this one's for you. The set pieces are gorgeous, the love interest (played out by Richard Dreyfuss and Amy Irving) is pleasant but not too sexual and there are even overtones of high culture (both lovers lhappen to play classical piano). Oaiically, it's a "B" movie that's been ivren "A" treatment by its mentors at Columbia Pictures, and as a result, despite leaden dialogue and a serpen- tine, abortive plot, it is an elegant little film. The Competition brings Dreyfuss back from his three year sabbatical from the screen. But this is not the frisky, sily, brilliant teddy bear we last saw in dse Encounters of the Third Kind and the Big Fix. He looks thinner, older, and very tired. And for once he's not eist as the slaphappy bright boy. He plays Paul, q depressed, aging would- be concert pianist out for his last shot at stardom before resigning himself to a mundane job teaching reluctant brats to bang away at tinkertoy keyboards. AT A WEST COAST piano com- petition, he falls in love with one of his more formidable rivals, Heidi (Amy Irving). Dreyfuss makes a rather and Heidi's professional rivalry: Will Irving, Dreyfuss, or one of four other cardboard red herrings (in this film, secondary characters are labeled, e.g. Gay Black, Crazy Russian) take first prize? This is interesting, if only for its toned-down Rockey-ness. Much press has been given to the fact that Irving 'and Dreyfuss were painstakingly trained to synchronize their fake keyboard playing convincingly to prerecorded music. Most experts were satisfied with the result, although they rather sneered at Dreyfuss' writhings and grimaces at the piano; he does rather give one the impression of a spastic duck. But in the end, who really cares if he looks like he's playing a Brahms concerto or eating spaghetti? All in all, it's a rather dull comeback for Dreyfuss, but happily there are a few other bonuses. One is Lee Remick, that stodgy, sincere blonde bore of a beauty, in of all things a character part. She plays Heidi's tough-but- motherly piano coach, chain smoking and swearing in what one must admit is a valiant attempt to chuck her image as an overage Barbie doll. Feminists take note: when simpering Amy Irving wan- ts to abdicate from the competition for fear that she'll beat out her lover for the prize, it is Remick who talks her out of it. I always thought she was such a drip. Who'd of thunk it' 0 A D AY. t 1. TIMEI my,, RICHARD DREYFUSS AND Amy Irving try to be oh-so-cute in 'The Com- petition,' but it's just another cheesy love story churned out by one of Big Studios. The focal point of a classical music competition is supposed to fool us into thinking this is haute culture. Don't believe it. WOO Tkl IlMkLkbble colorless juvenile - when Paul and Heidi get involved in the usual love- histronics (he wants, she don't want, she wants, he don't, etc.), it's hard to care. Sorry Rich - you may be trying hard to be cute but even Mickey Rooney stimulated more empathy. The main selling point of The Com- petition, however, is the drama of Paul BUY YOUR 1981 MICHIGANENSIAN NOW The MICHIGANENSIAN Yearbook is the best way to capture your years at Michigan. Let us help you remember the 1981 Rose Bowl and the 19080 Foot- ball, Basketball, Hockey, and Baseball seasons. Also included in this year's MICHIGANENSIAN are the various organizations, scenes from concerts, plays, and campus life, and this year's college graduates. Reserve your copy now for only $15 at the Student Publications Building, 420 Maynard. Limited Edition. Deadline March 6. Books available for pick-up in April. Add $2 for delivery. To eserve your copy of the 1981 MICHIGANENSIAN please send in this form with your payment. Thank you for yorspport. Dexy sfirst Dexy's Midnight Runners- "Sear- ehi'ng for the Young Soul Rebels"-Welcome the new soul revivalists! They call themselves the young soul rebels and come armed with tb desire to emulate the entire Stax coljection. After several singles and an LP in England, Dexy's Midnight Run- ners have released their record in the States. Their album is indeed homage to the Stax greats. "Geno" reaches back with refreshing energy. "Thankfully Not Living in Yorkshire It Doesn't Apply" is a frantically paced pop tune with a soul sound. But this fanatic devotion of Dexy's leads to a narrow outlook. The key problem with Searching for the Young Soul Rebel's lies in the lyrics. DMR believes in the strength of soul music to the extent of excluding everything else. At a performance at Hurrah in New York this summer, they proclaimed "- Rock 'n roll is dead and it's about fucking time!" In the introduction to the song "Burn it Down" a radio ehanges stations from Deep Purple's 'Smoke on the Water" to the Sex Pistols' "Holiday in the Sun" to the Specials' "Rat Race." Of course, they Yiew all of the above with equal disdain. -.AT OTHER TIMES, DMR are lyrically emotionless. In "Love Part One," Kevin Rowland, the band's lead $inger and spokesperson, says "They all dedicate lines to you/thin tines-easy seen through . . I've wat- phed them marry up/their wives and aives with ties and lies." Friendly and optimistic folks, aren't they? : It's really too bad that DMR miss the point of the soul music they want to fevive. Although they have marvelous arrangements; they fail to attain the LSAT GRE GMAT Test Preparation How do you prepare for these important tests? Get the facts no cost or obligation 32466 Olde Franklin e XtOn Farmington Hills, passion of artists such as Aretha Franklin, James Brown, and Otis Red- ding. Instead, they offer a lengthy list of Irish authors as influences. In the final reckoning, the extraor- dinary amount of energy on this album makes it quite successful. In fact, the strength of their songs is overwhelming at times. If DMR could learn to funnel their energy into something other than hate, they would be able to gain a receptive, rather than alienated, audience.r -Regina Myer R undgren Todd Rundgren - 'Healing' (Bear- sville) - I really hate to say how bad this album is. As a longtime Rundgren fan, I have come to look forward to his simple, cheerful music and clear, exhilarating voice. These qualities are not necessarily lacking from this album, but other factors intervene, This is by far the most self-conscious, self-righteous album Todd Rundgren has offered since Initiation, a mistake of an album that I thought he was smart enough not to repeat. I guess I was wrong. Like Initiation, this album was per- formed and produced by Rundgren alone, so maybe it shouldn't be so sur- prising that Healing is so over- whelmingly self-absorbed. Like its predecessor, most of the songs on Healing tend to ramble, most especially the opus that takes up all of side two. The message of the songs seems to come before the melody. BUT THE MESSAGE, wrapped in vaguely positive platitudes and Zen- derived metaphors, is none too clear. It seems to be about "a bright white light" that calls Todd "to make the world a little wiser." But at times, this is indistinguishable from a call to wor- ship at the altar of self-idolatry. "You need something to concen- trate on. Concentrate on me. You need something to meditate on; Meditate on me. Unfortunately, the cerebral and am- biguous nature of the lyrics is reflected in the music, which is appropriately complex and interesting but rarely challenging or fun. This is Intellectual Music To Nod To. If Todd would add a little 'Hare Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama," I'm sure this album could be sold in airports by thin young men with ill-fitting 'clothes, slightly off-center wigs and stares that see right through you. The similarities of this album to Initiation cannot be coincidental. It seems like Rundgren decided that that earlier album didn't achieve his expec- tations, and so it needed to be redone more palatably. On that level, he has succeeded without reservations on Healing. Stripped of the technological overkill of Initiation, this album displays many of the simple qualities that usually make Rundgren's work so refreshing. The only thing that detracts from this album is that I know that it could be more enjoyable and more ef- fective if he weren't being so san- ctimoniously ethereal. -Mark Dighton ,Nme Ann Arbor Address Mailing Address - Payment {S)5.00) Mail Fee ($200) Check Number - YOUR - u--- FUTURE AT POINTS **HUGHE ON CAMPUs INTERVIEWS March 6, 1981 Because we're a mid-sized company on the verge of an exciting expansion phase, you'll have the opportunity to work on a variety of challenging projects. Projects that offer you a creative and stimulating environment conducive to rapid career growth. Right now, we're seeking graduates in: MECHANICAL ENGINEERING AEROSPACE ENGINEERING ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING s ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY " COMPUTER SCIENCE Come talk to us about your career plans. Hughes Helicopters, Inc. Where your future points up. Hughes Helicopters, Inc. 11940 West Jefferson Boulevard Culver City, California 90230 An Equal Opportunity Employer M/F " U.S. Citizenship Required - o* Be an angel .. . Read he 19 ilu! 764-0558 __ Come For Dinner and Bring a Big Appetite .jli 11 Sc ~i /J -9i v ,. . !