The Michigan Daily - Friday, September 21, 1984-- Page 7 Film Philadelphia Experiment flops By Emily Montgomery The Philadelphia Experiment is a scream. The chase scenes are strictly Keystone Cop and the straight-faced, bland acting is laughably ludicrous. It's a successful comedy from all stan- dpoints. The only problem is that the makers of Philly didn't intend it that way. They believed a hokey story about two U.S. navy men traveling through time - from the 1940's war-era to modern day - would make a good ad- venture/sci-fi drama. Were they ever wrong. Philly is even a disappointment for special effects buffs (who make up the majority of its audience. "Maybe it has some neat effects," they reasoned. Well, it doesn't. Any three-year-old with a pack of flourescent crayons could have put Philly's effects men to shame. At. least a kid would have stayed in- side of the lines. The rest of the effects are right out of any standard Star Trek episode, with the one exception that the Enterprise crew can act better. Michael Pare, who believe it or not, has been in some other films, including Eddie and The Cruisers, plays Lieutenant David Hurdeg in Philly. He and his friend portray two seamen who participate in an experiment (The Philadelphia Experiment?) involving the deflection of radar waves to make a ship "radar invisible." Along the way, something goes wrong and they are transported to 1984 where they meet up with Nancy Allen (Carrie) who plays Alison, a girl who obviously has nothing better to do than to run around with two time travelers from 1940. The three immediately stir up enough ruckus (as a result, a white, orange, blue and hot- pink whirlwhind keeps following them around and makes little bolts of elec- tricity shoot out of David's friend's hand - sorry to have neglected that fascinating aspect of the plot until now) so that everybody in town (somewhere in Nevada, where the travelers touched down) is after them. If the audience isn't rolling in the aisles by the time the chase is over, the love scene between Pare and Allen will have it in tears - of laughter. Pare, with a voice reminiscent of Sylvester Stallone as Rocky, stumbles through his lines as if he had something else he'd rather be doing at the time. And Allen shrieks her lines with all the fake emotion of a comic book character. This isn't to say that "The Philadelphia Experiment" is a total wash. There was a good idea here somewhere. I just think it got lost somewhere along the line between 1940 and present day. When the viewer leaves the theatre after Philly there are too many unan- swered questins in his mind. For exam- ple, how did Hurdeg make it back? Did his "Johnny Ray, Ultra-man" space suit protect him? Why would the U.S. army give a scientist, who screwed up his 1940 experiment, the permission and chance (and funding) to screw it up again? And, lastly, but most importan- tly, why did I just shell out $4 for that turkey? FAMOUS LAST WORDS FROM FRIENDS TO FRIENDS. "Are you OK toedrive?" 'Whats afew beers?" "Did you have too much to drink?" "I'm pe'rfectly fine." "Are you in any shape to drive?" "I've never fe lt better" "I think you've had afew too n ny." "You kiddin, I can drive i" I. 4 :, .t . ,: x Manilow to perform at Crisler Oct. 19 Singer/songwriter Barry: Manilow, seen above with singer/actress Bette Midler at film premiere last Novem- ber, will perform in concert at Crisler Arena on Oct. 19, a spokeswoman for the University's Office of Major Events said yesterday. Tickets, which go on sale today at the Michigan Union and all Ticket World outlets are $17.50 and $15. For 24-hour infor- mation, those interested may call 763- MUTO. Reeves sets off fall heat wave By Aaron Bergman OU THOUGHT it was a beautiful day outside. You figured tonight would be one of those lovely summer nights to take a walk through Ann Ar- bor and savor what will soon turn cold, wet, and disgusting. Well you were wrong. Tonight is the night you should take that ummer stroll right into Joe's Star Lounge where you can enjoy the Motown sound of Martha Reeves, Martha and her sisters belphine and Lois, better known as the Vandellas, will be performing tonight and tomorrow at Joe's. And to Joe's they bring Motown, which is as popular today as it was in the beginning, if not more so. Martha said that she is finding people now who were touched by the Motown sound and are now bringing their children to ex- perience it. This new crowd is apparently evident on the Vandella's annual tours of Europe. "Our audiences keep getting younger every year," Martha said. "All people can relate to what Motown stan- ds for - warmth and love." Reeves, along with such artists as Smokey Robinson and the Temptations formed the nucleus of the new legen- dary Motown Record Company. But now she is somewhat apprehensive of the success of. that company and the music it promotes.. She said she is "scared to death of the increasing interest in Motown and what it is doing for the size of her audiences. But despite that bit of nervousness, Martha said she loves to perform in front of a crowd. She said over and over how much energy she gets from the audience and the fun she and they have during concerts. It was refreshing to hear an artist who still has enthusiasm for perfor- ming in front of a crowd, instead of just worrying how many copies of her latest album will sell. She and her sisters will be concen- trating on their familiar and successful style of the sixties, which culminated with the album, Black Magic. This style is best characterized by such tunes as "Heatwave," "Jimmy Mack," and, of Pollen sends afflicted searching for relief (Continued from Page 1) "I'm just loaded with allergies right now," complained Steve Pazol, an engineering junior. "I started taking Sudafed (an over-the-counter an- tihistamine), but that didn't work. So now I'm taking prescription drugs," he added. BRIEFER said that if non- prescription antihistamines and decongestants don't clear up the hay, fever, the sufferer may have to see a doctor for prescription drugs. Those who suffer worse from hay fever need immunotherapy, Briefer added. The therapy involves weekly vaccinations to reduce the patient's allergy. Any medicine, especially an- tihistamines, should not be mixed with alcohol, Briefer said. Antihistamines tend to make the user drowsy, he ad- ded. WHILE watery eyes, coughing and sneezing may make it tough for hay fever-stricken students in lecture, at least one professor said he doesn't mind the extra noise. Psychology Prof. Bob Pachella said the coughing and sneezing helps him Weekend Magazine Fridays in The Daily 763-0379 1984 BIG TEN COLLECTION SPORTS SODA measure students' interest in his lec- ture. "Coughing and sniffling are psychosomatic to an extent," Pachella said, adding that if people are bored with his lecture they will think about their cold and probably sneeze and cough more as a result. "If (the lecture) is intriguing there is less noise, and when it's boring, it's much noisier," Pachella said. SthAvenue at Nbert 761-9700 DAILY MATINEES LAST 7DAYSI ONE CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT LOVE! JOHN HUSTON'S ALBERTj FRI 1 00,730 940 11:45P SAT. 1:20,320,5:25,7:30,9:40,11:45 P.M. SUN. 1:20, 320, 525, 730. 940 "A VERY GREAT FILM." -Judith Cr..t. WOR-TV "A MARVELOUS MOVIE." -DinoWl1,. KNBC Channel 4 N-w .,.. ,;