ARTS
Thursday, September 27, 1984
The Michigan Daily
Page 6
64
'All of Me' is Steve Martin's
best
By Joshua Bilmes
ALL OF ME is probably the make it
or break it movie as far as Steve
Martin's movie career is concerned. It
comes after The Man with Two Brains,
which was probably his best work to
date and was neglected by most
everybody, and The Lonely Guy, which
was just plain neglected.
The good news for Martin, and for
anyone who enjoys laughing at a good
movie, is that All of Me is Martin's best,
and it is more than just a good Steve
Martin movie; it is a good movie,
period.
The comedy is a gimmick one. And
like most comedies which have one
gimmick, the biggest problems come in
the period when the gimmick gets set
up. That takes about twenty minutes in
this film.
In those twenty minutes, we are in-
troduced to a very good cast of charac-
ters. Steve Martin is Roger Cobb, a
lawyer and musician. He always takes
his dog to the office, and he very much
wishes to become a partner in the firm.
He gets his chance when Edwina Cut-
water is finally on her death bed after a
lifetime of flirting with it due to a heart
condition.
Cutwater (Lily Tomlin) is quite a
schemer. She arranges with a far
eastern mystic to have her sole put into
another body, after she arranges to
have her new body inherit her con-
siderable fortune.
But as Cutwater says, "I can't even
die right." The bowl which is to tran-
sfer her sould falls out the window and
conks Martin on the head. Lily Tomlin
ends up in Martin.
That concludes the set-up, and the
movie, which had been mildly amusing
earlier, starts to gain steam. Simply
put, Tomlin and Martin hate one
another. Both are quire desperate to
get her soul where she wanted it. But
they run into more than a few
problems.
Terry Hoskins (Victoria Tennant)
does not really want Tomlin's soul. All
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she wants is the money. It is impossible
to reach the mystic because he speaks
no English and seems to think a ringing
phone is related to a flushing toilet.
Whenever the phone rings, he goes in-
to the bathroom and flushes, instead of
picking up the mouthpiece and saying
hello.
While this goes on, Tomlin and Mar-
tin try to reach some form of peace,
which is absolutely vital because
Tomlin controls the right half of Mar-
tin's body. The scenes when Martin is
walking down the street or doing just
about anything else are brilliant as
Martin does his best comedy acting
ever (Pennies from Heaven was better
overall but cannot be compared). He
manages to alternate from Tomlin's
mannerisms to his own with wonderful
control, and his body really does look
like one with two different people in-
side.
The screenplay (by Phil Alden
Robinson from an adaptation by Henry
Olek of an Ed Davis novel) explores
just about everything having to do with
the situation. How can Tomlin handle a
very important legal case when the
Martin half of the body is sleeping?
How can Martin have sex with a woman
looking over his shoulder? What will
people think when two voices, one male
and one female, start to come from the
same mouth?
Martin's fiance concludes Martin is
cheating on her,cand the two do not stay
engaged for long.
Slowly but surely, Martin and Tomlin
begin to find love. And when that hap-
pens, the quest to get her sole in another
body becomes both more important to
us and a great deal funnier. It is an im-
portant part of the considerable
momentum the film develops along the
way.
Director Carl Reiner (who also
teamed up with Martin on his earlier
comedies) gets a lot out of the entire
cast. Tomlin's performance is perhaps
the most interesting.
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Roger Cobb (Steve Martin) tries to restrain the accusing finger of Edwina
Cutwater, whose spirit is, of course, trapped in the right side of his body.
l
At the start of the movie, when Ed-
wina Cutwater is a very unsympathetic
character, Tomlin's portrayal of her
seems to be lacking. But as we get to
know her character better, Tomlin's
performance seems to get better, too.
This is still probably not as good as her
work in The Incredible Shrinking
Woman, but it really does grow on you.
Victoria Tennant is beautifully bitchy
as she plays the woman who will go to
any length to keep from having her
body taken over by someone elses soul.
Richard Libertini as the mystic Prahka
Lasa does a fine job of playing dumb.
His little gestures and wide smile
throughout the movie are well worth
watching.
All of Me is definitely part of a film
tradition. A so-so set-up leads to won-
derful comedy as opposites begin to at-
tract. The dancing as the end credits go
by is a splended cap to a funny ninety
minutes. And All of Me is the first
comedy with Steve Martin that should
appeal to anyone which should bode
well for his future.
i
Soundstage: Thursday night alternative
3230 S. State St. (Briarwood Amoco) 769-8437
I-
By Barb Schiele
IF YOU ARE in Ann Arbor for the first
time this fall, you probably already
realize that there are major social ad-
justments to be made.
Possibly the first such adjustment is
the realization that in this town,
weekends begin on Thursday night. It
is a major adjustment, but one that must
be made if you intend on surviving
socially in Ann Arbor for more than
three weeks.
Bombarded by choices between
crowded bar scenes reeking of Eau de
perspiration at Lauren, or cover
charges that empty your wallet before
Friday's happy hours, the adjustment
could be tense.
Relax social butterflies, there is
an alternative. To fulfill and ac-
comodate the every need of the student,.
the University Activities Center
provides Soundstage, an oasis in the
desert of Thursday night Choices.
There is even a glimmer of hope now
as this student-operated production
company, which sponsors a . wide
variety of local bands every Thursday
night at the U-Club, starts their hot
musical season tonight.
"Soundstage promotes a wide range
of music each week," commented Carol
Balluff, a co-chairperson of Soun-
dstage. "Variety is emphasized." On
Thursday nights, the U-Club will
feature bands that do everything from
singing the blues to boppin to pop
originals.
A few local favorites, such as
Resistance Free, Johnny Jones and the
Phones, and SLK will be featured this
year as well as a few more new talented
unknowns.
NOT SURE OF YOUR
COLLEGE MAJOR?
o. "
In a barrel because of debts?
LOOK FOR WORK IN
In one evening of entertainment both
old and new talent can be enjoyed. In
keeping up the image of Soundstages in
the past, the first hour of the evening
will be a coffee house set-up. One to
three musicians play mellow tunes or
jazz pieces as a warm up to the featured
band.
The variety of the U-Club's at-
mosphere also sets it apart from the
typical Ann Arbor bar. "Soundstage is
different from other bars," said Rich
Meyers, the other chairperson of the
company. "It's a social place for frien-
ds to gather-but people can also talk
and not be overpowered by the music."
Soundstage also provides for those
who choose to dance rather than chat.
Meyers said that the U-Club's dance@
floor and the upbeat bands can also set
the dancing mood.
The U-Club is a private club for the
University students, faculty and staff
and their guests. Therefore, "The en-
tertainment is geared solev for the
students, by the students," Meyers
said.
With the variety of bands, Soundstage
should attract all types of bar-goers and'
music listeners. The Evaders open the*
season tonight with their neo-
psychadelia revival.
"This band is fiercely original," said
band manager Frank Davis. The dan-
ceable music by the Evaders gives an
original Ann Arbor sound. Having
played at Joe's and Rick's, this group of
four musicians promises to be alot of
fun.
Warming up for the Evaders is the
talented jazz duo of Steve Croley and
Chris Duhamel.
Later in the season Soundstage will
sponsor special events such as The
Dance Band Bash, which featured SLK
in the Union Ballroom last year, a
special Homecoming party, and the
'Battle of the Bands' during Michigras.
Soundstage satisfies students not only
with the variety in music and the com-
fortable atmosphere, but also with the
cost. Just because it is your new-
founded weekend night doesn't mean_
Thursday nights have to be expensive.
The cover is only $1.75, with weekly
drink specials. So save yourself from
the torture of Thursday night decision
making and head to the U-Club. For
musical entertainment, it could be
where your weekends begin.
Read
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