4
ARTS
Friday, September 7, 1984
The Michigan Daily
Oxford Blues hits
Page-,8
an
all
By Emily Montgomery
T HE INSPIRATION behind the film
Oxford Blues is a mystery to a slim,
few.
The film's main purpose it seems is to
give sex-starved teenage girls a long,
hard look at actor Rob Lowe in shorts.
And it's a good thing the movie has that
one attraction, however weak. The
misguid d plot and setting offer little
else to the movie's limited audience and
even less to those old enough to vote.
Lowe portrays. Nick D'Angelo, an
obscenely arrogant and conniving jerk
from Las Vegas. In the film, D'Angelo
conveniently turns male prostitute for
one night in an effort to use his newly-
acquired revenues to "buy" his way in-
to Oxford University.
And what could a vain valet from the
-time I
Dunes Casino want with an Oxford
standing? . Is it a chance at self-
improvement'! Is it greater academic
achievement or even a larger female
clientele? No, it's a girl - but not just
any girl. D'Angelo's pursuit is a British
debutante appropriately dubbed Lady
Victoria (Amanda Pays) who is
studying at Oxford.
Once he has prostituted his way onto
campus, Nick proceeds to follow in the
tradition of the Ugly American. He
refuses to take heed of proper British, or
even Oxford etiquette practiced by his
schoolmates. He stumbles into
echoingly silent classrooms mid-
lecture, dresses "flashy punk" to oc-
casions that require black gown and tie,
and even steals a boat for a rowing race
in which he jumps into in an attempt to
outdo Lady Victoria's fiance.
Yes, Nick rows and he rows well,
Lowe
which is decidedly his only worthy
character trait. His rowing talent, at
first, would seem the likely vehicle by
which Nick could manage to acquire
some allies at Oxford. Perhaps the only
such vehicle he possesses since he has
alienated nearly every other candidate
for friendship he meets..
Once he joins the rowing team, his
fellow paddlers learn quickly that Nick
is not to be relied upon. When the team
is forced to forfeit a meet because of his
absence, Nick is told he has "no second
chances."
After they kick him off the team, he
sits clueless, soaked in a -fountain,
screaming for them to reconsider.
(What a scene.) Will he ever learn?
Ally Sheedy (Wargames) does her
best as supporting actress in what turns
out to be an unbelievable role. She plays
a girl from New Jersey who secretly
Rob Lowe
rows toward romance -
has a crush on Nick. The crush is about4
as unbelievable as the possibility of
anyone from New Jersey going to 0X -'
ford.
I won't reveal if Nick gets the primi
cess of his locker pictures, the sectet'-
crush, or neither. For those of you who
might be dragged into the theater by a
Rob Lowe ogler, that suspense may e
the only reason to stay awake. I will sh y
this though. For me, Rob should have
quit while he was ahead in his first film.
He had a lot more "Class" in that one.7; ;;
Cooney to
launch Ark season
, ,
Modern love
Jonathon Richman, former songwriter with the legendary Modern Lovers,
performed a solo acoustic concert for a- small but enthusiastic audience on
August 23 in the Michigan Union Ballroom.
PaChelbel Canon tops
Monday Dag concert
By Andy Weine
F RIDAY AND Saturday nights
will be special occasions for the-
Ark and for Ann Arbor folk fans as folk.
music gem Michael Cooney returns to
familiar ground to give what
should be two of his typically rousing
performan ces.
According to Dave Siglin, director of
the fifteen-year-old coffeehouse which
recently moved from Hill Street to 637
S. Main, Cooney's launching of the
Ark's second beginning is "fitting since
i. . . _. ,_ .. a 4.L... 1__., = ."
He also draws from a great wealth of
folk music. On nearly a dozen different
instruments, he plays everything from
sea ballads to blues to ragtime.
Cooney has one record of his own and
has appeared on several television
shows, including Sesame Street and th-
e Today Show. He also has toured ex-
tensively in the U.S., Canada, Mexico,
and Europe.
Cooney has played in and helped
organize a number of folk festivals, in-
cluding the Mariposa Folk Fest in
Toronto. He has also edited and written
for the only major folk song magazine,
Sing Out.
Audiences know Cooney as a
folklorist who weaves good-humored
and interesting tales between songs. In
this, he ranks with a handful of folk
musicians who convey a sense of how
folk music ferments and flavors
through time.
Audiences should be prepared to do
more than just listen. Hearty voices are
needed to sing along-for Cooney's love
of music has been known to be con-
tagious.
"Canon in D Major" by Johann House, Hillel Foundation, Lutheran he basically openea tis place." What
Pachelbel will be the featured piece in a Campus Ministry at Lord of Light, St. Siglin means is that Cooney was among
free outdoor performance by the Mary's Chapel, the University's Office the first nationally known performers
Galliard Brass Ensemble to be held on of Ethics and Religion, -and the Wesley to play at the Ark, helping to establish it
the Diag on the steps of the Graduate Foundation. as a first-rate folk music coffeehouse.
Library at noon on Monday. The performance will include a Cooney's performances shine with
This annual performance of the moment of silence and following the what can best be described as a very
Pachelbel Canon is being sponsored by Canon, the ensemble will give an hour human performance, as opposed to
the Campus Chapel, Canterbury House, long concert including a wide variety of celebrity shows aimed to tickle and woo
Ecumenical Campus Center, Guild brass music. audiences.
Michael Cooney, one of the original performers during the Ark's beginnings;
returns to play there Friday and Saturday night.
Murray starts Eclips
By Mark S. Taras
Although not yet thirty-years-old,
tenor saxophonist David Murray has
achieved tremendous critical and
popular acclaim both as a soloist and a
leader. Tonight Murray and the other
members of the David Murray Octet
bring their little big hand to the Univer-
sity Club for Eclipse Jazz' first show of
the season.
Murray has been playing the tenor
saxophone since his high school days in
Berkeley, California. At Pomona
College in Los Angeles, he studied un-
der Stanley Crouch and began perfor-
ming and recording nationally and in-
ternationally when he was 22-years-old.
This is not Murray's first visit to Ann
expands to Ann Arbor...
T a
Y .2
r
BACK TO SCHOOL SALE!
savings up to 50% off list
complete selection of:
art & drafting supplies & equipment
picture frames & custom framing
(-S.: A s nA urhmr
e season
Arbor. Those who saw last year's World
Saxophone Quartet concert . at
Rackham Hall will recall how David's
solo left the audience and fellow-player
Oliver Lake literally speechless.
Whether as a member of the WSQ or
leading his own quartet, octet, or big,
band, Murray puts the swing out front,
In a recent interview, Murray ex-
plained, "People don't want music they
have to suffer through-Ronald
Reagan's suffering enough already an'
they want some relief from that.
They're in the mood to hear something
snappy, and I can deliver it because 1
feel the same way."
Murray, who prefers to work with
larger ensembles, is a gifted iF
provisor who acknowledges a debt
Albert Ayler. A joyous composer whp
allows his tunes to blossom and grow,
Murray has recorded "Flowers for
Albert" several times and each recor-
ding has revealed its sound in a new
way.
The other members of the octet also
are noted in their fields. Drummer Bily
Higgins, for whom Jimmy Heath wrote
the tune "Smiling Billy," has enlivened
the bands of everyone from Ornette
Coleman to Pat Metheny. Trumpete
Baikida Carrol has worked with Jack'.
DeJohnette's Special Edition and
Oliver Lake. Rounding out the octet are
trombonist Craig Harris, saxophonist-
Steve Coleman, trumpeter Roy Cam.
pbell, pianist Rod Williams, and bassist
Wilbur Morris.
Murray and his octet will perform
two shows, at 8 and 10:30 p.m. Tickets-,
are $7.50.
jI
'1 NC~fX-NIF~CpIM "ASPEER f O1
Eft REVIEW-INRODUCTION TIM L 1N
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