ARTS
The Michigan Daily
Saturday, January 19, 1985
Page 5
'Micki and Maude'
sticky and flawed
By Emily Montgomery
T he reunion of Dudley Moore with
Blake Edwards, his director for the
hit comedy 10, fills one with expec-
tations of something great. However,
the pair's latest endeavor, Micki and
Maude, falls far short of this.
The film stars Moore, of course, as
Rob Salinger, a newscaster for a small,
yet insignificant, television station. Rob
desperately wants to have children, yet
his wife, Micki (played by Ann
Reinking of All That Jazz) a successfull
lawyer and newly appointed District
Attorney, hasn't time to even attempt a
conception with him, let alone the nine
months the event would require. Rob
has to make appointments just to talk
with her and any plans they make Micki
inevitably has to cancel.
Rob starts looking elsewhere. He
wanders into the bedroom of a concert
cellist named Maude, (Amy Irving)
who is more than willing to have his
child, on the one condition that Rob gets
a divorce and marries her. Rob agrees
to this, but when he tries to break the
news to Micki she has her own bit of
news for him, which she blurts out first.
She too is pregnant and she plans on
quitting both her jobs in order to have
the child, because she knows how much
he wants one. She then eloquently adds,
"I love you, Rob, and I want this baby."
Thus, Rob finds himself in what one
would call, "a situation." He hasn't the
heart to ask Micki for a divorce and he
can't go back on his proposal to Maude.
He decides to marry Maude anyway,
breaking the law, not to mention a few
of the major commandments. And from
here on in he begins living a double life,
rushing from bedsided to bedside to
fulfill the two expectant mothers'
needs, whil trying to keep himself
above suspicion.
One thing about Micki and Maude is
that, although the story seems
ridiculous in print, Moore and company
manage to pull it off. We believe the
relationship between Rob and Micki.
And we believe the relationship bet-
ween Rob and Maude. Moore's charac-
ter demonstrates a very real and honest
caring for both these women. He does
very well in a plot that's bound to evoke
some skepticism.
This factor, however, is
simultaneously the film's main virtue
and its major downfall as it draws away
from the comedic element. So much of
the movie is spent making the plot seem
feasible that there isn't much time left
to devote to the Dudley Moore, stum-
bling, bumbling, mumbling, prat-fall
humor that has made him such a
favorite.
Moore's best movies are the one's
like 10 and Arthur, where a simple
plotline allows him the freedom to do
the unexpected. Micki and Maude is a
"cute" film, which tells a "nice" story,
but as a comedy it just doesn't com-
pare.
Learn to live with someone
who's living with cancer.
Call us.
AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY
Little cuddly Dudley stars in the oh-so-cute Micki and Maude
Records
A Drop in the Gray-Certain
Sculptures-Geffen Records
Certain Sculptures, the astonishing
debut album from A Drop in the Gray
sweeps in like a refreshing burst of air
upon the music scene. Honest and alive,
this album reaches into some inner,
haunting area of humanity. It is the
~"gray" that lies between the real and
the unreal; clear and yet mysteriously
obscure.
Although it seems unfair to compare
any band to another (especially one as
original as this), to get some idea of
what A Drop in the Gray sounds like,
try imagining a cross between the Sim-
ple Minds, U2 and the dB's. This L.A.
based quartet, which is half American
and half European, is made up of highly,
skilled musicians with a folksy, new
wave style. They have somehow found
the perfect balance between natural
and effected sound. The cuts have ex-
cellent guitar parts that play well off of
their often strong bass lines. Keyboards
flutter, in and out, never on top of
anything. Crystal clear, the textural
layering is done in such a way that it
nicely enhances the music.
Songwriter Dan Phillips' voice is full
of emotion and has a shakey vibrato
that floats well over his lyrics. His
songs focus on the barest elements
through which humanity is manifested.
Images such as letters, streets, rain,
pictures, windows, and eyes keep pop-
ping up in the pieces. His loosely jointed
phrases say a lot in few words. "No
Light" is one such example, "I see the
rings upon your hands/You've
collected through the years/Saving
lies! And no goodbyes."
Many of the tracks are especially
moody, and speak of some time or place
that is neither reality nor a dream. The
eerie lyrics of "A Place For You"
suggest this image, " The telephone
poles are bending/The postman got
the letter I'm sending/Out
there/The wind is blowing/The
clouds are falling down."
One of the best pieces from Certain
Sculptures is a simple, exquisitely
touching ballad entitled, "Turn Me
Round." Phillips' quavering voice is
highly effective here, as he wails over
the beautiful piano and cello duet that
plays for the verses.
Hillel season opens with Nicoll
Certain Sculptures is a remarkably
impressive album, especially as a
debut. Cohesive and full of energy and
warmth, it demands a great deal of at-
tention. Watch out for A Drop in the
Gray. They may very well be the suc-
cess story of 1985.
-Beth Fertig
BLOOM COUNTY
OH No.
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Watch for itin
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SAT. &SUN. FIRST MATINEE ONLY$2.0
1.i adult evening admission. Coupon
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tickets. Good all features til 1124
JOHN SAYLES BEST FILM YET!
FRI., MON. 8:30
SAT., SUN. 1:00, 3:00, 8:30
IN THESE wild days of mass
consumption of fast food and pop art,
it is relaxing, and indeed refreshing, to
give oneself over to time-tested,
traditional entertainment, something
with real cultural substance. The Hillel
Foundation's concert series,
Celebration of Jewish Arts, represents
just such an opportunity. The series
begins this weekend with a performan-
ce by singer-actress Fay Nicoll.
Nicoll, a Broadway actress and club
singer, will sing a blended potpourri of
traditional favorites in English, Yid-
dish, Hebrew, Chassidic, Russian, and
Ladino. Her Yiddish folk favorites will
include "Yossel, Yossel" and "A Yid-
dish Madella." Songs in English from
popular Broadway musicals can also be
expected.
Nicoll, an active member of the
Hebrew Actors Union, brings her talen-
ts to Ann Arbor for the first time. She
will be accompanied by her regular
pianist, Renee Solomon.
dation's Festival Executive Commit-
tee.
On February 9, the second perfor-
mance of the series will feature singer,
dancer, and comedian Mike Burnstyne,
also selected at the New York folk
festival.
The series closes with a production of
"Gimpel the Fool", a classic
Chaplinesque parable written by Isaac
Bashevis Singer.
Nicoll's performance begins at 8:30
p.m. at the Lydia Mendelssohn
Theatre.
-Marlene Roth
The Celebration of the Arts concert
series, in its fourth year, will present
two concerts and a play this season.
Two of this year's acts, including
Nicoll, were chosen last spring at the
annual Labor Day folk festival held in
NicolloLong Island, New York. The talent was
... multilingual singer personally selected by the Hillel Foun-
Sub~ekibeto
The
icicdag
Dai4
4 CHANNEL DOLBY STEREO
DIRECTED BY JONATHAN DEMME
THE TALKING HEADS
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FRI., MON. 5:00, 6:50,10:30
SAT., SUN. 3:10, 5:00, 6:50,10:30
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TOGETHER THEY MAY FIND
THE STRENGTH TO KEEP THEIR
WAY OF LIFE ALIVE!
SISSY SPACEK MEL GIBSON
(PG-13)
From the Director of "On Golden Pond"
DOLBY STEREO
FRI., MON. 5:00, 7:30, 9:45
SAT., SUN. 12:50, 5:15, 7:30, 9:45
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