Page 9 --The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, December 11, 1985 Spielberg ruins 'Sherlock' By Byron Bull YOUNG Sherlock Holmes, a lighthearted yarn about what might have happened had Sherlock Holmes and Watson met as adolescen- ts, is the latest of Steven Spielberg's pet projects to hit the screen. It shares a lot of the same formulaic elements as its predecessors, Gremlins, Goonies, and Back To The Future, with teen protagonists, gratuitous special effects, and a rousing clif- hanger of a climax, but it also has something they all lacked, and that's a sense of real affection for the project that the director, Barry Levinson, has for it that Spielberg's other hired hands like Joe Dante and Roger Zemeckis, for all their showmanship skills, sorely lacked. Barry Levinson, who's made his best mark to date with the sweet tem- pered look at post adolescent blues in Diner, is at heart a character minded director, and he's more concerned here with spinning a modest little bit of fance about two junior sleuths similar in tone to what used to be prin- ted in young boys' adventure pulps. Spielberg, on the other hand, wants lots of cheap laughs, some good fast roller coaster thrills, and a hearty sprinkling of optical seasonings cour- tesy buddy George Lucas' effects shop. The result is a movie split apart by a terrible schism of creative desires, between Levinson's attempt to fashion a cute little boy's adventure and Spielberg's fast food notion o filmmaking. Where Levinson can get his hand on the film, he brings it some nice lit- tle touches, particular in his affec- tionate treatment of Holmes and Wat- son's burgeoning friendship, spending more than a liberal amount of screen- time just following the pair through their classes and constant bantering. Nicholas Rowe, who plays the adolescent Holmes, is terrific in presence, sharp with aplomb, seeming self-possessed without being too arrogant, and he adds a nicely hinted at shade of melancholic vulnerability to the part. Alex Cox's Watson is regrettably a bit more stiff, without much of the comic sense the role needs so badly, but he does work comfortably with Rowe, and there is some measure of chemistry between the two of them as they go dashing off over cobblestone and through the fog to solve the mystery of why a rash of bizarre, apparently suicidal deaths has swept through London. There are lots of nice garnishes, a cast of supporting background characters of Dickensian color- fulness, some creepy hooded assasins lurking about dark alleys, blowguns in hand, and the biggest, most wonder- fully stagey blackout I've seen in a film since period pieces went out of vogue some twenty years ago. But Levinson doesn't really click with the material, he has genuine en- thusiasm for the adventure, but no sense for pacing, and the film kind of lumbers along for a good portion of screentime wasting its time documen- ting the origin of every imaginable bit of Holmesian paraphenalia - covering where he picked up everything from his aloof attitude toward women, to how he came to smoking his trademark pipe, though there's no mention of how he ended up a heroin addict - when it should be tightening up the narrative. As it is Young Sherlock loiters playfully about for the first ninety minutes before it suddenly tries to switch gears into a fast, dazzling clif- fhanger a change of temperament that does far more damage than it does good. Levinson's strength as a director is in quiet, intimate scenes between a few characters, and trying to stage a full-scaled Indiana Jones styled finale he fumbles badly, ending up with a busy but not very boistrous hodgepodge of pyrotechnics and stun- twork that stumbles somewhere bet- ween mere shabby imitation of master Spielberg and outright - though unintentional - parody. Levinson has enthusiasm, as I said, but not much flair, - something that showed up quite keenly in his mishan- dling of The Natural - and one has to wonder just why Spielberg chose him for the job instead of someone like Nicholas Meyer, the young, exhuberant director who wrote the screenplay for another Sherlock Holmes adventure, The Seven Per- cent Solution, and later did the smashingly fun Time After Time. Maybe Spielberg was just trying to add a little bit of respectability to the project, or maybe he's beginning to notice just how devoid of characters these films of his really are. Whatever, he tries to insure the cautious gamble by sticking in as By the end one is firmly jaded by the film's overtly commercial con- sciousness --though how in the hell Spielberg ever thought a period film without a smart ass, gum-chewing protagonist could possibly be com- mercial is beyond me - and whatever charm Young Sherlock had at its out- set is firmly crushed. Too bad, because the film will likely be a big flop, and Spielberg will subsequently retreat from the notion of ever again producing a film that isn't just another two hour toy commercial or that is content to lower itself to making high schoolers laugh and cheer with the most condescendingly base gags and routines. Young Sherlock Holmes is a pretty bad film, but after so much homogenized celluloid junk food, even this bad taste is something to actually relish. A defense against cancer can be cooked up in your kitchen. Call us. AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY mm %ir Freight, Inc. Whatever your shipping needs may be, big or small SEKO Air Freight, Inc. Has fast, dependable door-to-door service. Put an end to worry about getting your things home or back to school. To satisfy all your air freight needs the convenient, worry-free way: CALL 699-1166 ,., many time ideas as he nightmarish featuring mechanical animation - tested crowd pleasing can, with a couple of dream sequences - plenty of dazzling effects and computer a couple large scaled MACK fight scenes, and even - at con- siderable harm to the movie - the old flying kids routine is trotted out yet one more time. INDOOR POOL -I L1 715 Brooks St. (adjacent to Mack School) ANN ARB Q DIRECTED BY 7 JEFFREY SELLER CHOREOGRAPHY BY JOHN DURBIN MUSICALDIREC- TION BY ANDREW E. LIPPA OR C .0 IV IC HEATRE. PRESENTS IN /TI IWIIEIN'E MUSIC & LYRICS BY COLE PORTER Q BOOK BY RUSSEL CROUSE, HOWARD LINDSAY, P G. WODEHOUSE & GUY BOLTON i DEC. 18-21, 1985 SAT. MATINEE, 2 PM LYDIA MENDELSSOHN THEATRE D TICKET INFO. 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The Antler People - unique items made from antlers The Chain Connection - gold by the inch Creative Carvings - beautiful, sculptured candles David Pahl Craft Enterprises - beerships, mail maids, sculptured pillows and more Four Star Sports - patches and emblems Gerard Watch Pictures - watch part and butterfly pictures, wire trees, and more Gold Chain Gang - gold chains, glass & brass boxes Golden Reign - hand crafted jewelry in brass, sterling and nickel Hickory Farms - cheese and meats J & M Glass Products - stained glass window items Jack Hamilton Wood Products - wood planters, clocks, etc. Mostly Wicker - wicker baskets, furniture and gifts Old World Style Almonds - German roasted almonds The Packaging Store - custom gift wrap service Pictures Plus - graphic arts Professor Youngblood's Photo's - period photographs with you in medieval and victorian dress Santa's Rest Stop - message pillows Toy Airplane Gliders - fun gifts for kids of any age Uncle Wiggly's Essentials - wood wall racks, clothes' trees and more Upper Half - monogrammed stockings, glassware and more Laser Art - using the latest technology EXTENDED MALL HOURS: Monday-Saturday, 9:30 am - 9:30 pm Sunday, 11:00 am - 6:00 pm Sunday, December 22, 9:30 am - 9:30 pm Tuesday, December 24, 9:30 am -.5:00 pm Tuesday, December 31, 9:30 am - 5:00 pm Closed Christmas Day New Year's Day