ARTS
The Michigan Daily
Monday, March 17, 1986
Page 5
JonI
By Nancy Driso
" didn't realize what a
I would be," said Jon
year old veteran actor
Molly Ringwald's sidek
in Pink.
Cryer, a New York ba
says that the characte
"part of the script and
has been approached by
who tell him there is suc
their high school.
Speaking from the P
fice building overlookin
actor said he is enjoying
popularity. Cryer is q
and has the same se]
humor as the chara
forever trying to impre
Cryer ma
Andie and whose manner and dress
lean towards that of a used car
oil salesman.
The film's screenwriter John
.n conDucieHughes, who also wrote The Break-
n who Duckieifast Club and Sixteen Candles, and
Cryer, the 20 Director Howard Deutch allowed the
r who played actors much freedom in creating their
kick in Pretty roles, said Cryer. As a result, many of
the scenes were improvised.
sed actor who As a high school student at the
r of Duckie 1s Bronx School of Science, Cryer said
part of me," he, like Duckie, was a bit of an out-
y many people cast.
ch a species at "I dressed differently than
aramount of- yone else," the actor said, "But I
aramheuct, th-wasn't as cool as Duckie. I wish I had
g the city, the his courage."
g his newfound Pretty in Pink is Cryer's third film.
luick to laugh In 1981 he starred in the teen comedy
[f-depreciating No Small Affair with Demi Moore and
cter, who is he also had a part in an unreleased
ss Ringwald's Robert Altman film.
kes his mark
Cryer got his start in summer stage
productions, including one season at
the Royal Academy in England. He's
taken over Broadway roles from
Matthew Broderick twice - he
starred for a year in Neil Simon's
Brighton Beach Memoirs and also in
Torch Song Triology. The com-
parisons with Broderick, who looks
like a preppier Cryer, have been con-
stant.
"I tend to be compared un-
favorably," said Cryer lightly. "It's
not my fault I look like him. I'm not
going to have surgery." But Cryer
days he's accepted it. "I'm cool
now."
Both of Cryers parents are involved
in the same business.
His father David has done
numerous Broadway shows including
Evita and 1776. Gretchen Cryer,
John's mother, wrote and starred in
I'm Getting My Act Together and
Taking It on The Road.
Although his mother got him his fir-
st professional job, a chewable
vitamin commercial when he was
eight, Cryer said his parents are still a
bit wary of his career choice. "They
haven't discouraged me, but I can tell
from their tone they're not pleased,"
Cryer said.
Pretty in Pink was shot last sum-
mer in Los Angeles. Cryer said at fir-
st he was somewhat intimidated by
screen veterans Harry Dean Stanton,
Molly Ringwald, and Andrew McCar-
thy. But the first scene shot was the
record store number where Duckie
lipsyches to Otis Redding's "Try a
Little Tenderness."
With that show stealing scene Cryer
said, "I've got to prove myself," And
he has.
Tommy Flanagan thrills crowd
Teen queen Molly Ringwald stars in 'Pretty in Pink.'
Paltry 1
By Sue Cahill
.pink
uneasy attempting to deliver some of
her incredible cliched lines. Luckily,
an innovative computer love note
scene saves her some lipgloss and
saves us all from hearing our star-
crossed lovers struggle through lines
such as: She: Do you know who I am?
He: Do you know who you are?
Unfortunately, Stanton can't
See HUGHES, Page 7)
By Marc S. Taras
The Tommy Flanagan Trio offered
last Thursday night's crowd at the
Ark a performance of rare and
thrilling virtuosity. I was squealing
like a tickled rabbit from jumpstreet.
The crowd had a blast and the
musicians were in obviously high
spirits, loving every moment. It was
understandable. Any time that three
such brilliant and sympathetic
players come together to make music
there is magic in the air.
Tommy Flanagan is a native
Detroiter who turned 56 on Sunday.
He is a virtuoso pianist and accom-
panist who is at his best in the com-
pany of folks like bassist George Mraz
and drummer Al Foster. Mraz is a
Czecholslovkian defector with an ec-
centric technique - he rests his head
and ears right on the fretboard while
executing beautiful bluesy upper
register voicings. Al Foster is a ten
year veteran of Miles Davis' groups
who showed himself to be one of the
most versatile, sensitive, and ex-
citable drummers alive. He would
wink and grin and start to sing his
brushwork sent delicate flocks into
the trees. All night he and Tommy
traded fours with an inexhaustible
verve and a wealth of ideas. So much
music !
The first of two glorious sets kicked
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IN HIS recent films, screenwriter
John Hughes has brought audien-
ces fresh insights by taking his.
characters into the grey areas of high
school social behavior and letting
them distinguish between black and
white. However, his latest attempt at
revealing teen class struggles, Pretty
in Pink, confines the characters to
either black or white roles, giving us
stereotypical personalities in
exaggerated situations. Understan-
dably, they fall short of discovering
anything new or enlightening.
Not that Pretty in Pink is without it-
s good points. After all, it has Molly
Ringwald in the lead role of Andie, it
has Harry Dean Stanton as her
father, it even has a character named
Duckie who performs a better-than-
MTV lip synch to Otis Redding's "Try
a Little Tenderness". However, I
couldn't help feeling that the film was
a case of too much talent for too little
script.
Having just worked with Ringwald
in The Breakfast Club, Hughes surely
understands the level of her talent,
and professes the ability to bring it
out. Unfortunately, he does not do so
in this film. Ringwald's best moments
are those in which she chews her lip
or contorts her face in reaction to one
uncomfortable situation or another.
But perhaps she is not acting.
Perhaps these are genuine reactions.
Any actress at her level would be
off with a smoking tribute to Charlie
Parker. His composition "Confir-
mation" provided a full-tilt
springboard for soloists' swinging and
telepathic ensemble playing. I was an
intimately involved audience whose
collective enthusiasm clearly loved
the players towards even greater
heights: From the first notes the trio
had the sound of velvet window scenes
of faith in Spring. Confirmation. Bird
See BIRTHIAY. Page 7
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