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The Michigan Daily Monday, October 19, 1987
Page 9
'Prom Night II'
Just another
slasher
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By Mark Shaiman
Prom nights are generally in
May. Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night
II has been released in October.
Obviously the makers of this film
do not care. They appear to hoping
for a big crowd due to i t s
correspondence with Halloween, but
that idea has been tried too many
times. The rest of the film continues
with that same logic.
Prom Night II is an entire an-
achronism. Not only should it have
been released six months from now,
but it makes no difference that it is
set in 1987. And of course it has
nothing to do with the former Prom
Night, except that it takes place at
the same Hamilton High School.
Way back in1957, Mary Lou
(Lisa Schrage) was prom queen. But
she also was cheating on her
straight-laced boyfriend, Bill
(Michael Ironside), by going
backstage with Buddy Cooper
(Richard Monette).
Bill seeks revenge and wants to
spoil Mary's moment of glory, so as
she is being crowned, he drops a
stink bomb on stage. Unfortunately
for everyone, then and now, Mary's
dress catches on fire and she burns to
death. But she has enough time to
see that Bill is the cause, which
somehow no one besides Cooper
ever learns, and she gives him a
ghastly look of revenge.
Flash to 1987. Artistic license is
pushed to its limits. Bill is now the
principal of Hamilton High, and
Buddy Cooper is now Father Buddy
Cooper (and I don't mean that he has
little kids of his own).
Enter Vicki (Wendy Lyon) who is
nominated for Prom Queen this year
and is also dating Bill's son Craig
(Justin Louis). And she just happens
to become possessed by the
wandering spirit of Mary Lou.
Sound familiar? Even one of the
characters looks at Vicki/Mary Lou
and quips, "Linda Blairsville!"
Lettthefun begin! Vicki now
starts to see things, my favorite
being the zombie high school lunch
ladies dishing out gruel. How scary
can that be? We've all experienced it
before.
Then Mary Lou gains complete
control of Vicki's body. She takes
revenge on everyone, including those
that she never had a grudge against.
Following the true tradition of
slasher flicks, eack killing is worse
than the next. There is even a quick
glimpse of a shower head a la
Hitchcock, in the obligatory nude-
girls-in-the-locker room-scene. But
no one gets knifed; that's too
boring. Prom Night II offers other
imaginative alternatives.
After seeing Psycho many
people were afraid to take showers.
Here is a partial list of items you
may look at differently after seeing
this film: MacIntosh computers,
chalkboards, neon, paper cutters,
crosses, volleyball nets, lockers,
rocking horses, and prop rooms.
There is something for everyone.
Fortunately the film does offer
some laughs, although most are
likely to come from the audience's
own comments. When Mary Lou
meets up with Father Cooper, she
tells him that there is no heaven,
with her biggest gripe being "there's
no fuckirn wings!" And Vicki,
while still Vicki, refuses to use
sugar because "that stuff will kill
you." No one in this film lives long
enough to worry about cancer or
such. Morose, ironic humor is the
only kind intended, but some of the
special effects make you laugh just
as much, or as little.
Unlike Siskel and Ebert, I give
Prom Night II neither a thumbs up
or a thumbs down. It just won't
matter. Either you like these types
of slasher films or you don't. This
one falls into the same pattern that
the rest of them do. So as long as
you don't expect anything new from
Prom Night II, you won't be
dissappointed.
*1
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Vicki Carpenter (Wendy Lyon) is trapped In the hopelessly tangled plot of 'Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II.'
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G
Records
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Legend
MCA
On October 20, 1977, en route to
a concert in Baton Rouge, Lynyrd
Skynyrd's private plane went down
in a wooded area killing, among
others, lead singer Ronnie Van Zant
and guitarist Steve Gaines. It
brought an end to the band's reign as
the premier southern rock band.
Now, on the tenth anniversary of
that tragedy, with a commemorative
tour under way, MCA has released
Legend, 9 previously unreleased
songs by the rockers f r o m
Gainsville, Florida.
There are many reasons why these
songs weren't released ten years ago,
but the point is moot in terms of
relevancy to their quality. "Truck
Drivin' Man," the first single to be
issued from the album, features one
of Ed King's gritty guitar riffs, with
fills and solos from Garry
Rossington and Allen Collins (who
is now paralyzed from a January,
1986 car accident), and one of Billy
Powell's patented piano solos that
sounds like a waterfall put to music.
"On in the Sun" is a creative, hard-
driving blues that is an indication of
1 what Gaines was capable of had he
lived; Street Survivors , the band's
last studio album, was his first.
The rest of the album, including
"Four Walls of Raiford" and "Mr.
Banker," are more of a hard core
southern folk style. Those only used
to hearing the band's airplay songs
might not be used to this sound.
These songs are of a slower tempo,
feature a lot of acoustic slide guitar,
and feature generally depressing
lyrics.
Rounding out the album is a live
version "Simple Man" that was left
off of One More From the Road. As
usual, Skynyrd fills the live version
with the electricity they were
renowned for. And as usual, any
album with the name Lynyrd
Skynyrd on the cover is of the
highest quality. Perhaps not as good
as Second Helping or Street
Survivors, Legend nonetheless
Il I
stands tall on its own merits.
-Akim D. Reinhardt
Yanni
Out of Silence
Private Music
Private Music, the young new
age label dedicated to the highest
echelons of both quality a n d
technology (all releases are digitally
recorded and mastered, and all records
are on virgin vinyl), has just put
forth the second effort of its wun-
derkind, Yanni.
Out of Silence is the follow up
to last year's Keys of Imagination
See RECORDS Page 10
COMMONS
CALL MARK STEPHENS.
AT 763-9484
The University of Michigan is an
equal opportunity, non-discriminatory,
affirmative action empioyer.
Benefits include
- Flexible hours
" No weekends!
- Close by 5:00-no evenings!
" 10% off textbooks and selected items at the
Michigan Union Bookstore
-50% off food the days you work
- Free passes to most University Club events
$4/hr with advancements to higher
paying student manager positions
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Line-Cook Needed
experience necessary
weekdays 11:30-1:30
starting pay: $4.30/hr
THE
UNIVERSITY
CLUB
students need only apply
The University of Michigan is an
equal opportunity, non-discriminatory,
affirmative action employer.
_I
U. I.
PUBLIC NOTICE
MICHIGAN STUDENT ASSEMBLY
1987-88 ELECTIONS
NOV. 18th & 19th
STRATEGIC PLANNING,
ASSOCIATES, INC.
OPPORTUNITIES IN
MANAGEMENT CONSULTING
Strategic Planning Associates, Inc. (SPA) is a
management consulting firm that develops corporate
and business strategies for a Fortune 500 client base.
SPA, based in Washington, D.C., London, Geneva,
and Singapore, offers a broad range of services which
include corporate strategy studies, individual business
studies, acquisition analyses, analyses of competitors
and industry structure, and operational and imple-
mental studies.
We are seeking talented undergraduates to join
the firm in our Washington office as Research Analysts
who will work closely with other professionals on client
case studies. The two-year position provides extensive
experience and excellent preparation for graduate work.
Mr. Ronald Cooper, Manager, along with other
members of SPA's professional staff will speak on
campus at Michigan:
MONDAY, OCTOBER 19
MICHIGAN UNION
Representatives from
the following schools
will be elected:
LSA
ENGINEERING
BUSINESS
RACKHAM
MEDICINE
LIBRARY SCIENCE
MUSIC
PHYSICAL
EDUCATION
SOCIAL WORK
DENTISTRY
EDUCATION
Applications available
Mon. Oct.19 -EmtS A