IRW s. m 1w ww mw w w rte U X------ FILM ftm " Waters 'sprays' it Z TA, Loich AK'EI, XY Us ,5tri kc I A C A A WINNING COMBI NATION! Kcb Greek Week '88 We've been challenged to compete!i Not to worry, wecan't be beat! XU & Watch out for us! Greek A WINNING Week COMBINATION! S1U988 By Beth Fertig Growing up in Baltimore can be tough. Especially if it's 1962 and you don't have the right hairdo. It may take several cans of hairspray and rounds of teasings before it's high enough to prevent students behind you from reading geometry problems on the blackboard. But it's worth it all if it'll make you stand out real swell when the cameras point your way, on the local dance show. Growing up in 1962 Baltimore can also be tough if you're Black and legal segregation is still alive. In Hairspray, it is this second aspect Director John Waters surprisingly manages to weave into this otherwise purely bubblegum spoof. Tracy Turnblad (Ricki Lake) is a "pleasantly plump" Baltimore teen who rushes home from school with her gob stopper-sucking best friend Penny (Leslie Ann Powers) to watch the hottest thing on black and white TV, The Corny Collins Show. Every week Corny (Shawn Thompson) and his freshly-scrubbed, freshly-sprayed dancers show off the coolest steps from the Mashed Potat, to the Bug. Tracy's diet pill- popping mother (played by the infamous, recently deceased transvestite Divine) and her father (Jerry Stiller) are less than pleased with this current fad, and Penny's mom is especially distressed that her daughter is listening to "colored music." The irony is that while Corny's kids dance to Motown hits - along with a healthy dose of Lesley Gore - the network's owner (also played by Divine, as a man) won't allow Blacks on the same show as whites. While Tracy daydreams about strutting her stuff on Baltimore television, Amber Von Tussle (Colleen Fitzpatrick) lives the dream daily. A well-groomed regular on the show, the spoiled Amber frets over pimples and storms home to have her mom (Debbie Harry) don surgical gloves to pop them for her. Harry is the quintessential backstage mother with her fashionable, frilly '60s sleeveless/backless tops and notorious hairdos. When Amber doesn't get enough close-up shots, mom and dad (Sonny Bono) threaten her with Catholic school, with Harry sneering, "I was Miss Soft Crab of 1945." Waters' camera zooms right in on its characters to the beat of the bouncy soundtrack, and the film sparkles from beginning to end. The minimal sets are all pink and pastelley to match the fizzy feel of the early '60s. But the best attempt to r hai Ma ble fluf dan to e mo her Tra boy Ge Pre Tra evi the cre as eff( cou on asp che inn wis Tra dar our bac the ste bri per ger I ~AVA 1 A1T Greek Week 1988 EVANS SCHOLARS DELTA GAMMA PHI DELTA THETA We know we can Accept the Challenge WO know we can... We Accept The Challenge ... Let The Games Begin! ICTORY NOTHING LESS!, WE ACCEPT THE CHALLENGE GREEK WEEK '8 h0 Sonny Bono plants a bomb in Debbie Harry's do in'Hairspray.' 8 GREEK WEEK 19 88 ...we've accepted the challenge We hVi& Wi+ cur 5 s4. Fiji PUTTING IT ALL TO GETHER Hustons By Mark Shaiman James Joyce is difficult enough to read, let alone adapt for the screen.' But Tony Huston's script for The{ Dead did more than an admirable job, and his nomination for an Oscar' is surely deserved. Part of the film's success must stem from it being a family project. Angelica Huston(Prizzi's Honor),{ sister to Tony, plays one of the lead roles as Gretta. And the film was headed by their father, the late John Huston, bringing about the ironic occurrence that his last film as a director is called The Dead. Of the three, only Tony has not won an Oscar in the past,. but that may change in the near future. Family plays an important part in the Joyce story, the last in his collection of tales entitled Dubliners. It is clear that the Hustons working together as a unit must have been a strong influence on the film, because the sense of personal relationships between the characters is well developed. The scene is Dublin of 1904, just past New Year's. Aunts Kate and Julia are having their annual party bring 'T and family and friends are in attendance. They talk, drink, dance, sing, and eat. This may seem like everyday life and not much of a plot,; it is the way this story works. Occurrnces are used only as a means to a better understanding of the individual characters. One of the topics of conversation at the dinner table is musical vocalists. But the names and the dates matter little; the effect that they have on the people is the important factor. This use of multiple levels of consciousness is present throughout the film, though this can sometimes elude the viewer. Still the overall impact is something that you will remember long after you have left the theatre. While the plot is sparse, there remains much to keep one's attention. The guests, following Irish tradition, take great pride in playing the. piano, singing, and reciting poetry for one another. And though we are only art audience at a recorded performance, we are made to feel like one of the guests who should applaud at the end of a recital. The world created here is a simpler one than we know. Mentions of See Dead, page 16 he Dead' to life or kU ALO Lr(L AZ... GREEK WEEK "A TRIO TO CONTEND WITH" C6