V V V VW VJ
w w I w w
-IV
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Poniewozik
Continued from Page 14
at the cartoon couples. All of the
same color, all of opposing genders.
Pick up the Valentine's classifieds.
Guys - be a Prince Charming.
Girls-charm a prince.
Last Valentine's Day, like I said,
was on a Sunday. A news reporter at
the time, I spent part of the day
covering a protest at Liberty Square.
It was a protest against Michigan's
anti-sodomy laws - laws, the likes
of which have been upheld by the
Supreme Court, which could send
you to jail for as much as life for
unsanctioned expressions of affec-
tion. Maybe you were there.
It was cold as hell that day. I
could barely feel my hands scratch-
ing on my notepad. So between
speeches, one of the leaders of the
protest said it'd be a good idea for
everyone there to take a break for a
while, to jump up and down, warm
up, and get our circulation back
again.
The protesters did. So did I, glad
for the relief. And as we jumped
around, hopping like ppgo sticks,
looking utterly ridiculous, I noticed
some of them holding hands, trading
a little warmth with each other.
Woman and woman, man and man,
holding hands for all the world to
see: for a minute, at least, unafraid.
I write this card hoping I never
have to write it again, hoping that
next Valentine's Day, some Valen-
tine's Day, I can look at you two,
and your joined hands, with as much
resentment as I would any other
happy loving couple. But not today.
It's hard enough to keep warm as
it is.
(
R E A D I N G &
LEARNING
S K I N L S
C E N T E R
READING
& LEARNING
SKILLS CENTER offers
WORKSHOPS & TUTORING to help students:
" Learn strategies for more efficient study.
. Manage time efficiently.
" Have more time for other interests.
- Identify problems and tailor programs to
Continued from Page 4,
partnership, so there's an
understanding. John writes every-
thing down. I do the opposite.
Sometimes I go onstage without,
anything written. I just play."
He also doesn't deny that, like
former member Clarke, he often
feels restrained by Lewis. But
according to Jackson, it's not a
problem. "That's why I do my own
projects - so I can pursue my other,
interests."
So the Modern Jazz Quartet sur-
vives by compromise and thrives on
an inherent check and balance sys-
tem. Lewis' deliberateness maintains
Jackson within the quartet's musical
structure by not allowing his
improvisation to stray too far from
the music's boundaries. No matter
how brilliant a musician Jackson is,
the Modern Jazz Quartet would never
have been able to achieve such suc-
cess - both commercially and
artistically - without Lewis' direc-
tion.
On the other hand, Jackson's love
for bebop and his ability to impro-
vise doesn't allow Lewis' structure
to dominate the quartet's music. Be-
cause of this relationship, the music
has maintained its roots - it can
still hit the blues or push with
swing.
Few other musicians have been
able to achieve such a dichotomy in
jazz, but the name Ellington does
come to mind. The Modern' Jazz
Quartet's latest album, For Elling-
ton, pays homage to the late jazz
master.
"The 'Duke' influenced MJQ the
same way he's influenced everyone
in jazz," said Jackson. "No one
combines swing, jazz, and blues the
way he did. No one can play jazz
without passing through Duke
Ellington."
Aside from Ellington's versatility
and brilliance as a composer ("Did
you know if you played all of
Ellington's compositions consecu-
tively it would last for nine and a
half days?" Jackson asked me), the
quartet was influenced by the
"Duke's" dignity. It's something
they wanted to achieve with their
music, something that hadn't really
been achieved by a small combo be-
fore. It's part of the reason why the
quartet traditionally performs in for-
mal tuxedoes.
"When you go to hear symphony
music, don't you wear coattails? My
music is as dignified as the sym-
phony."
That's what Milt Jackson wants
the Modern Jazz Quartet to be re-
membered for - its dignity.
"I would just like people to know
that we've made a strong contribu-
tion to jazz and that we brought a
dignity to the music."
But Jackson is frustrated by this
country's refusal to embrace jazz, the
music it has created. It was the rea-
son he left the band temporarily in
1974.
"Yeah, I was disappointed. I felt
we weren't getting any recognition
for what we did in music. No re-
wards financially or otherwise. I
thought, 'something's wrong' here.
"This group has been together for
37 years and yet we've never been
mentioned for a Grammy. The peo-
ple who have been involved don't
have the insight to what we've done.
I can't explain it."
Jackson thinks the problem may
be racial. "If jazz had white roots,
don't you think it would be more
popular than it is today?"
He also thinks the problem may
be that people aren't educated about
the music. "Most young people
think jazz history started with Chick
Corea and Keith Jarrett... and maybe
a little Coltrane. They don't know
who Charlie Parker was."
But whatever the problem is,
Jackson finds comfort in knowing
he's created musical history - not
only in the realm of jazz but also in
the realm of Western music. Jackson
is an artist in a country that wor-
ships entertainers. He knows that.
And he's becoming more comfort-
able with it.
"My roots will always be there. If
I feel that people are tired with what
I play, I'll quit," said Jackson, the
owner of two publishing companies.
"But as long as people come to me
and say I've been giving them plea-
sure for 35 years, that's all I need.
comey
Ted Danson is surprisingly good as a
ballroom dance instructor, playing
the role with flair, wit and (most
importantly) believability. If you
know Isabella Rossellini (daughter
of Ingrid Bergman) -only from her
kinky role in David Lynch's Blue
Velvet, you are in for another sur-
prise. She is positively radiant in
this film. Rossellini's smile is
contagious because she seems so ut-
terly happy - the entire audience
just beams whenever she appears on
screen.
Initially, the relationship between
Danson, kind of a big American lug,
and Rossellini, a refined Italian
woman, appears contrived, but it re-
ally works. Their relationship
doesn't seem as if it was developed
solely as a vehicle for the two
celebrities during some production
meeting at Paramount Studios.
There is real, honest chemistry be-
tween them. Sean Young (No Way
Out, The Boost) and William Peter-
son (To Live and Die in LA, Man-
hunter) are also terrifically slimy as
Larry and Maria's spouses. In
smaller roles as elderly lovers, Lloyd
Bridges (Tucker) and Norma Alean-.
dro (The Official Story) are funny
and exuberant.
The mood of the entire movie
exudes a lust for life. Director Joel
Schumacher (Lost Boys, St. Elmo's
Fire) keeps the film moving right
along, never dragging, while simul-
taneously creating a beautiful am-
biance. Angelo Badalamenti's (Blue
Velvet) musical score is fittingly
lush and very classy, adding to the
film's environment.
meet students' needs.
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Call the RLSC for more Information.
1610 Washtenaw Ave. (near Hill St.)
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W r 71
0-
Ted Danson (fresh from his suc-
cess in Three Men and a Baby) and
Isabella Rossellini (Blue Velvet,
White Nights) play Larry Kozinski
and Maria Hardy, who become
cousins when Larry's uncle marries
Maria's mother. At the wedding,
Maria's husband Tom (William Pe-
terson) and Larry's wife (Sean
Young) link up for a quick affair
while Larry and Maria are left alone.
They soon become friends. The two
pretend they are having an affair in
order to get back at their spouses for
their bad behavior, but soon the
relationship between Larry and Maria
develops while the other disinte-
grates.
The strength of Cousins is this
friendship between Larry and Maria.
O
I
E-
Ted Danson and Isabella Rossellini have some fun h
scheme to get back at their cheating spouses in Cou
00
7
65-2034
Judging from Schumacher's past
films, he has a real knack for
assembling casts which have a ten-
dency to become confusing. Yet the
screenplay by Stephen Metcalfe,
adapted from the French film
Cousin, Cousine, is very compact.
Both he and Schumacher treat each
budding or crumbling relationship
with care and without pathos.
Cousins may get a little sappy here
and there, but like senior proms it
comes with the territory and is ex-
cusable, even necessary, in the ro-
mantic-comedy genre. The relation-
ship between Lloyd Bridges' charac-
ter and his grandson (Keith Coogan),
who are both sex-starved, is particu-
larly amusing.
Cousins is so fresh and adult that
it is surprising to see it as part of
the Hollywood mainstream. Producer
William Allyn and director Schu-
macher should be congratulated for
creating such an intelligent, non-pa-
tronizing film with genuine wit and
cinematic beauty. Cousins is great
entertainment that makes the price of
admission more of an investment
than a debit. 9
SK
2
ANN ARBOR
- f r t1I L nenm
See related interviewi
Joel Schumacher in
section.
with Director
today's Arts
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Nothin' deep, we confess,
but Her Alibi sure is funny
a
That's where it's at."
CONCORD
ANN ARBC
the Modern Jazz Quartet will be at
the Power Center tonight at 8 p.m.
I
I
Flint
Continued from Page 18
M diploma. Even though it has
'Flint' after it, it still looks pretty
good.'
As for the future, Chancellor
Jones said he hopes to see a new li-
brary, now only in the planning
stages, built. The current library oc-
cupies only one floor in a class-
room-office building. Jones added
that "at some point there will be
some form of student housing," but
it would have to come as growth,
and not replace existing University
resources. And recently even
fraternities and sororities have even
been starting up on campus. Al-
though the groups do not have the
traditional houses, Sekeklsy said
"they offer many of the other activi-
ties that define what Greeks are."
"People at Flint feel like they're a
part of the University of Michigan,"
said Utley.
Canada summed up her feelings
best. "If I had the money to go to
Ann Arbor, I'd be there in a second,
but... I love this school, the people
here are great."
WEEKEND
MAGAZINE
Fridays in The Daily
763-0379
By Mark Shaiman
Her Alibi needs no excuse. All
over the place, this film is being
slammed by the critics. Their reason
- the film is not realistic. So
what! Who ever said a movie is
supposed to be realistic? And why
should it be? All it is meant to be is
fun, and that it is.
This film makes no pretenses of
being multi-dimensional; it is con-
trived to begin with. Philip Black-
wood (Tom Selleck) is a successful
mystery writer who is going through
a multi-year dry spell. Hanging
around the local courts one day, he
comes across Nina Ionescu (Paulina
Porizkova), who is suspected of
murder. Instinctively knowing she is
innocent, he claims to have been
with her at the time of the crime,
and thus gets her out of jail. He be-
comes "her alibi."
The plot follows the couple as
pretenses being
multi-dimensional; it is
contrived to begin with.
they strengthen the alibi by living
together. As time passes, Blackwood
becomes less and less sure of Nina's
innocence, leading to numerous
amusing, sometimes hilarious, plot
complications. Blackwood's mental
debate whether or not to lock his
bedroom door at night, struggling
with guilt versus safety, is terrific
silent shtick.
Dialogue in the film can also be
quite comic, especially Blackwood's
See Alibi, Page 8
This
film makes no
r--------
Academic and spiritual
achievement and a warm and
congenial atmosphere are just
some of the things you'll enjoy
as a student of Concordia
College.
Our community of young men
and women benefit from a
broad range of programs
including Cross-Cultural
Relations. General Liberal
Arts, Human Resources
Administration. Nursing [in
conjunction with EMU),
Teacher Education. Parish
Assistant. and Pre-Seminarv.
For more information on the
programs available to you. call
or write us today.
Concordia College
Office of Admissions
4090 Geddes Road
Ann Arbor. MI 48105
(313)995-7300
Conctordia (College is a mn mr n ti t ution
of the Lutihieran Church. Missouri Sy nod.
and admits so tdenis of any race. color.
religion" and n "inal or i thni origin
Paulina doesn't just model in
Her Alibi
PAGE 20 WEEKEND/FEBRUARY 10, 1989
WEEKEND/FEBRUARY 10, 1989