The Michigan Daily - Thursday, January 11, 1990 - Page 9-
Always raids empty fridge
Always
dir. Steven S ielber
NY MIKE KUNIAVSKY
William S. Burroughs writes,
"You can't fake quality any more
than you can fake a good meal." If
this is true, then Steven Spielberg's
latest, Always, is about as appetiz-
ing as a 49 cent taco or a pink
rmarshmallow ball. Maybe a better
metaphor would be one of those
"custom made" cakes from Meijer's:
sure it looks edible, but there's noth-
ing of nutritional value inside. In
any case, what this film has in terms
cf production quality it completely
lacks in terms of content.
It's not that Spielberg commits
some great evil in the creation of the
film - on the contrary, the film's
production values are amazing -
ies just that there's very little mate-
rial for him to work with. The
film's plot (based on that of the
1943 Spencer Tracy flick A Guy
Named Joe which, incidentally,
plays at the MLB on January 20) is
fairly simple: a guy named Pete
(Richard Dreyfuss), a hotshot
bomber pilot (in this version bomb-
ing burning trees rather than Ger-
mans) dies in "combat" saving the
life of a buddy, Al (John Goodman),
and leaving his love, Dorinda (Holly
Hunter), to mourn.
Before going to heaven, though,
he is given a job by an angelic Hap
(Audrey Hepburn) to look over the
shoulder of a fledgling pilot, Ted
(Brad Johnson). Unfortunately for
Pete, who is a jealous, possessive,
all-American male, Ted falls in love
with Dorinda and Pete must wrangle
with his conscience in order to "let
Dorinda go."
Okay, so this seems to be perfect
for Spielberg. It's simple, it's cute,
it's American, and it gives him the
opportunity to play with his favorite
objects, WWII planes. Well, that
may be fine for Steve, but it's pretty
boring for the rest of us. We've all
seen much of the effects-laden action
and heard much of the glib dialogue
before (many, many times). Even
this would be acceptable if there
were some kind of twist to the story,
or to the characters, or to something
(like the freshness of Raiders of the
Lost Ark). There isn't.
The closest the film comes to
originality is in its spectacular cin-
ematography and special effects, but
in a Spielberg film these are given;
really there is nothing new here.
Even the actors seem to know this
and act 40 years behind the times (all
except Goodman who, like in many
of his films of late, acts circles
around his peers). All in all, you
just end up sitting there watching
Pete struggle with his machismo,,
Ted transform into the perfect Amer-
ican male, Dorinda struggle to leave
the protection of one man for an-
other, and Al act as the (mostly)
comic relief. Not what I'd call a nu-
tritious, filling, or tasty two-and-a-
Holly Hunter and Richard Dreyfuss have both made the once-understandable mistake of thinking that working for
Steven Spielberg would mean they would star in a film with some substance. Instead, they made Always.
half hours.
Sometimes it seems that Spiel-
berg, if left on his own and with an
unlimited budget, would just be con-
tent to make films about model
planes and cars flying around, blow-
ing each other up, making for a
wonderful play time. Though there
is nothing really wrong with this, it
doesn't seem like the most produc-
tive way to spend tens of millions of
dollars, or fix a satisfying meal.
*ALWAYS is playing at Briarwood
and Showcase.
RECORDS
Continued from page 8
sky are "...a wonderful treasure that
can give for performance more than
all the attainments of new music..."
-Sharon Grimber
The Ocean Blue
The Ocean Blue
Sire Records
Welcome to the world of The
Ocean Blue. A world where Morris-
sey is president and Robyn Hitch-
cock is vice-president. A world
where R.E.M., XTC, and Erasure
administer justice on the Supreme
Court. A world where Echo and the
Bunnymen have been declared na-
tional treasures. A world where ev-
eryone is either a pensive poet or an
artist. A world where aggression is
virtually unknown - indeed, electric
guitars are extremely rare and distor-
tion is all but forgotten.
SWell, maybe that's a little ex-
treme, but The Ocean Blue is a great
record to use for playing "spot the
influence." Almost every 120 Min-
utes band is represented here as The
Ocean Blue churns out perfect little
pop tunes that appeal to everyone's
mellow, thoughtful side. Of course,
some of it may sound a little deriva-
tive, but jangly guitars and swirling
Don't
write for
The Michigan Daily
You don't need the aggravation
of interviewing important Univer-
sityandgovernmentofficials. You
just might find yourself uncover-
ing a major controversy, which
ucould leave you writing a number
of widely-read articles and could
really mess up your social calen-
dar. Youmightfindyourselfcalled
in at 9p.m. to write a late-breaking
story the entire campus will be
talking about the next day. And
what if there's something good on
TV that night?
No, working for an entirely stu-
dent-run and student-managed
newspaper that's enjoyed editorial
freedom since 1890 can only lead
to trouble. It might start with one
innocent article. But then you'll
find yourself wanting to do an-
other. And another. The next
thing you know, you'll be doing
layouts. Even editing. And by the
time you realize that you're enjoy-
ing it, you'll be beyond help.
The Michigan Daily-
you've been warned!
synths aren't exactly new.
The first single, "Between Some-
thing and Nothing" (the logical mu-
sical extension of Echo's "Lips Like
Sugar") highlights singer/guitarist
David Schelzel's artistic tastes:
"Words that form a sentence/ words
that form a phrase... could not con-
vey the meaning/ of what this man
has done/ in a painting, on a can-
vas." Other songs warn of the dan-
gers of shallow people ("Vanity
Fair"), extol the benefits of soul-
searching ("Myron"), and speak of
the inevitable subject of "Love
Song." Sometimes these lyrics seem
calculated to appeal to the same au-
dience that likes Robert Smith's de-
pressive tendencies, but it's pretty
obvious that Schelzel means what he
sings.
To list the influences on the mu-
sic would take up the rest of the pa-
per as the band can sound like just
about anyone they want. This could
lead one to believe that The Ocean
Blue has no mind of its own or that
they're the biggest bunch of poseurs
this side of the Atlantic. But after a
few listenings, it becomes obvious
that more is going on here than that.
These are really first-class songs.
Every one is a superbly crafted,
hook-laden gem.
The only problem with The
Ocean Blue is that the band relies
too heavily on its influences. If
these guys keep up the great song-
writing while taking the time to de-
velop their own style, they'll have
quite a future. But that doesn't mat-
ter right now. This is still a great
record.
-Mike Molitor
BORN
Continued from page 7
awork and an unrelenting tendency to
show all. A scene in an emergency
medical center is especially harrow-
ing; Kovic, shot once in the foot and
twice in the chest, looks barely hurt
amid all the shattered bodies. Also
outstanding is the unpretty sequence
in a filthy Bronx VA hospital, where
huge rats abound and wartime cut-
backs mean equipment shortages and
an overworked staff. Unfortunately,
the anti-war movement isn't given
as much care (after all, Stone was on
the other side of things at the time),
basically amounting to long hair,
classic rock, and a Kent State-style
protest starring Abbie Hoffman.
Born on the Fourth of July is by
no means a bad film, and in fact has
a lot of shining moments. It's too
bad, then, that it could have easily
been so much better.
BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY
is playing at Briarwood and Show-
case.
WEiF$IDE WSlO
PANAVISIONa TECHNICOLOR Re-released thru United Artists
T H E A T R E
1/11 - 7:00
1/12 - 7:15
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"...NOW MORE BREATHTAKING THAN EVER...
A STIRRING AND SPECTACULARLY
BEAUTIFUL EPIC"
-Jna1 u. TE E )(f T N~
LAWRENCE
OF ARABIA
NEWLY RESTOR ED DIRECTORS
CUT IN 70MM DOLBY, STEREO
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Participate in. . .
Talking about the Right Things
Campus-wide dialogues organized by the Institute for Social Research
Here at The University of Michigan,
students of diverse racial and ethnic back-
grounds attend the same classes, live in the
same dorms, read in the same study halls
and libraries, and cheer for the same
teams. Yet they may only rarely talk with
each other to share ideas, opinions, and
perspectives. And the same is true of
faculty and staff.
Let's begin the dialogue.. .
A group of us at the Institute for
Social Research plan to observe Martin
Luther King Day, January 15, 1990, by
seeing and discussing Spike Lee's
provocative new film ...
Do the Right Thing
Come see a free showing of this film,
and...
* talk about our divided society
* hrrntip-n rnm'irnrnt o mmin
How can you begin the dialogue?
Observe Martin Luther King Day by
seeing and discussing this film with a
person of a different racial or ethnic
background.
* Attend one of three orientation sessions
(place to be specified):
Friday, January 12, at 1:00 p.m.
Friday, January 12, at 3:00 p.m.
Saturday, January 13, at 10:00 a.m.
* See the film with your discussion partner
at one of the special free showings at the
Michigan Theater:
Monday, January 15, 1:30 p.m.
Monday, January 15, 4:30 p.m.
* Talk about the film with your discus-
sion partner
* Share with others the ideas you
and your discussion partner develop
together -- and, if you wish, contribute
those ideas to a special publication
Talking about the Right Things
Make your reservations now...
Your name:
Address:
Telephone:
Circle one.
freshman, sophomore, junior, senior,
graduate student, faculty, staff
Your racial or ethnic background (to helpi
partners):
Your age: Sex: M F
Do you need a discussion partner? Yes
If you already have a partner:
Partner's name:
Partner's address and phone:
match discussion
No
Partner is (circle one):
freshman, sophomore, junior, senior,
graduate student, faculty, staff
Partner's racial or ethnic background:
Partner's age: Partner's sex: M F
Please indicate which orientation session you think you will
attend (check one):
Friday, January 12, 1:00 p.m.
Friday, January 12, 3:00 p.m.
(anonymously, unless you wish
,