Page 12 - The Michigan Daily --Wednesday, March 28, 1990 Lowe maintains his image Bad Influence dir. Curtis Hanson by Mark Binelli "Get in bed with the devil, sooner or later you've gotta fuck," James Spader is told in Bad Influence, the new film in which he sells his soul to Rob Lowe and then regrets it. Spader (sex, lies and videotape) plays Michael, an upwardly mobile push-over (I don't get it either) who is being dominated by his fiancde, his co- workers and, eventually, this big goon in a bar who has him in a head lock. Enter Lowe as Alex, one of those mysterious drifter types, a sort of artsy, new-wave Euro- Satan who seems to have discovered that he can wear a lot of black and still look cool as long as he hangs around with the right people. Anyway, he helps out Michael by threatening to grind a broken bottle into the face of his adversary and they become fast friends. At first Michael is simply overwhelmed by Alex's sheer hipness. He takes advice on how to be mean to people at work and they start hanging out in these neat underground bars that play Skinny Puppy, but eventually Alex leads Michael down the road to that hot place (and it ain't I-75),;convincing him to cheat on and eventually dump his fiancde, do lots of coke, beat up people he doesn't like, rob liquor stores and most insidiously of all, insist that everybody call him Mick. In their hit films from last summer, both actors established themselves and their true gifts, Spader as a pretty talented actor and Lowe as, well, pretty. However, in Bad Influence, Spader just seems uncomfortable, a completely unsympathetic hero because of his distance and also because of the ease in which he is led by Lowe, who seems to be present only for his piercing eyes and as the victim of unintentional jokes ("Veecry nice," he says as he checks out Michael's video equipment), although there does seem to be this scary new trend for cute young actors who* want to be rebellious to play psychotic killers. Kevin Bacon did it in that one movie last year and so did Judd Nelson, in that other one... but this trend probably isn't very dangerous. At any rate, if you don't take Bad Influence very seriously, it works on a cartoonish level. At times the film is even slapstick, like when a mind-altered Michael dresses up in an Easter Bunny costume so he won't be recognized during the robberies. It can also be extremely intense, especially when Alex goes over the edge and begins to play mind games with his rejecting disciple. But the main problem with the film is that director Curtis Hanson seems to want us to believe in the relationship between Alex and Michael, a relationship which is completely absurd if taken at face value. Alex too easily jumps into Michael's life, begins giving him advice and then becomes obsessed with him to a Glenn Close extreme. With the Prince of Darkness implications, the relationship could have been of a surreal-hypnotic quality, like the one between Keifer Sutherland and the Jim Morrison guy in The Lost Boys. But Bad Influence is not fantastic enough to work as fantasy and not real enough to work as reality. BAD INFLUENCE is playing at Briarwood and Showcase. Abigail Hornby of People Dancing troupe expresses the work of artist Charlotte Salomon in Friday's production of Charlotte: Life? or Theater? Art imitates Salomon 's life by Beth Colquitt "Stories of the Holocaust must be kept alive," says People Dancing director Whitley Setrakian. She is speaking of this weekend's People Dancing perfor- mance at the Michigan Theater, Charlotte: Life? or Theater?, a mixed media event, with dancing, drama and music, both instrumental and vocal. The perfor- mance is based on the life o( German expressionist artist Charlotte Salomon (1917-1943). Salomon, a German Jew, was sent to live in the south of France for safety by her parents when the Third Reich became powerful in her homeland. Ulti- mately, she was not safe enough, and she died in a concentration camp. While she was in France, how- ever, Salomon produced 800 works of art which, ac- cording to Setrakian, "were like a diary." Salomon's art was autobiographical, covering her entire life from the meeting of her parents to the death of her grandpar- ents, with whom she lived in France. Her paintings also included text; on each canvas she recorded what the work was about and her feelings at the time it was made. In order to produce a stage piece from this work, Setrakian, took a translation of the dialogue from the paintings and edited it into a workable script. Se- trakian, who is noted for her odd, humourous style, callsCharlotte "more formal and serious than my past work." It is staged in the format of a play with four actors speaking the dialogue. "Sometimes we dance to the music and sometimes to the text alone," says Se- trakian. She relies on similar shapes and the same en- ergy she sees embodied in Salomon's paintings. Setrakian says she feels the work has a very con- temporary meaning because she sees similarities be- tween Salomon and students on this campus. "She was a young woman from an educated, bohemian fam- ily who were very into the arts," Setrakian says. "Even the style of clothing (in Salomon's paintings) is right off the Diag, vintage clothing and all." Setrakian says Salomon's work provides a detailed look into one person's life and allows the tragedy of the Holocaust to become much more pronounced. "I have a great amount of respect for her. She was trained, but not greatly trained. I also like the fact that she just did her work. She wasn't concerned with whether her work was displayed in a gallery some- where," she says. "She looked out for herself." Setrakian says she wants her piece to inspire a dif- ferent perspective of the Holocaust, from the point of view of contemporary students. "I'm not a politician, I'm an artist," says Setrakian. "This is one way that my work can have some impact.- CIJARLOTTE: LIFE? OR ThEATER? will be pre- sented at the Michigan Theater Friday at 8 p.m. Stu- dent tickets are $8. Midnight Oil Blue Sky Mining Columbia Records With the release of Diesel and Dust, Midnight Oil encountered something that was new to them: mass success. Moreover, the band had seemingly achieved this on its own terms; politically indignant lyrics and ferocious music propelled Diesel to big sales. After struggling in relative obscurity for eight years, this seemed a watershed for the band. But lurking in the future was the major problem of the follow up record. Given Midnight Oil's un- compromising stance, it would seem likely that they would continue in the same general direction. After all, if the band could hit the bigtime once without giving in to commer- cial constraints, then why not a sec- ond time? Why not indeed. Predictably, there has been a great deal of debate in the press over the new record, Blue Sky Mining. Most of this cen- ters on the question of whether or not this record is a sellout. Given the extremely high (by relative stan- dards) incidence of ballads on Blue Sky Mining, it would at first appear that this is the case. Even more agressive songs such as "Forgotten Years" and "King of the Mountain," are almost too melodic for their own good. Where's all the fire and brim- stone that marked the band's early work? As was noted in Musician, the band's audiences in their early pub years would have torn them apart for playing stuff this wimpy. Okay, okay, enough of the theo- retical - is Blue Sky Mining any good? Well, that depends on how far back one became a fan. Those who jumped on the wagon because of Diesel will probably not be disap- pointed; the songs are good, the playing is exceptional, and the record gives a feeling that this is worth- while art, not just a money grab. There are a few too many ballads, but bald-headed Peter Garret actually harnesses his primal yelp into some real harmonies. Not bad, Pete, although you'll never be one of the great lounge singers. For those who were drawn to ear- lier records, the lyrical content has remained as politically charged as ever. There isn't any mushy crap here, except for "Shakers and Movers." The problem is that the band seems to lack the drive that made songs like "Read About It" so powerful. Maybe the band is getting older. Worse yet, maybe they're get- ting more mature. But they're still pulling stupid gimmicks like mak- ing the cassette of Mining blue. Maybe there's still some hope. -Mike Molitor THE DAILY CLASSIFIES ARE A GREAT WAY TO GET FAST RESULTS CALL 764-0557 ,, ., . ..-. - ..: "It's the perfect car for students about to enter the real world" It's no wonder that Dana Fullendorf is going forward in a new Jetta GL. Her relationship with Volkswagen goes way back. "It must have started at birth, when I was brought home in a 1963 Beetle." As soon as Dana was old enough to drive, a succession of Volkswagens followed. A 1969 Beetle convertible. A 1973 Super Beetle. And Dana's first new car-a 1984 Rabbit Diesel- a car she was reluctant to part with, until her sister purchased a new Jetta GLI. "I really didn't need a new car. My Rabbit was in great shape and gave me no problems whatsoever. But I said to myself, if my sister can get a new Jetta then so can 1. "This car fits my image to a T, I'm a student on the brink of becoming a professional. And need a car that'll fit into both of my worlds." The Jetta GL d Performance and practicality at a Volkswagen price. We get the idea that when Dana Fullendorf >< graduates, she's going to go a long, long way. The vci College Graduate Finance Plan makes owning or leasing a Voikswagen easier than ever before. And you ..::. f.may not need a credit history to qualify, Visit your authorized Volkswagen dealer for complete details. m