ARTS
Monday, February 17, 1992
The Michigan Daily
Page 5
Party on with
Wayne's World
* Bill & Ted, Bob & Doug phase out
Wayne's World
dir. Penelope Spheeris
by Annette Petruso
WIayne's World is simply brilliant.
Why, you ask, you untamed voyeur?
The Comparisons: Wayne 's
World follows in the well-worn
footsteps of some weak movies:
1) Okay, the first movie related to
Saturday Night Live was The Blues
Brothers and that was cool. Like
Wayne's World. It had a lot of damn
cool music. Like Wayne's World.
John Belushi is now a fat dead
goner. Not like Wayne's World.
2) Bob and Doug McKenzie
* (Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas),
the product of skits begun on SCTV,
a Cool Canadian Comedy Show that
was only a half-hour long, unlike it's
waytoofuckinglong American SNL
counterpart.
You remember Strange Brew?
You remember their album that
featured a cameo by Rhsh's Geddy
Lee on the song "Take Off (to the
Great White North/ take off it's a
beauty way to go?) OK, well the
album's hilarious, but Strange Brew
can only be appreciated if you drink
a lot of beer - like have a 6 for
yourself or a case if you have friends
- because it has a stupid plot but a
lot of funny self-deprecating humor.
But I digress.
Wayne's World has a slightly bet-
ter plot than Strange Brew solely be-
cause it's not as stupid. Wayne
Campbell (Mike Myers) is mature,
in the loosest sense of the word -
so mature he's got a relationship
with a girl, Cassandra (Tia Carrere),
who's a bassist in this band, Crucial
Taunt. Bob and Doug couldn't man-
age to be in a room with a babe
without acting stupid, and it wasn't
funny.
3) Compared to the two (II was
one too many) Bill and Ted's
Adventure movies, Wayne's World is
totally a masterpiece. Bill and Ted
took themselves a wee bit too seri-
ously and were ultimately too stupid
to have a cable access television
show. Wyld Styllyns was a stupid
band name anyway.
The Real Comparison: Instead,
Wayne's World can be classified as
culling the best characteristics of
Strange Brew - the donuts, the
hockey, and some of the witticisms
that come with Myers'. Canadian
citizenship - and Airplane or Hot
Shots! Wayne's World is replete with
cool pop culture, especially TV ref-
erences, such as:
Funniest part of the movie, I:
When Wayne and Garth Algar
(Dana Carvey) hit Milwaukee to see
Alice Cooper, they reenact the open-
ing sequence to Laverne and Shirley.
The Plot: Wayne's World's sto-
ryline isn't too inane - just pre-
dictable enough to both make fun of
itself and keep you interested.
Wayne charms Cassandra into being
his girlfriend, and his show moves
Hey, wanna see one way that Wayne's World ends? Check Wayne's (Mike Myers) after-snow reaction to Crucial I aunts performance in a special
episode of Wayne's World. Wayne's romantically holding his babe Cassandra's (Tia Carrere) digits. Is he going to blow chunks or what?
from community access to regional
television.
Evil producer Benjamin Oliver
(played straight by that bad boy Rob
Lowe) lies to everyone, makes
Wayne's World into a commercial
den of iniquity, and pisses off
Wayne by ruining his show and try-
ing to steal his girlfriend. Really, it
works.
What reality is in Wayne's
World: Like most good arty films,
Wayne and Garth address the audi-
ence directly, telling you what the
hell is going on at the beginning.
Later, the device allows shy Garth
can express his doubts about Oliver.
This Brechtian maneuver, or what-
ever that intellectual term is, gives
Wayne's World the credibility it
needs to those who prefer to wear
black.
In Wayne's World, reality is a
mirthmobile. The Mirthmobile,
Garth's car, is an AMC Pacer, light
blue with red and yellow flames on
the side.
The funniest part of the film,
II: This is a tough call. Could it be
the Gratuitous Sex Scene between
Wayne and Cassandra? Close.
Wayne, Garth, and their TV
crew/posse's lip sync to Queen's
"Bohemian Rhapsody?" Maybe. Or
the fact that Garth eats jelly donuts
with a straw? Hmm. Or better yet
Wayne ordering this new Chinese
dish called Creamofsomeyoungguy?
The physical comedy is fantastic
- check out how stiffly Garth bangs
at shows or Mike's humping around
the room in the Gratuitous Sex
Scene or even the way the camera
interacts with Garth, physically em-
phasizing his overwhelming feeling
for his dream woman (Donna Dixon)
who works in the donut shop.
Why Wayne's World is better
than SNL: SNL suffers from having
too many long skits that aren't
funny. Wayne's World is funny. SNL
feels like it never ends. The beauty
of Wayne's World is that it doesn't
really have a true ending - you ac-
tually get your choice of endings.
The Necessary Flaw: The
cheesy sentimental sequence - a
fight between Wayne and Garth -
isn't subtitled Cheesy Sentimental
Sequence. But Wayne's World more
than makes up for its mistake when
the evil Rob Lowe character gets a
body cavity search from a cop on the
street. Hee Hee.
The Potential Outcome: Will
bored suburban metal kids start a'lot
of cable access shows like Wayne 's
World that will suck? Don't forget
Ann Arbor alone has three com-
munity access channels like the one
that Wayne started on. Sucker.
WAYNE'S WORLD is showing at
Briarwood and Showcase.
___Content benefits the open minds
The Beat of Dis Content
prod. Sirad Balducci
Studio A, Dance Building
February 15, 1992
When I mentioned to a friend that I was reviewing
The Beat of Dis Content, he told me to prepare myself
for an evening of "white bashing." I asked him to define
"white bashing," and he said, "the Blacks blame the
whites for everything." Another friend responded,
"Well then, (the show) is telling the truth."
The Beat of Dis Content, a multimedia production,
retold the African American's history from slavery to
the present, citing both institutional and personal
racism, and its affects on the African American.
Act One opened with a dance representing the spirit
of the African people (Kevin Claiborne and Akosua
Performance review
Burris), generating a feeling of peace, freedom and
strength. The mood intensified when a European slave
trader (Jeremy Steward), dressed as a priest, arrived and
offered manacles to the Africans as if he were offering
them a Bible. Choreographers Claiborne and Burris
constructed flawless, smooth and emotional dance se-
quences which complemented the African spirit, peace-
ful and beautiful, seen in Michael Moore's fluid dresses
and costumes.
Film, music and skits depicted the loss of African
identity to be replaced by a European identity. Sirad
Balducci, producer of The Beat of Dis Content, put to-
gether five videos for the production which focused on
media stereotypes, police brutality, drug issue and
views of African American progress in society.
Perceptions of Affirmative Action were attacked in
an office skit "Showdown," where an African-American
woman was discriminated against by her co-workers.
The skit hit upon some actions often committed by
whites that may not be recognized as offensive to
Blacks, such as, "But you aren't like most Black
people." "Showdown" ended with a plea to whites to
accept responsibility for the past.
Radio entertainer E.M.W. made an appearance: as
Professor Negro in a talk show skit titled "The Weekly
Negro." Claiborne played a buppie talk show host who
interviewed Professor Negro about the situation of
Black America today. Professor Negro represented a
Uncle Tom type, but at the same time, he was a Black
man angry with role-playing.}
A segment of E.M.W.'s Color Commentary radio
show was shown at the end of the Police Brutality
video. E.M.W. points the finger at institutional racism
and talks about the lost African identity, and the need to
gain it back. A simultaneous skit showed a white police
officer beating a Black man, stopping only long enough
to talk with a white woman carrying a box of Dunkin
Donuts. This keyed into white apathy at the seriousness
of issues affecting the Black community.
The heart of the production, "The Color Feud Game
Show," positioned whites against Blacks. The object of
the game was find the best ways to describe the oppo-
nents' culture. A stereotypical answer always cropped
up, insulting the offended group but still being the
"correct" answtr on the game board.
The game show, as well as the entire production, re-
vealed that whites and Blacks often misunderstand one
another and fit too easily into the roles that evolved
from slavery. For real progress to be made, both Blaks
and whites need to learn history. They need to under-
stand how slavery, and today's society, both continue
- consciously or not - to rob African Americanof
their identity.
Progress can not be made as long as people refuse to
look at something that they might consider "white
bashing," without an open mind. The Beat of Dis
Content gives whites a basic message to be aware of
these offensive actions, and to learn their history.
The message to Blacks is to be aware that there are
major problems outside and within the Black commu-
nity. Those white Americans who attended The Beat of
Dis Content and did not close their minds after Act One
are one step ahead. - Adrienne Burhans
Sam and Rebe cca? Not quite. Add a bit of. optimistic melancholia and you get Nick (Chris Stapleton) and Kitty
* (Danielle Quisenberry) chatting about William Saroyan's The Time of Your Life.
U Players give Saroyan the
performance of a lifetime
The Time of Your Life Madaras) thinks he's made it big who entered by name, withou
dir. Richard Klautsch when Nick (Chris Stapleton) agrees looking to see who they were.
*a Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre to let him dance as part of the tav- The strong ensemble was loaded
Friday February 14, 1992 ern's "entertainment." And a news- with fine acting across the board
it
d
.
Ten years ago it happened at the
Power Center. This past weekend, it
happened again at the Lydia
Mendelssohn Theatre. The stage be-
came magically transformed into
Nick's Saloon when the department
of Theatre and Drama presented
William Saroyan's award-winning
masterpiece, The Time of Your Life.
Set in San Francisco in 1939, The
Time of Your Life gave a fly-on-the-
Theater review
wall perspective of Nick's bar and
its various patrons. Joe (Mark
Willett), the central character, hangs
out at Nick's, drinkinrg champagne,
giving away an endless supply of
money and "studying things."
As part of his "studies", he takes
a serial interest in oech of the other
boy (Eddie Sugarman) bounds in
and out, stopping only at one point
to deliver a rousing falsetto chorus
of When Irish Eyes Are Smiling.
Scenes are balanced by the ever-
present Willie (Clint Bond, Jr.), who
plugs away at conquering the pinball
machine, and a monotonous Arab
philosopher (Anthony Giangrande)
who sits at the bar constantly, insist-
ing that there's "no foundation" to
anything. Kit Carson (Andrew
Newberg) wanders in and tensions
build. As in the entire flavor of
Saroyan's work, however, optimism
prevails.
For nearly three hours, the seam-
less direction of Richard Klautsch
brought out the strength of the 24-
member cast. What could have been
clumsy and crowded became a
-rncefn1 set-nn as Klautsch scattered
Chris Stapleton was outstanding as
Nick, the tried and true caretaker.
His character became so genuine
and his gestures so comfortable that
one began to wonder if Stapleton
hadn't been running Nick's all his
life.
Both agile and cute, Madaras
stole several scenes with his quick
smile and his energetic, lanky at-
tempts at tap-dancing. The role was
first played on Broadway by Gene
See TIME, Page 8
who what where when
Starving for affordable cultural
events? If so, you're in luck. The
University Philharmonia Orches-
tra is going to perform the last two
movements of Prokofiev's Piano
Concerto No. 3 tonight at 8 p.m.. at
Hill. Wait., there's more! You'll also
get Liszt's "Totentanz," Vivaldi's
Bassoon Concerto, and other great
works all for the low price of $0.00.
If you're broke, but would rather
argue than thrall, you could see-what
State Senator Lana Pollack, Mi.
Council for the Arts and Cultural
Affairs Chair Judith Rapanos, and
former State Senator William A.
Sederburg have to say about Art
and Politics in Michigan. They'll
be discussing the history of public
funding for the arts in Michigan.
Stop in to the Trueblood Theatre at 7
p.m. tonight, and don't forget your
Engler-cudgel.
, v
.
.
A
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I
U
University Activities Center is now accepting I
applications for Executive Board positions.
" President I
* VP-Finance I
" VP-Human Resources J
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