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 SUMMER INTERNSHIPS OPPORTUNITY! Make the transition into the business world selling yellow page advertising for your campus telephone directory or for other campus directories nationwide. MONEY! Earn an average of $4,000 for the 11-week sales period with an I U University Activities Center is now accepting I applications for Executive Board positions. " President I * VP-Finance I " VP-Human Resources J I