Rage 8-The Michigan Daily- Monday, January 13, 1992 Be prepared for some mindless "musement from Boy Scout $ h LTie. Last Boy *oout Mk. Tony ScottX by Austin Ratner Mid you ever wonder what action rnoyie writers do with all the left- pver lines, scenes and jokes when they've finished their final drafts? At last, I can offer an answer to that et~ial, burning question: they put Ite all together and make a com- preely new action movie! -Jnfortunately, the resulting ;pIQ doesn't make much sense - but wli cares? Talk is cheap, movie-go- erkare dumb and ... yeah, movie-go- |er re dumb! The Last Boy Scout is 'such a movie; it is, if you will, a Die Hard without a plot. -"(The) script went far beyond the standard "two guys who don't like each other at first, but then earn to respect each other" plot- line. What appealed to me about The 0 Last Boy Scout was that, at its very heart, it's a tale of redemption," says co-producer Joel Silver in the film's press kit. Silver is exactly wrong - Scout's plot is no more than a jumbled series of witty ex- changes and fun good-guy-beats-up- scandal-ridden-sadistic-druglord- henchman action scenes. The vaguely detectable story, set in the streets of LA, involves a down on his luck P.I., Joe Hallenbeck (Bruce Willis) and a down on his luck ex-football star, Jimmy Dix (Damon Wayans) who slowly get to like each other as they pursue a typically gangsterish crew of evil-doers. Exactly how Hallen- beck's and Dix's goals become inter- twined, what their goals are, and how they achieve them are fairly muddled issues - and are really irrelevant. The scenes with some pretense to seriousness are the weakest. When Dix portrays his depression, drawl- ing over his booze in a strip bar, "All I do these days is drink, lose friends and nail anything with a heartbeat," you have to stop and think - isn't Damon Wayans sup- posed to be a comedian? Wayans is at his best when the script gives him an avenue for his talent: after being knocked off of a bridge and landing on a car wind- shield, he dizzily takes a bow and suggests to the crowd, "Don't try this at home." If there were an Oscar for best one-liners, Scout would run away with it. Willis is perfectly suited to the movie's gruff humor and in- sult/comeback volleys. The caustic humor works well with all the vio- lence against the violent bad guys - a terrific opportunity for the audi- ence for vicarious revenge and vic- tory. Uniquely, characters Hallenbeck and Dix actually scar and bruise when beaten up, adding a realistic flavor to the unlikely encounters. This surprising element of realism Don't see The Last Boy Scout for director Tony Scott's arty cinematography (see above) - see it for some wham! bam! leave-your-brain-at-the-box-office fun! It might just be the best Bruce Willis film of the year. reinforces our identification with the characters and increases our vi- carious satisfaction. In the end, Hallenbeck himself sums up the key to Scout's success and the success of similar (if slightly better plotted) movies like Lethal Weapon, also produced by Silver. When he gives Dix some ad- vice about being a good guy P.I., he says, "This is the nineties. You can't just walk up to a guy and smack 'em - first, you have to give 'em a good line." THE LAST BOY SCOUT is playing at Showcase. ROCK Continued from page 5 figure out what it means' ... It's 4simply listening to that song and ,sometimes I'll listen to that song and a thousand other songs and I'll simply be moved. My jaw will drop 'open. I just won't be able to believe that human beings can make sounds that powerful. And I just simply won't understand where that all comes from." But where does the music come from? Musicians, yes, and the majority of it used to come from youth and youth culture. Who made it and who listened were one in the same. But because more music now- adays is bought by the over-thirty set than the teens and young adults, the market affects how music is written about and, to some degree, who makes it. Can noise age? Murray says, "It's good-bye to youth fascism, you know, the whole notion of never trust anybody over thirty, hope I die before I get old, all that stuff. You're dealing with people who have got old and are sort of devoutly hoping they won't die 'til they're ninety." The fact is that Murray and Marcus themselves are over forty and have no intention of ending their musical writing careers, nor should they, because they are still charting the territory younger writers could follow when they reach the over- forty stage. Their age colors how they hear, what they hear, how they write, and who they write for. "The thing that bothers me is that there's so much in the music in- dustry that caters to people my age," Murray says. "I mean, we've got more money than the kids have ... it's good-bye to youth fascism. It's hello to ancestor worship and the economic hegemony of forty- something." The evil business side R E E WORKSOP I University Activities Center t he a t r e 1991 8pm Tuesday 1/14 in the Michigan Union Ballroom Impact Dance Theatre presents a FREE WORKSHOP For more Information, call UAC @ 763 1107 of music rears it's abysmal con- trolling head again. Murray and Marcus are not by any means the be-all, end-all figures in music journalism. But they write more for the people who are chang- ing the music to an older noise than to kids whose taste is still forming. Younger writers come to the music with very different values and perspectives that are just is le- gitimate as their forefathers. They, like Marcus and Murray, don't nec- essarily write about the same things as Rolling Stone. Paula Abdul was created to appeal equally to the over thirty and teen pop music fans, and is written about in the appropriate place. Personally, I like Guns N' Roses and Nirvana because they are fairly young and obnoxious (we'll leave the fascism out of it, that's another article). I cut my teeth on the Beatles, but that was when I was under ten years of age. They are old. They say nothing new. Same for R.E.M., INXS and all these other college bands that have been around for a decade or so. I would still see them live and check out their new albums, but I think bands like Uncle Tupelo and Ned's Atomic Dustbin are in- finitely more gripping and full of life by the mere fact of their youth and, more importantly, they have a greater chance of doing something New and Exciting on their albums. I can more easily trick myself into thinking something that is real noise might happen there. And, if young journalists don't write about them, few others will. A friend of mine goes so far to claim that no "new" (read differ- ent, important, or what have you) music is made by anyone over the age of twenty-five. I doubted the wis- dom of this rallying cry at first, but I now believe it is basically true. For only a few artists, little changes past the third or fourth al- bum. Perhaps the same goes for music writers, in that we come to the mu- sic with a "fresh" perspective. We are making noise too - a smaller- scale noisy youth fascism with a sense of history. 0l ..........................................U......3U " IFREESCHOLARSHIP INFORMATION : FOR STUDENTS WHO NEED : " : " " * : 1MONEY FOR COLLEGE1 Every Student is Eligible for Some Type of Financial Aid Regardless of Grades or Parental Income.-: " We have a data bank of over 200.000 listings of scholarships, fellowships, grants. : and loans, representing over S10 billion in private sector funding. : " Many scholarships are given to students based on their academic interests, career " plans, family heritage and place of residence. " There s money available for students who have been newspaper carriers. grocery clerks, cheerleaders. non-smokers...etc. Results GUARANTEED : CALL For A Free Brochure EXT ANYiME (800) 283-8600 17 HURRY UP... (AND WAIT) SPECIAL It's not too early and it's not too late to get on priority status at "The Ponds" for '92! I 'U Minority Career Conference Explore career opportunities with over 80 major employers and graduate schools You know Ingrid and Ingma NOW explore the rest SWEDISH FILM BEYOND BERGMAN ar- tudies Scand. 481-NEW COURSE WINTER 92 only Visiting Professor Dr. Tytti'Soila of Stockholm UniVersity Film Department Films shown at MICHIGAN THEATRE each week Tuesday, January 21 Open Session 7:00 pm - 10:00pm Informal discussions with employers and graduate school representatives Arrange Interviews with recruiters for Wednesday. January 22 Michigan Union Barrier Free Pre-Conference Workshops information and tips on making fhe most of your conference experience Thursday Tuesday Saturday Monday January 9 January 14 January 18 January 20 CP&P MichiganUnion Michigan Union Michigan Union 5-30-650 pm 530-650 pm 1010-11.30 am 4: 105 30 pm The University of Michigan Career Planning Plac rent THIS WILL GUARANTEE * $100 off your 1st month's rent * $200 security deposit * 1991 rental rates * Priority waiting list status * Great location w/ AATA travel * A worry free year in '92! ..,b a ,_ ..tea,. .. .., ,, ,,,. ~ ~ n aTM i l1 ro :.q If HEY ... ENROLL NOW IN AN UNUSUAL COURSE! Get involved... combine community service with weekly seminar... over 60 different sites and groups... through PROJECT COMMUNITY AND TRAINED VOLUNTEER CORPS (SOC 389) Health, Education, Environment, Literacy, Criminal Justice, Etc. DO IT NOW! .,.. .- J ' ., , . i For details or special assistance, contact: Career Plonning & Placement 320Student Activities Building 7647460 Just 2 Miles From Campus THE PONDS AT GEORGETOWN Some sections require overrides; for information come to: The Office of Community Service Learning 2205 Michigan Union 763-3548 bus. hrs. - 8 am to 5 pm M-F Students interested in Adult Correction, Juvenile Justice, and Chemical Dependency sites (Sections 020-043) are invited to A MASS INFORMATIONAL MEETING. Students will talk about their experiences at various sites. You need not be registered to attend. Come to one. Monday, Jan 13, 5:30 - 7 pm, Rm. 25 Angell Hall Tuesday, Jan 14, noon - 1:30 pm, Rm 25 Angell Hall I o - i 4-, Performers Musicians Technicians Berenstain Bears Coming Soon To A Location Near You Ann Arbor, Michigan: Tuesday, January 14 University of Michigan Michigan Union-Anderson Room Registration: 2:30-4:30 p.m. Kalamazoo, Michigan: Wednesday, January 15 Western Michigan University Dalton Center, School of Music (Park at Miller Auditorium) Registration: 3:00-5:00 p.m. East Lansing, Michigan: Thursday, January 16 Michigan State University Union Ballroom Registration: 2:30-4:30 p.m. Also At Cedar Point: Friday. January 3 761-2330 251 1 Packard Just S. of Stadium Across From Kroger P , I P Professional Insights Program Minority students from all majors translate accomplishments, abilities and attributes into career options for the future Guest Speakers. Career Decisions Resume Writing ~ r kt M . t aF *, I I .... -a-: -.r A '1 T7 rm fAW