ARTS
The Michigan Daily Wednesday, October 14,1992 Page5
The price of a lot of real estate angst
Sinead O'Connor
Am I Not Your Girl?
Chrysalis/Ensign
Yeah, I know. For Miss O'Con-
nor to do an album of contemporary
standards is more than a little ambi-
tious. This sort of stuff is reserved
for veterans with more than just two
records under their belt. Just who
does she think she is, anyway?
Maybe, you think, she's run dry on
ideas of her own.
Au contraire, mon ami. Record-
ing "Am I Not Your Girl?," Sinead
O'Connor has actually pulled a quiet
coup. By doing exactly what the
world doesn't want her to do, she
temporarily escapes the harsh spot-
light of scrutiny she's caught in.
That way, when she does record the
follow up to "I Do Not Want What I
Haven't Got," it won't be such a big
deal, expectations are lowered, and
basically, the media probably won't
care so much. Precisely what
O'Connor wants. I guess Madonna
isn't the only great manipulator after
all.
"But what about this one?," you
ask.
"Am I Not Your Girl?" is a re-
spectable collection of lushly ar-
ranged standards, which, for the
most part, works. Highlights include
a seductively crooned "Bewitched,
Bothered, and Bewildered," the
beautifully dramatic "Success Has
Made A Failure Of Our Home," and
a campy romp through Marilyn
Monroe's "I Want To Be Loved By
You."
A simple, light-hearted good
time, this disc is a pretty diversion
from O'Connor's usual heavy work.
Got a problem with that?
- Scott Sterling
The Wallflowers
The Wallflowers
Virgin
A more fitting title for this album
is "Old, Baggy Genes." The
Wallflowers, who are led by Jakob
Dylan, Bob's boy, are conspicuously
named after a Dylan classic, and
have a rather retro sound. This had
to be a set-up. When show-biz kids
try to make names for themselves,
comparisons to the legendary par-
by Camilo Fontecilla
James Foley has come a long way from the
days of "Who's that Girl." In his adaptation of
the lauded David Mamet play "Glengarry Glen
Ross," he focuses incisively on the hopelessness
of a society whose economy is going down the
drain. Instead of documenting the effects of the
recession on our nation as a whole, the film con-
centrates on the mishaps of five agents employed
at a small real estate office. As these characters
struggle to cling to the days of economic abun-,
Glengarry Glen Ross
Directed by James Foley; written by David Mamet;
with Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, and Alec Baldwin
dance, they find themselves losing their integrity
as human beings. They become more like starved
beasts scourging for food in a post-cataclysmic
world.
The film kicks off when Blake (Alec Bald-
win), an anonymous figure from Upper Man-
agement (the office "downtown"), gives an ulti-
matum to the employees of the office. A ridicu-
lous contest will award a Cadillac Eldorado to
the agent with the most sales, a set of steak
knives to the one in second place, and for the
losers, the boot. Blake praises the value of money
and harshly scorns the insignificance and re-
placeability of small-time workers in a speech
symbolic of current events.
The characters become entangled in a web of
frantic sales as they attempt to bluff clients, or
"leads", into buying land in the Glengarry
Highlands, a territory composed mostly of
wetlands. A late night theft in the office raises
the stakes, setting the barren scenario for the
ultimate degradation of these desperate men.
Foley focuses on the film as an ensemble pro-
duction, and the result is startlingly effective.
Jack Lemmon plays Shelley "The Machine"
Levene, an old-time salesman who constantly
reminisces of better times. His outdated tech-
niques are now ineffective, as is shown in a sale
"sit-down" scene with a thoroughly uninterested
client. Lemmon's pathetic perseverance through
an obviously lost case is the emotional peak of
the movie.
Ricky Roma (Al Pacino), by contrast, has the
upper hand, and knows how to sucker clients into
signing the checks. As a rising entrepreneur, his
troubles are few, until the theft turns his plans
upside-down. His nonsensical and extremely
psychological sales pitch to James Lingk
(Jonathan Pryce) exemplifies the magnitude of
mental manipulating skills required to twist a
client's will. Both Lemmon and Pacino make the
movie worth seeing, with performances that re-
veal the angst of the American working man.
But there's more. Ed Harris is Dave Moss, a
frustrated character seeking an easier escape
from a pressure he cannot handle. Unwilling to
scrape for sales with the leads he is given, he
comes up with a better plan. His brash final exit,
as he gives up his job, shows the need of the
working man to be respected as a human being.
George Aaronow (Alan Arkin) belongs also
to the old generation of salesmen, but instead of
fighting on like Levene, mostly observes bewil-
dered at the changes occurring around him, act
ing as a shadowy comic foil. John Williamson
(Kevin Spacey) is the incompetent supervisor of
these four agents, recipient of all complaints and
explosions of frustration. With his babyish face,
he plays the perfect bureaucrat with an unde-
served and overrated job.
"Glengarry" plays slowly and will probably
bore those seeking easy weekend entertainment.
But with beautiful "Lynchesque" cinematogra-
phy by Juan Ruiz Anchia, an explosion of color
followed by an immersion into grays, and mag-
nificent performances by all the actors, it strikes
right in the gut and will probably be a good thera-
peutic piece for a lagging interest in the present
state of our country.
O'Connor
ent(s) are not fair at all. Jakob, on
the other hand, is asking for it. For-
tunately for him, this is a fine record.
The band sounds remarkably like
The Band. Keyboardist Rami Jaffe
covers both piano and organ parts,
and the swirling runs he plays on his
Hammond remind the listener of
Garth Hudson, and the dramatic ar-
rangements would make Robbie
Robertson proud. Jakob doesn't nec-
essarily sing like Bob (although he
doesn't sing like Lou Gramm either),
but his voice is gritty enough to add
a great deal of character to the songs.
Jakob writes all the songs, and
his lyrics are quite good. Instead of
directly telling stories, or openly
showing his feelings, his songs con-
tain a series of images that unfold
for the listeners to really think about
what is being sung. One verse from
"Shy of the Moon" describes how
the constellation Orion "shoots the
moon and takes it as his own re-
ward."
The chorus from "Asleep at the
Wheel" succinctly illustrates a situa-
tion in which nothing unexpected
ever happens, even though it should.
Dylan sings, "Asleep at the wheel /
you know when to shift / 'Cos you
know the roads here don't change."
Julian Lennon and the Reddings,
among many others, have fallen way
short of expectations, but the
Wallflowers should not face the
same fate.
-Andrew Cahn
GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS is playing
Showcase.
at
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I
Thinking about applying
to Graduate School at
the University of Michigan
School of Education?
If YES, come to a meeting
TODAY, 6 p.m.
Room 1322 (Tribute Room)
School of Education Building
Faculty and staff will be available to answer questions
about programs, financial aid opportunities,
and admission requirements.
A pose from "The Christopher Columbus Follies: An Eco Cabaret."
Book 'em, Dannon
We're concerned. We're afraid
that you're beginning to think one
can survive on the culture scraped
out of a tub of yogurt. We think
you need do something about this.
We want you to go the ArtVideo
today at noon in the Museum of
Art. After all, "Two Faces of the
17th Century: Rembrandt and
Velasquez" beats Dannon any day.
Trust us. We know what's good
for you.
Collect call
Then, on Thursday at noon, we
think you should go back to the
Museum of Art and listen to what
William Hennessey has to say
about "How a Museum Collects:
Recent Acquisitions at the
Museum of Art."
The Nina, the Pinta,
and the Sneaky Maria
Just when you thought the
passing of October 12th meant that
you'd never have to hear the name
Christopher Columbus again, the
Underground Railway Theater
comes to town with their comical
portrayal of Chris's infiltration of
America. The Christopher
Columbus Follies is a cabaret-style
look at the quincentennial. Where
else can you laugh and be politi-
cally correct all for the low price
of $5? They'll be sailing onto the
ocean blue stage of the Power
Center Thursday at 8 p.m. For
ticket information call 763-TKTS.
GI{OOL O
J , 5 TY OF'A,
a W 1811 j
FU A VX
If you have questions, call:
OFFICE OF STUDENT SERVICES
(313) 764-7563
1033 School of Education Building
Afax6Ama
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