0 Page 8 --The Michigan Daily-- Monday, November 9, 1992 Read the book? No, but I saw the movie by Aaron Hamburger If some of the year's best films seem a little familiar, it's not because of the usual Hollywood tendency to find a formula that works and then make a slew of copycat films (see "The Doctor," "Regarding Henry," and "The Fisher King" under "Nasty Male Redemption Genre," for example). Rather, this familiarity is due to the fact that Hollywood is suddenly turning to highbrow literature, for a change, as source material. Even Martin Scorsese, not usually an industry follower by anyone's standards, is getting into the act with his "'The Age of Innocence" to be released some time next year. There's no specific pattern to the type of literature filmmakers have been developing lately. The list in- cludes Cliffs Notes staples like "Of Mice and Men," "Ethan Frome," and "Last of the Mohicans" as well as Indeed, now that plot-driven films like 'Ghost' are all the rage in Hollywood, literary adaptations have become more popular. lesser-known texts like "Enchanted April" and "A River Runs Through It." Women and minorities are repre- sented with adaptations of "The Autobiography of Malcolm X," "The Lover," and "The Awakening" (which appeared on television as "Grand Isle" when no major distributor would release the film theatrically in the U.S.). Even seemingly unfilmable books like "Naked Lunch" and "Howards End" are appearing on the screen. Why the sudden crop of books on film? One reason is that in a highly volatile market, it's difficult to predict what will attract audiences. Expensive action films like "Hudson Hawk" and star vehicles like Julia Roberts' "Dying Young" proved unreliable. Films like the cur- rent hit "Last of the Mohicans," "Of Mice and Men" and the upcoming "Brain Stoker's Dracula" have a built-in audience of people who are fans of the book or art house fans who want to seem intellectual by saying the last film they saw was "Hlowards Ind" rather than "Alien3." Also, film adaptations are easily made and hard to screw up. Case in point: "Of Mice and Men,'' a film which has its share of problems, an over-the-top per- formance by John Malkovich as Lenny, photography so lush and "pretty" it could serve as a travelogue for dirt ranches in rural California, and straightforward, unorig- inal direction by first-timer Gary Sinise. Yet "Of Mice and Men" is still one of the best and most powerful filns of the year. The secret of the film's success lies in the fact that it simply allows the natural strength of the great story of Steinbeck's classic to take over. Indeed, now that plot-driven films like "Ghost" are all the rage in Hollywood, literary adaptations have be- come more popular. Books like "Howards End," "Enchanted April," "Braim Stoker's Dracula," and "Last of the Mohicans," have good stories as well as being good texts for English class. Books are also cheap to turn into films. Merchant/Ivory has been doing it for years, making films that bring in modest returns, but are nevertheless highly profitable due to their low budget. Finally, books, unlike film scripts, can inspire direc- tors to make great films. James Ivory took E. M. Forester's modernist classic and created an equally wor- thy movie. The lean prose of Norman MacLean's "A 0 Merchant/Ivory have been making low-budget, Nightly profitable masterpieces like "Howards End" for years. River Runs Through It" led to Robert Redford's sump- tuously visual film version. The plethora of literary adaptations makes Hollywood happier (they're making more money) and moviegoers happier (they're seeing better films). Indeed, the only losers are high school English teachers, whose students, instead of reading their assignments, can now go to their local movie theater. Personality enough to fill a theater e by Melissa Rose Bernardo Picture a shiny black piano alone on the stage of the Michigan Theater, its paltry background an old brick wall, a ladder, and several stage lights and wires strewn care- lessly about. Blackout. A "B" on the piano. Suddenly, an angelic voice floated over the crowd from off- stage. Patinkin jogged onto stage and was met by unending applause. Clad in his characteristic orange t-shirt, grey chinos and tennis shoes, he stood perfectly still, yet somehow managed to fill the whole theater with his personality. Patinkin's concert was one con- stant characterization after another. In two short hours, he evoked nu- merous personalities from a nostal- gic lover to a lackadaisical bus driver. "Soliloquy" from "Carousel" was one of his best. With rolled up sleeves, he humorously posed as a macho, grizzled hather meticulously yet lovingly planning the life of his unborn child. To play these different charac- ters, Patinkin relied on his vocal ver- satility. He graced us with "Bring Him Home," standing perfectly still, with eyes turned only to God. His creamy falsetto brought to life the dying spirit of "Les Miserables." In t.i Mandy Patinkin Michigan Theater November 6, 1992 "Brother Can You Spare a Dime?," Patinkin turned a jaded man's plea for help into a culmination of anger against society. He sang from the bottom of his lungs to produce the full gritty sound, conveying an in- credible amount of angst, with clenched fists and veins popping out of his neck. Several of Patinkin's songs were memoirs. He sang Kermit the Frog 's famous ballad, "It's Not Elasy Being Green," and dedicated it to the lov- ing memory of the late .Ioe Riposo and Jim Henson. Patinkin sang "Sonny Boy" as a personal tribute to his friend Alan Bucksbaum, who died of AIDS a few years ago. "I sing this in the memory of all our loved ones we lost, and in the hopes and prayers that one day soon in our lifetime ... they will have discovered the cure for this nightmare AIDS ." Patinkin even let us in on his personal life. "Today is my wife, Kathryn Grody-Patinkin's birthday ... I want you all to sing 'Happy Birthday' to her." He had arranged it so that the audience could hear ev- erything she said over the phone. "Like the David Letterman show, eh?" Patinkin chuckled. Patinkin was relaxed and having a great time, and so was the audience. When he tripped over a word or two, he acknowledged it ("Let's try that one again!"), and corrected it literally without missing a beat. He ofteni invited the audience to sing also. Enlthusiastcl as I Was, there were unfortunately not many people uninhibited enough to join me in belting out Evita's "Oh What A Circus," in Latin. In over two hours, Patinkin brought to life the dilapidated stage of the Michigan Theater. This was all accentuated beautifully by Paul Ford's flawless accompaniment, supple and lush, and trmuly a work of urt in itself. djabiero ' Zoo Ent./BMG It's kind of hard to tell what Drive is trying to sound like, but a basic goal seems to be that big, open, mysterious, Led Zeppelin kind of sound. The band doesn't totally fail, but "diablero" is nothing spec- tacular either. "Dream Ceremony" and "Shape- shifter" are mediocre Queensryche rip-offs, and like every other song on this album, they overplay their welcome. "Pandilla" is slightly more enjoyable because it mixes in Spanish guitar and lyrics, but it, too, could afford to be shorter. The chilling ballad "Once Again" is probably the highlight of the al- bum, and after it, the only things worth listening to are the cool guitar instrumental "Brujo" and the calm- ing Pink Floyd-ish "A Character in Time." Unfortunately, Drive lacks the complexity of lyrics and a mesmeriz- ing singer that it needs to seriously compete with the bands it imitates. Fo be truly worthwhile, "diablero" needs something unique, and at this point the only thing that does this is the sprinkling of Spanish music. "Diablero" isn't a bad album - for the most part, it's mediocre, maybe pretty good at best. Drive un- deniably has its moments, but these are truly few and far between. -Kristen Knudsen Swallow Blow 4AD Britain's influx of crappy ethe- real wash bands who have taken the idea of a few good groups and made them into a factory-produced output has got to stop. Swallow proves yet again that if you can't sing, can't play guitar, and can't decipher the lyrics, you're guaranteed a record deal. Save your money, and go to sleep. Either way, it's the same 'ole thing. -Nima Hodacei Does Your Group Need Money? Are you interested in a fast-moving, highly profitable fundraiser? A table of our colorful GRE Time.Saver study guides draws attention rain or shine-unlike car-washes. It doesn't require any up-front money-unlike t-shirt sales. And it promotes academic excellence. So call for your free review copy and tell your members about the no-risk Time-Saver consignment program. 0 All grad school hopefuls on campus take the GRE exam. They will naturally be interested in such a fundraiser. Your group can readily earn $1000-riskfree. 'What makes this book sell so well? Quality. And our unrivaled Time-Saver advantages: *Hard cover-at soft cover price *Written by top professors *Concise coverage of all subjects _ ::::+ , g,- E'Il ' SAVE r< ~ r t#s>'- il.li >;;. MOLLY I TVENSDaily Touch Me I'm Mark Mark Arm of the Seattle Sound heroes Mudhoney played at St. Andrew's Hall in Detroit this past Saturday night. MUSKET Continued from page 5 out in silhouette behind her, Wag- ner's strong mezzo-soprano was filled with emotion, energy and hope of things to come. Unfortunately, Joseph ("Fiddler on the Roof') Stein's script created Genevieve as a somewhat flat, one dimensional character that didn't give Wagner much depth. Perhaps the only truly well- rounded character in the show was that of our narator, Denise (Brooke Ferris). Ferris' "Chanson" strongly, yet modestly, opened and closed the show. A soprano with a full, clear sound, Ferris' Denise stood out thanks to her appealing voice and her superior and uncontrived acting. The scene that best combined all of the show's positive elements was that of "Serenade." A light orchestral accompaniment, innovative interpre- tive dance, and a moonlit scene set the stage. With Miles Underwood's tenor voice that was best suited for ballads such as this one, backed up with Steven Wood's delicate har- monies, the emotion evoked was ap- propriately romantic. The problems that flawed "The Baker's Wife" were due not so much to MUSKET's production staff or cast, but rather to faults within the script. Stein overdid the theme of the inherent battle between women and men. It seemed that during every other song or every other line, one side got in its "dig" aimed at the op- posing side. Stephan ("Godspell" and "Pip- pin") Schwartz's moving score, however, rescued the show. And it was thanks to this score and some impassioned performances, that made the "tingle count" so high. For a free study guide and fundraiser info kit call: 1-800-837-0201 Great Lakes Press, Inc. building student group success since 1984 Interested in working for a non-profit organization? M~..:.:.':. - - Opportunitis in the Not-For-Profit Sector Tuesday, November 10 4:10-5:00 pm CP&P Program Room, 3200 SAB Michigan Individual Entrepreneurial Project Presents The Tenth Annual PF1YOIR AWARD Prize $3,500 Awarded To The Best Business Proposal Written By U of M Students (Confidentiality guaranteed) Proposals are due 5 p.m. March 11, 1993 INFORM1ATION MEETING: WA TERLAND Continued from page 5 can save this boring journey into a man's tormented soul. The film seems to have all the right devices, a tricky past, a prob- lematic present and a questionable future. The only problem is that no one is going to care about any of these people. One way or another things will work out. And if, by chance, things don't work, who cares? We've seen that angle before. Let's not fly off the handle alto- gether. Irons is, of course, great. Even when he delivers tired lines like, "Everything was so fresh and new," you completely believe that it was for him. He is a man in pain and he is totally lost. But in this story, how can anyone care? Irons played has played this type of character be- fore in "Dead Ringers," but the situ- ation was so much more fascinating. Not to mention the fact that Irons played both twins in the film. Ethan Hawke is all but annoying as the class jerk who, of course, be- friends the haggard history teacher. This is another character that has reared its ugly head one too many times. Watch a rerun of "Head of the Class" instead. WATERLA ND is playing at Show- case. 0 4 Thursday, November 12, 1992 Time: 1 i 5TH AVE. AT IBRTRY 761.90QM