The Michigan Daily -Friday, April 9, 1993 - Page 9
R W E Satire kills all the lawyers..
A Keen show
Since the last time Robert Earl
Keen camethrough town,he's dropped
the Jr. suffix, and done a record with
former E Street Band member Gary
Tallenton bass. His attitude and sharp
wit, however, has remained intact.
Put it this way; the chorus on one of
his tunes goes, "I use my gun when-
everkindness fails." Checkhimoutat
the Ark Saturday night. Tickets are
$12.50, and the shows are at 7:30 and
10 PM.
Strictly Free
Yes, there is something free hap-
pening today that you won't want to
miss. "Strictly Ballroom," the Aus-
tralian Cinderella story about ball-
room dancing and its campy appeal,
is playing at the Michigan Theater at
5:00 today for absolutely nothing.
"Ballroom" has been enjoying a
smashing stateside success as a kind
of schlocky "Saturday Night Fever"/
"Pretty Woman" from down-under,
anditpromises to be good, gaudy fun.
So swing by the Michigan today, and
don't forget that the 5:00 show is free
and the 9:20 show ain't. Call 668-
8397.
by Sarah Weidman
Like Ron Senkowski once said, "The LSAT ... is a
symphony of number two pencils tripping out." This comes
from a man who, on his LSAT, wrote an essay ripping on the
legal profession. So, what happened? Many top-rated schools
called him up wanting him to come visit so they could talk
with him. Afuture lawyer's dream! But Senkowski, inspired
by his essay and the whole LSAT experience tossed his 12
year dream in the garbage and decided to make movies.
What's his most recent one called? "Let's Kill All The
Lawyers," which recently opened to critical acclaim and
plays at the Michigan Theater this weekend.
Senkowski doesn't hate all lawyers, though, just unen-
lightened ones. He compares them to garden pests, "I don't
hate snakes and worms and grubs, either, but that doesn't
mean I want them around me." It all started when he was an
intern at a Detroit law finn and was ridiculed by a sleazy
lawyer for reading Shakespeare. The respect factor went out
the window, along with his career plans.
"Let's Kill All the Lawyers" closely mirrors Senkowski's
real life in that the main character, Foster Merkul (Rick
Frederick), is deciding whether or not to go to law school. At
a summer internship, Foster is put under the apprenticeship
ofJunior Rawley(JamesVezna),thetypeoflawyerSenkowski
despises-unethical, undermining and unsupportive. Foster
believes in fate, that whatever happens was meant to happen,
andhisviews clash with those of the arrogant Junior. Junior's
ridicule forces Foster into adream world, which overloads on
imagination. Foster goes so far as tothink of legal reform. It's
a satirical look at the legal system, its flaws and its shady
attorneys.
After coming to a realization and switching goals,
Senkowski upped to San Francisco, only toreturn home with
empty pockets. He decided to continue his studies at the
University of Michigan in the Film and Video department. It
was on a drunken nightnear Christmas when Senkowski and
a friend were motivated to go to Nicaragua to film a docu-
mentary. Ann Arbor donated a garbage truck to its sister city,
Jui Galpa, and the pair thought it would be a cool topic. So
they hit every organization and business in Ann Arbor for
cash, collected $16,000 and Senkowski was off again. It just
so happens that CBS News was hanging out there (political
reasons) and offered him ajob. Senkowski chose to stay and
faxed the papers he was grading back to the University.
He returned to A2 and his film career began rolling. His
silent black and white short "One in a Silent House" won an
award while he was gone and was shown on campus. The
money raised from this showing went into Senkowski's next
project, "Forever My Dog." "Dog" is a bitter-sweet comedy
about his dead terrier, Shootsy (for "he shoots, he scores").
He wanted to do this because, "A person's first experience
with death is their pet." And because professor Frank Beaver
told him that a good low-budget film should have close-ups
of children and pets - it touches the heart.
SoSenkowski moved from killing dogs to killing lawyers
and has been moving nonstop. Next, he will produce "Love
Affair" starring celebrity Willem Dafoe ("The Last Tempta-
tion of Christ") as the artist Jackson Pollock. "Love Affair"
will be directed by Dafoe's wife, who is a founding member
of the theatrical organization, the Wooster Group.
Still in development is "The Polish Mafia-They Made
Him an Offer He Couldn't Understand." "With a last name
like mine, I can make jokes like that," says Senkowski. With
the luck he's been having, he can makes jokes like that.
LET'S KILL ALL THE LAWYERS is playing at the
Michigan Theater.
even made?
Cry of the Silverfish
"Hips, Tits, Lips Power!" So goes the battle cry of estrogeon-powered Brit
rockers Silverfish. As notorious for their "Hips ..." t-shirts as they are for
their manic sour mash of thudding punk rhythms and chainsaw wailings,
Silverfish is one noise to be reckoned with. At the eye of this primal, three-
chord storm is vocalist L.F. Rankine. When this throat gets going, even
hard cases like Courtney Love stop and take notes. On their U.S. debut,
"Organ Fan" (Chaos/Columbia), Rankine leads da 'Fish through a crazed
mindset where women take the power back. Rankine screeches lines like
"Life is full of choices still / Like when to kiss and when to kill" through
clenched teeth, and means it. "Organ Fan" does revenge fantasy ("Mary
Brown") and anti-suicide rants ("Fuckin' Strange Way To Get Attention")
with equal crunch. Siverfish opens for Irish aggro-rockers Therapy?
tomorrow night at St. Andrews Hall. Doors at 9 p.m., and tickets are $5.50
(in advance). 961-MELT for info.
Why was this 'Proposal
by Darcy Lockman
A man. A woman. A billionaire. A
proposal.
A flop.
"Indecent Proposal" is the story of
David and Diana Murphy (Woody
Harrelson and Demi Moore), a young
couple whose financial luck runs out in
the midst of an eighties recession. "I'll
always take care of you," David assures
Diana, and the two take off for Las
Vegas (a logical step) to seek their for-
Indecent Proposal
Directed by Adrian Lyne; screenplay
by Amy Holden Jones; with Robert
Redford, Demi Moore and Woody
Harrelson.
that evening.
When the three are later alone, Gage
exalts the power ofmoney and all that it
has bought for him. "You can't buy
people," quips Diana, chalking up none
for originality. The Big Challenge is
laid out.
"What if I were to offer you a mil-
lion dollars for one night with your
wife?" asks Gage. Diana hesitates, but
later decides to go through with the act
("After all, it wouldn't mean anything.
It's just my body. It's not my mind. It's
not my heart."). With her husband's
reluctant permission, she goes off for a
night of unbridled passion (none of it is
actually seen, but it makes the film at
least a bit more exciting to assume that
it was unbridled) with Gage.
Despite their newfound financial
security via Gage's one million dollar
payment, David and Diana's marriage
falls apart after the deal is done. Caught
in a cage of mutual distrust and anger,
they separate, and Gage proceeds to
pursue Diana romantically, showing up
at her teaching job and proclaiming his
undying love for her in the company of
her students. Theunlikely pair becomes
anitem (are you having "Pretty Woman"
flashbacks too?), until Gage does a 360
degree character flip and sends Diana
tuneplayingwiththeirlast$5,000. David
wins big his first night in the casino, but
predictably loses all when he greedily
goes back to try for more.
Enter Robert Redford as John Gage,
aself-made billionaire, whoasks David
to "borrow" his wife for a few minutes
for luck at the card tables. Sheproves an
able good-luck charm, and to reward
her, Gage insists on putting the couple
up in a posh sweet at the hotel, buys
Diana an expensive black gown and
invites the couple to a party in his suite
back to her husband. "She'll never look
at me the way she looks at him," Gage
says to his chauffeur.
Despite all this, the downfall of "In-
decent Proposal" is not its insipid plot,
its boring predictability, or the inconsis-
tency of its characters. Rather, the big-
gest failure is in the screenplay. The
dialogue is trite and contrived ("I love
But the biggest
question of "Indecent
Proposal" is why? Why,
Bob? Why, Demi? Why,
Woody? Why do these
talented and successful
actors agree to recite
these unsalvageable
lines on film, preserving
them for "eternity?
you," says one. "Still?" questions the
other. "Always," replies thefirst). Even
the sex scenes are clich6s.
The film leaves the audience with
questions. Why does Diana admit to
David that Gage was "good" (never
mind wondering how she could even
enjoy sex with a man who has pur-
chasedher)?Whatspawns Gage'smeta-
morphosis into a compassionate soul in
the end? If Diana wanted to go back to
David in the first place, why did she
wait for Gage's permission? How does
this couple who is sopoor that they must
work constantly have the time to de-
velop their respective full body tans?
But the biggest question of "Inde-
centProposal" is why? Why, Bob? Why,
Demi? Why, Woody? Why do these
talented and successful actors agree to
recite these unsalvageable lines on film,
preserving them for eternity? Perhaps
Redford spent too much time fly fish-
ing. Maybe Moore was attempting to
make a statement about the scarcity of
good roles for women in Hollywood (if
so, point well taken). And Harrelson,
well, apparently the up-and-coming last
episode of "Cheers" is taking its toll on
everyone's judgment.
While "Indecent Proposal" attempts
to justify its existence by passing itself
offas acondemnationofeighties'greed,
it is no more than a sheep in wolf's
clothing. Whatever the intentions of the
director and producers, no such sub-
stance or grit survives the dialogue. The
writing drains themovie, leaving itnoth-
ing more than a showcase for the bodies
of Harrelson and Moore.
If "Indecent Proposal" attempts to
relate that money can't buy everything,
it succeeds only by virtue of its own
existence. The millions spent on its cast
and production certainly do not buy it
quality.
INDECENT PROPOSAL is playing -
at Showcase.
United Asian American Organizations and
the University of Michigan Alumni Association
proudly announce the formation of the
Asian Pacific American
Alumni Council
Kickoff Meeting and Reception
8 pm Monday, April 12
The Alumni Center
200 Fletcher Street
(Just north of the League)
For More Information,
Contact: Edgar Ho (769-7515)
4
Present
I LLUM INATIONS
SW0 an open air, FREE, Multi-cultural
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special guests
STR AIGHT AlH EAD
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Student Ensembles & special presentations from:
various environmental and
multicultural organization
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ta Washtenaw & Qbser o
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GIFT CERTIFICATES IN ANY AMOUNT ARE SURE TO PLEASE!
Robert Redford should stick to directing films like "A River Runs Through It"
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RECORDS
1140 South University
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Ann Arbor, MI 48104
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Hours: Mon.-Thus. 9 a.m.-10 p.m.
Fri.- Sal. 9 a.m.-1 1 p.m.
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Friday, April 9 8:00pm
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TICKETS: $4.50
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