The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, February 16, 1994 - 9 ............ 'Phildaelphta' stays away from real issues By SCOTT PLAGENHOEF This Winter, Hollywood was praised for releasing feature films about the somber, yet necessary, subjects of the Holocaust ("Schindler's List") and AIDS ("Philadelphia"). They succeeded with the former in creating a film of almost unparalleled vitality. The failed in the latter. "Philadelphia" is not a film about AIDS. "Philadelphia" is a courtroom drama about aman who has the disease. Even in Hollywood's shining moment in which they showered themselves with accolades and gave us advanced promises of integrity, they felt so strikingly the need to turn a profit rather than take chances, that they anesthetized the audience's emotions about homosexu- ality by creating a lead character, Andrew Beckett, who is sympathetic because he has been fired from his job because he has AIDS. If he were simply a homosexual with AIDS would America give a damn? "Philadelphia" is a good film, one which should be seen, and deserves to be praised as a positive step for Hollywood into the pool of the meaningful, which it hasn't consistently swam in 20 years. The majority of the film's praises have been directed toward Tom Hanks' performance as Andrew Beckett. Yet, the film's many poignant and ironic moments, whether they be blatant (the false assumption that Beckett's lawyer is also gay) or quite subtle (the homophobic lawyer tucking a female doll into bed next to his newborn daughter) have nothing to do with Hanks, but rather the exceptional job done by director Jonathan Demme ("Silence of the Lambs,"). The casting of Hanks, in fact, is the best indication that the film's producers had no intentions on disrupting a safe trip to the bank. His finest attribute is that he is probably the most likable actor in the business. Hanks' boyish charm and relaxed screen persona have made him a frequent box-office draw and an actor who appeals to all people. Attempting to get audiences to attend a film about AIDS, particularly when the afflicted is homosexual, demands not the best actor possible, but the safest. Imagine the audience's reaction if more qualified actors had the part: Daniel Day-Lewis: Millions of women are crushed that the dreamboat from 'Last of the Mohicans' is portraying a gay guy. Denzel Washington, Laurence Fishburne, etc: He's gay and black and white America is expected to go see it? Liam Neeson, Tim Roth, Gabriel Byrne, Etc.: (conversation to be read in best David Letterman dumb-guy voice) -"Dat guy who made that 'Silence of the Lambs' has a new movie comin' out, but its about gays." -"Whose in it?" -"I dunnaknow, let's go see 'Ace Ventura' instead." -"Yeah, the way that guy can, like, move and contort his face and body. It's real funny. Makes me laugh. Bet that guy is gonna be around a long time." The film's refusal to take a stance on issues of homosexuality is an obvious safety valve to ensure that the box-office receipts keep coming in after the initial word of mouth. Andrew Beckett is dying of AIDS and Miguel, his partner for at least 10 years, shows his concern by recording his doctor'visits, monitoring his health in the courtroom and staying in the hospital to see how he is. The guy could have been a nurse rather than a lover. It is true that passionate physical contact may have been both disrupting to the pace of the film considering Andrew's condition and would reinforce the stereotype that all homosexuals are interested in is sexual pleasure. Yet, this man is dying of AIDS and his longtime partner cannot question "why us?," or even say "I love you?" No way, bigots and holy rollers buy movie tickets too. In the past the films which have dealt with AIDS have been few and far- between. The first which can be recalled is 1986's "Parting Glances." The film was directed by Bill Sherwood, who died of AIDS in 1990 (at this time it took a person afflicted to give the issue cultural voice). "Glances" is an affecting, very low-budget, picture about two friends dealing with the death of another from the disease. It features a fine performance by character actor extraordinaire Steve Buscemi ("Reservoir Dogs"' Mr. Pink). The first fairly mainstream and still finest AIDS film is 1990's "Longtime M Companion." The picture begins on July 3, 1981 with a group of vacationing, homosexual friends discovering an article on the 20th page of the front section of the "New York Times" abouta new cancer which has claimed the lives of 41 homosexual males. The group spends the remainder of the decade tracing the progress of both the disease and each other's health. "Companion" remains honest about the lifestyles of the men without being distracting and stands as the best fictional film about the disease. Director Norman Rene balances the characters in the excellent ensemble cast with such efficiency that he does not allow their individual plights to eclipse the scope of the disease and uses the two in combination to create one of the most surprising and effective ends to a film in recent years. "Longtime Companion" is a film that Hollywood is apparently not yet ready to make. So Hollywood, you've tricked us into believing that you had some daring in you. You promised us something different and instead we got a film whose plot line rose and fell based on whether or not a man receives monetary compensation. Thank the director and actors for saving the script and your payrolls. In the future, please try to wipe the dollar signs from your eyes long enough to seek new ground. nIversity Lutheran C el ASH WEDNESDAY Feb.16 at 7p.m. Worship to include "Imposition of Ashes" Pastor Ed Krauss 1511 Washtenaw, near Hi/l Street 663-6660 RECORDS Continued from page 5 With the overwhelming presence of dub and reggae experiments, this collection will naturally appeal pri- marily to hard-core Clash collectors, but even those who know the band only from "Rock the Casbah" and "Should I Stay or Should I Go" will find much to treasure here. Rock 'n' roll seldom got better than "Pressure Drop," "City of the Dead," "The Pris- oner," "1-2 Crush On You," "Groovy Times" and "Gates of the West" - and those were just B-sides! The simple fact that the Clash could throw away such scintillating music on the flip sides of singles proves that they were indeed, for a time, "the only band that matters." And the remarkable thing is, nearly 10 years after their breakup, they still matter and "Super Black Market Clash" is more relevant than most current music. Essential for any rock 'n' roll fan. - Tom Erlewine Cocteau Twins Four Calendar Cafe Capitol Records If you're a long-time Cocteau Twins fan hoping that "Four Calen- darCafe" might be the albummin which the Cocteau Twins return to the lush glory of their earlier efforts, "Four Calendar Cafe" may fall a bit short. Despite being somewhat moodier than its uncharacteristically cheerful pre- decessor, "Heaven Or Las Vegas," "Cafe," for the most part, fails to recall the dark, emotional textures of their pre-"Vegas" work. On the other hand, there are also those who thought "Vegas" was the Twins best effort yet and these fans will not be disappointed by the album's slicker, more detailed pro- duction and progression towards ac- cessible pop sensibilities. Tracks such as "Bluebeard," with its beautifully textured slide guitar and "Squeeze- Wax," with vocalist Liz Frasier per- fectly complementing Robin Guthrie's simple guitar lines, are the full pop realizations of earlier tracks such as "Heaven Or Las Vegas" and "Iceblink Luck." Other tracks, such as "Theft, And Wandering Around Lost" use heavily reverbed acoustic guitars to create a sound that is some- what reminiscent of their 1986 effort, "Victorialand." The big story for long-time fans, however, is that it is actually possible to understand some of Frasier's lyr- ics. Those who enjoyed "Vegas" will find this to be a welcome element in their new direction, while others will feel as if an integral part of the Twins' mysteriousness has been left behind. The lyrics are nothing spectacular; lines such as "Are you the right man for me/Or are you toxic for me" from "Bluebeard" fit nicely within the over- all mood of the song but are some- what anticlimactic after so many years of mystery in this area. "Four Calendar Cafe" realizes the pure, mellow-pop sound that the Cocteau Twins had begun to hint at on "Blue Bell Knoll." While "Cafe" is certainly an enjoyable, consistent effort, there can be no doubt that the Twins have abandoned a large part of the sound that many of their fans found so endearing and powerful. - Andy Dolan Various Artists Stone Free: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix Reprise Records It seems like a band has one of two general options if they're trying to cover another artist and make it worth the effort - bands can either play the featured artist's songs very much like they were originally written and add their own special something to it or they can disseminate it and challenge the character of the song. "StoneFree" does a little of both. It is an eclectic collection of Jimi Hendrix classics; some of the featured bands pay him homage, but others give pretty lack- luster renditions of Jimi's classic scorching guitar classics. Among the most desirable tracks, or at least the most intriguing, 'is the Cure's version of "Purple Haze" which is very reminiscent of their original murky, dark sound. Buddy Guy would have made Jimi proud with his flaming rendition of "Red House." Seal and Jeff Beck get to- gether to play "Manic Depression;" as the song reflects, it was a great combo. Pat Metheny gives a particu- larly sly, funky edge to "Third Stone From The Sun." And now some of the bad news. Eric Clapton adds a disappointingly unenthusiastic version of "Stone Free." If you want to hear "Spanish Castle Magic," don't bother with the Spin Doctors version - it's hardly any different from the original and Chris Barron's vocals are crap. And Body Count's remake of "Hey Joe" is a tad on the boring side, to say the least. A mixed bag for sure. If you're a die-hard Hendrix addict, find another bootleg instead. If you've got them all anyway and you have some money burning a hole in your pocket, it might be worth a look. - Josh Herrington z The Cocteau Twins continue exploring pop sounds on "Four Calendar Cafe." Buffalo Tom Big Red Letter Day Beggar's Banquet Buffalo Tom are among the many artists of late who have had difficulty living up to the standards of their prior landmark work. While "Big Red Letter Day," their fourth album, is adequate, chock-filled with the Tom's big, rocking power- pop anthems and acoustic ballads, virtually nothing here is as ear-catch- ing as 1992's unanimously "Let Me Come Over;" the layers of sonic subtleties and intricate wordplay are reduced, and the album sounds flat and brassy. This may have to do with ''he glossy pro'duction, vliih figits against the band's endearingly rough tendencies. Beyond the initial disappointment of the album, however, are a few quintessential Buffalo Tom tracks: the propulsive single "Sodajerk," the poignant albumcloser "Anything That Way" and one of the finest songs that bassist Chris Colbourn has ever writ- ten, "My Responsibility." In fact, the growth of Colbourn as a songwriter and singer is one of the highlights ofthe album. On the whole, "Big Red Letter Day" is not exactly cause for celebration, but pleasant nonetheless. - Heather Phares You are welcome to Ash Wednesday, Meditative worship for Campus and Community A service of Scripture, prayer, silence, meditative singing of music from the Taiz6 Community, imposition of ashes and Holy Communion I T HE U NIT ED JEWISH AP PEA L * would like to thank all contributors and especially the volunteers that made this campaign so successful! 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