RTS

'Disclosure"s no dinosaur

By JOSHUA RICH
Tom Sanders is having a bad Mon-
day.
He oversleeps, misses the early ferry
to downtown Seattle, and is late for
work. Once there, Tom, the manager of
manufacturing for DigiCom, a major

A

Disclosure
Directed by
Barry Levinson;
starring Michael
Douglas and
Demi Moore.

politics into an entirely engrossing,
interesting and provocative motion
picture. The viewer is drawn into a
world of big bucks, power and re-
spect, and given a crash course on
jurisprudence and family values at
the same time.
Douglas adeptly portrays Tom as
a workaholic devoted as much to his
family as he is to his job. But on that
horrible day he learns his new boss is
his former lover, Meredith Johnson
(Demi Moore) - a strong woman
who can satisfy any man's most erotic
sexual fantasies. And soon after en-
tering Meredith's marble-adorned
office that evening to congratulate
her and discuss some of his manufac-
turing proposals, Tom realizes he has
made a mistake.
"Disclosure" takes a no-holds-
barred attitude when it comes to dis-
playing graphic, yet realistic sexual
themes on screen. As is repeatedly
stated throughout the film, sex is sim-
ply a matter of power, and those with
that power may sexually intimidate
others. That is just what Meredith
does. She never really intends to dis-
cuss work with Tom when he visits
her that evening. She plans to seduce
him, and she is nearly successful.
But before any copulation occurs,
Tom gets cold feet. He decides not to

jeopardize his good life with a loving
and devoted family for a one night
stand with his boss. This sends
Meredith into a rage; she becomes
violent and, as he runs out, she
screams, "You fucking bastard, you're
dead . !"
Meredith proceeds to accuse Tom
of sexually harassing her, even though
it is obvious that she was at fault.
Tom, on the other hand, attempts (un-
successfully) to save his job and hide
the encounter from his wife, even
when he discovers a large scratch left
by Meredith on his chest. So he ac-
cuses HER of sexual harassment.
This throws a wrench into the cor-
porate mechanism that has made Tom
a rich man and propelled Meredith to
the highest levels of her profession.
Led by company owner Bob Gavin -
a flat character impotently played by
Donald Sutherland - Tom's bosses
threaten to fire him for tarnishing
DigiCom's image. So he gets the help
of Catherine Alvarez (Roma Maffia),
a slimy, hot shot lawyer who thirsts
for media attention. As the film con-
tinues to explore the roles of gender
and sex in corporate America, Tom
fights to keep the family and job that
are so dear to him.
Levinson's commendable direc-
tion combines elements of drama,

computer systems company, discovers
that a product he has spent months
perfecting is faulty. And he is bypassed
for a promotion to manage his corpo-
rate branch office. But that is just the
beginning of a week of troubles for this
unassuming, hard-working business
executive and family man.
The subsequent conflicts that Tom
(Michael Douglas) and his colleagues
face in "Disclosure" are as shocking
as they are plentiful. Director Barry
Levinson ("Rain Man") has devel-
oped Michael Crichton's 1993 novel
of sexual harassment and corporate

Demi Moore and Michael Douglas create a little heat in "Disclosur

comedy, romance and suspense, mak-
ing "Disclosure" a wholly inventive
and interesting movie. Although she
is never one to act with the greatest
finesse, Moore is successful in allow-
ing the audience to be attracted to, yet
hate her despicable Meredith. Most
entertaining, however, are the perfor-
mances of "Saturday Night Live"

alumnus, Dennis Miller,;
wisecracking assistant, and
Tom's comically greedy la
The true villain in "D
isn't any particular indiv
rather the conscience and
sires that exist within us all
pathize with Meredith beca
a misunderstood, sexy fem

Lucas takes 'the lid off'of hip hop

By BRIAN A. GNATT
Lucas Secon has been siting in his
record company's New York sky-
scraper for a few hours now, begin-
ning a two day stretch of interviews
with members of the press to publi-
cize his new critically acclaimed de-
but for Big Beat Records,
"Lucacentric." A few months ago, the
Danish born rapper (who goes simply
by Lucas) couldn't have pictured him-
self sitting this pretty, and probably
wouldn't have really cared to either.
Vanilla Ice. Snow. Marky Mark
Wahlberg. When it comes to white
rappers, the world has been pretty
darn cold. Why were they all one-hit
wonders? Did they not fit in any-
where? Or, did they just flat out suck?
Lucas, the most recent addition to
the Caucasian invasion is starting off on
the right foot, though. Lucas realizes
and respects his own multicultural back-
ground, utilizing it to create his own

fresh and furious brand of hip hop.
His first single, "Lucas With the
Lid Off," is the latest crossover hit
from rap into mainstream, exposing
the talent and integrity of the white
rapper. "I've rapped with Black art-
ists, and all of them respect me be-
cause they know I'm being myself,"
Lucas said. "I'm not the best, but I'm
someone who's very independent.
You come off acting Black, you're
acting stupid. Why should you?
You're insulting people. I take great
offense to that. That's instant death.
Where's Vanilla Ice and Hammer?
They're all gone. I'm the only one left
- except Beastie Boys and House of
Pain. Maybe it's a good thing we're
going out!"
After moving around the world
since he was born, from Copenhagen to
America, and back to Europe, Lucas'
lifelong journey has again thrown him
into the core of The Big Apple.
"I got tired of New York, or maybe
New York got tired of me. I think
New York got tired of me. It wasn't
trying to hear me. There's a little bit
less stress in England," he said.
Being back in New York has been
strange for Lucas, who retreated to

London after being dropped from
MCA Records a few years back. In
his milkshake of multiculturism ac-
cent he explained his earlier flop.
"You gotta go through failure. I've
gone through crazy failure," Lucas
admitted. "I got dropped from a major
label. It turned out for the best, but it
sure didn't look like that at the time.
Failure and rejection make you stron-
ger. It doesn't seem like that when
your world collapses, but that just
shows I'm in it for the lifelong -
record deal or no record deal."
The only thing that can be expected
from Lucas is the unexpected. His fu-
sion of rap, hip hop, jazz and world
music is a distinct sound all of his own.
Unlike other similar groups like Us 3,
Lucas fuses the old with the new, but
continues to produce powerful and po-
litical rap music, staying true to all the
forms of music involved, rather than
softening up his style.
The combination of the old and
the new has Lucas using about half
samples and half new music. His love
for old style jazz has him sampling
heavily from the backbone of jazz -
mainly the drums.
"You can't get those beats by
drumming; no way. They don't have
the original sounds anymore," he said.
I appreciate the sound of the drums in
the past, so that's why I use the drums
from the past."
Lucas is the son of internation-
ally-known Danish artist Berta Moltke
and Paul Secon, an American of Rus-
sian-Jewish extraction who wrote
song lyrics, and also wrote articles for
"Billboard" magazine. Lucas' con-
stant global moving and involvement
in the arts has helped him develop his

a0
e. No word if Douglas' bares his butt.
as Tom's tive. We sympathize with Tom for
Maffia as being vulnerable to the pressures of
awyer. his bosses and his family. Yet, as we
isclosure," consider these issues, we are ulti-
idual, but mately entertained by a film that pre-
sexual de- sents an exciting story and intriguing
LWe symn- commentary on social interactions.
ause she is DS-CLIUS UK-E opens toda at
ale execu- Briarwood and Showcase.
1
t /

om you ... Yes, I think you've seen me before.
'thing I try success into the bloodstreams of their
pproach to dreams. Look at films like 'Natural
own name, Born Killers' and 'PulpFiction.' That's
nd be true the silicone dream society, nihilistic
pretend to society with no moral foundation and
antly obvi- no future. No long term plans at all.
variety of When I talk about working progress, I
should be talk about the slowing down the process
Only that of people trying to be successful. I
nd be in it guess it's a contradiction when you're
on a major label."
the other The rest of "Lucacentric" is filled
Silicone with equally impressive rhymes and
out other music. On "The Muted Trumpet,"
ith society Lucas sings, "If I didn't have rap I'd
have an ulcer / See I'm a white boy
the instant comin' from a muted culture / So as
n an emo- soon as I was out of the womb / They
," he said. had the tranquilizer ready."
drug dealer On "Spin the Globe," Lucas digs
They take deeper, and travels around the world*
with guests rapping in four different
languages. The track is a perfect ex-
. . . ample of his positive music, pushing
for a multi-cultured society.
. Lucas performs his brand of fresh
hip hop as a positive alternative to old
* school and gangsta rap, creating some
of the most inspiring and genuine hip
hop today. His message of be yourself,
' please yourself, and to make honest
r . music separates him from many of the
record company pawns, creating an
f Ua exceptional and unadulterated album.
~

i*


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My name is Lucas ... I live on the second floor ... I live upstairs fr


own unique music over the years.
"I thinkit'sme developing intomore
of my own person. For better or worse,
I'm moreindependentnow," Lucas said.
"I've grown to the point where I can
actually mirror my own background,
which is multi-culture, and go from
culture to culture. It explains my love
for tapping different cultures, and
squeezing them into my music."
"Lucas With the Lid Off' threw
Lucas right into the middle of the main-
stream, with a catchy upbeat chorus
over ragga-jazz, and an equally impres-
sive video to go along with the whole
package. Although Lucas' bald head
mirrors the name of the song, the track
actually goes much deeper than that.
"The song is an ode to an uninhib-
ited society of people, and also per-
sonal freedom," he explained. "I try

to have the lid off in every
to do - a more honest ar
hip hop, I think. I use myo
I have very honest lyrics, a
to myself. I'm not trying to
be anyone I'm not. It's blat
ous where I came from, a
different places, and that
showcased in the music.{
gives you strength to last, a
for a long time."
Looking deeper into
tracks like "Livin' In A
Dream," Lucas raps ab
deeper problems he has w
and progress.
"The silicone dream ist
gratification of society, on
tional and a financial level
"People look around for the
- Mr. Overnight Success.'

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