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Carrey's 'Dumb'ward spiral
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By SCOTT PLAGENHOEF
If you're afraid that seeing "Dumb
and Dumber" will amount to two hours
of fart jokes, don't worry, it doesn't.
They also manage to throw in multiple
jokes about taking a piss, including one
about drinking it, numerous shots to the
testicles, and even an inspired, drawn
out joke involving our old pal, laxative
and its companion, diarrhea. Hilarious.
Dumb and Dumber
Directed by Peter Farrelly
with Jim Carrey
and Jeff Daniels
Yet, of course, in a year in which
people couldn't have been dragged to
a theater to see the thoughtful and
insightful, such as "Quiz Show" or
"Ed Wood" or the brilliant documen-
tary "Hoop Dreams," "Dumb and
Dumber" is, like "Forrest Gump" and
"Ace Ventura: Pet Detective" before
it, a box-office juggernaut.
"Dumb and Dumber" finishing the
year as the number one film at the
box-office for three weeks is, sadly,
the perfect finale to a culturally vapid
year which begat Tonya and Nancy,
Michael Fay, the fall and reattached
rise of John Bobbit, Newt, Gump and
the Juice as our most discussed indi-
viduals, and, in some cases, heroes.
By now everyone has made up
their mind about whether or not
"Dumb and Dumber" is escapist,
Three-Stooges-like hilarity or mind-
less dribble and the more important
question is why are people choosing
the former and not the latter.
This is of course not to say that a
film, or any other art, which exists
primarily to entertain cannot be worthy
of anything but the most trivial or ca-
sual appreciation. "Better off Dead" is
funny. "Fletch" is hilarious. "Raising
Arizona" is brilliant. Even television's
leading morons, "Beavis and Butt-head"
truly are a legitimate, clever, and
oftentimes, hysterically funny, satire
on our detached TV culture.
None of the above could profess to
being too particularly highbrow, yet
none of them need to be prefaced when
complimented with phrases confessing
that not thinking or expecting much
more than bathroom humor is a prereq-
uisite to their enjoyment. Yet dumb
sells. We are apparently content to shun
the intelligent for the purposely unintel-
ligent en masse.
Already the overabundance of
outlets for entertainment has stunted
our thought process and made the line
between legitimate news and the tab-
loids extremely thin. Our desire to
think in the simplest terms, or have
others do our thinking for us, has
resulted in the rise of Rush Limbaugh
and Forrest Gump as national heroes.
Even the "Time" man of the year,
Pope John Paul II, is an individual
whose function, at its most basic level,
is to single-handedly determine the
social, moral, and religious beliefs of
millions of people; to do their think-
ing for them.
Exalted for his ability to misun-
derstand or not even attempt to under-
stand his surroundings, Forrest Gump
and his holy-fool Gumpisms have
been praised as an ideal philosophy
for happiness.
This summer, in an ironic - cer-
tainly more than a deliberate -move,
hundreds, maybe thousands, left their
homes to join the throngs cheering for
fugitive O.J. Simpson. Seeing the event
on their televisions and recognizing
where along the highway the white
Ford Bronco was positioned, people
hastily created makeshift signs cheer-
ing the former football star and rushed
off to join an historic event as it un-
folded just as America's newest cul-
tural icon Forrest Gump had.
Without thought, individuals left
their homes to cheer a man convicted of
two counts of murder, an actour society
regards as the most despicable an indi-
vidual can perform. People were more
content to be there, to be a part of it, than
to consider the situation.
Like so many Hertz commercials
i >Y
Pdys ".d
~Pardon me, do you have any Grey Poupon?" "Butt of course." Huh-huh huh-huh. He said "poupon.
in which we cheered the Juice through
the airport or football games in which
he was cheered as he ran from the
opposition, he again ran, and we ran
to be a part of it, and cheered.
"Dumb and Dumber" is of course
not the cause of the dumbing down of
American Culture. Jim Carrey does not
make us care about Michael and Lisa
Marie. Nor does he persuade us not to
vote in our national elections (or when
we do, to fall for the most basic and
undefinable of catch phrases, such as
"family values") . But more quickly
than slowly, Jim Carrey and others like
him are monopolizing our time and
energy.
The key couplet from KurtCobain's
most famous of songs, "With the lights
out it's less dangerous/here we are now
entertain us" is as an appropriate de-
scription of our nation, particularly the
younger generations never raised out-
side of an entertainment-centric soci-
ety. Our willingness to care about any-
thing outside ourselves and what will
make us happy, and does so immedi-
ately, is being lost.
At our most universal level, popu-
lar culture, dumb sells, Gump hap-
pens, and quickly we are becoming a
nation in which "stupid is as stupid
does." And "That's all I have to say
about that."
D7 M7f-ND~DThB is pfayin-g
at Showcase and Briarwoocd.
'Jungle Book' is the same old story; no new chapters here
By SHIRLEY LEE
More often than not, cinematic
portrayals of literary classics entail
sloppy attention to details and cliche-
laden plots and dialogues. Such is the
case with Disney's recent release,
"The Jungle Book," a busy live-ac-
tion movie which strays far from
Rudyard Kipling's stories. In this ver-
sion, "The Jungle Book" provides only
The Jungle Book
Directed by
Stephen Sommers
with Jason Scott Lee
to fill in the blanks.
Mowgli is a kind of Heathcliff
figure, torn away from his kindred
spirit, Kitty, at the age of five, and
raised in the jungle. The climatic
showdown occurs when Mowgli,
frightened by the sophistication and
the dog-eat-dog attitude prevalent in
modern society, must decide whether
to embrace his human side or to come
to terms with his animal soul.
Director Stephen Sommers cap-
tured well the juxtaposition of
Mowgli's life as the jungle keeper
with the supposedly "civilized" and
proper way of life in the city. In the
most plain terms, "The Jungle Book"
concerns itself foremost with cut-
throat aristocrats, swindling both
the people of power and the people
of the lower class. Mowgli must
take on the challenge to keep a
watchful eye on the treasures buried
deep within the jungle. In the course
of Mowgli's adventures, he ques-
tions and consequently responds to
the notion of nurture over nature.
Sommers also made Disney's un-
fortunate 1993 version of "Huck Finn"
and again uses his MTV Lite approach
to trivialize this literary classic.
Then what did I learn from "The coming feature "Pocahontas," dur-
Jungle Book?" Filthy manipulative ing the previews proves itself more
people of high rank invariably harm charming than "The Jungle Book."
the less fortunate; Disney films are Despite all, the film emphasizes
still principally lackadaisical, through Mowgli's adventures and
spending so much time and money struggles that evil shall not triumph
saying nothing; the trend for sexual and that the good will eventually win
innuendo in children's films is on out over the bad. That's all the cliche
the rise, so to speak; filmmakers and plot I need to strike out "The
have abandoned subtlety in product Jungle Book" as a worthy film.
placement; the showing of a four- THfE-JUNGLEO-O K Ts playinglat
minute musical scene from an up- Showcase.
r a aW
mythical entertainment for eight-year-
olds. But the dauntless character of
Mowgli, played by Jason Scott Lee,
and the awesome cinematography
must not go unnoted.
Lee gives an inspired, instinctively
physical performance as the adult
Mowgli. Meanwhile, the rest of the
cast watch motionless as their charac-
ters develop so thinly that Lee is left
Victoria Williams
Mowgli surveys his jungle home with the greatest stye and elephants.
Oh, the puns one can make about "Nell"... Nell hath no fury, Nell's bells ..
Nell' speaks from the eart
By PRASHANT TAMASKAR
As the holiday season comes and
goes, it is easy to classify all of the
movies released as one of two types.
They are either geared towards making
lots of money, or focused on receiving
some type of Academy Award. Michael
Apted's new film "Nell" is no excep-
tion to this theory, as it is clearly a
Directed by
Michael Apted
with Jodie Foster
and Liam Neeson
do with Nell is extremely interesting.
But the real strength of the movie is the
aforementioned relationships. As is
expected, love blossoms between the
doctor and the psychologist. However,
unlike most films where th-I two char-
acters are at each other's throats, fall i,.
love, then respect each other, Neeson
and Richardson simultaneously respect
each other professionally while waging
war. This is important because it cre-
atively documents the interaction of
two people who obviously have high
regard for their counterpart, yet still are
adamant about their own beliefs.
The movie, however, does have
several weaknesses, mostly due to
predictable characterizations and se-
quences. Of course, the head of
Richardson's psychology department
is a cold, heartless man who only
cares about using Nell as a research
subject. Also, the film wouldn't be
complete without a humorous scene
of Nell being integrated into civiliza-
tion, and being entranced by modern
wonders such as skyscrapers and su-
permarkets. Finally, for many people
this movie may seem melodramatic
and slightly cheesy.
However, all of this isn't signifi-
cant as the film will probably realize its
goal of winning Jodie Foster another
Academy Award. Although no one can
question the fact that Foster is a fine
Loose
Mammoth
Loose is exactly what Victoria
Williams' latest release is. It wanders
pleasantly from country ballads like
"When We Sing Together" to the
whimsical pop of "Polish Those
Shoes" and from harder numbers like
"Crazy Mary" to the tender acoustic
"My Ally." Along the way, Williams
straddles the ground she broke on
"Happy Come Home" and "Swing
the Statue" and charts a new path for
herself somewhere in between the
two and beyond. Through it all, she
retains a relaxed, confident manner
that suits perfectly her songs of love
and hope.
Though some find her voice to
require a bit of getting used to, it is the
ideal vehicle for her optimistic lyrical
eye. Some may wince at the repeated
"Who'za one" that begins "Happy to
Have Known Pappy," but as the song
builds and weaves its magic, Will-
iams' voice cannot help but charm.
Soul Asylum's Dave Pirnerguests
on the wonderful "My Ally," the
pair's voices mingling in inspired if
slightly ragged harmony. Her joy in
life and love is contagious and com-
bined with the confidence in her
voice, it makes "Loose" her best
collection of songs yet.
- Dirk Schulze
Various Artists
"Beverly Hills 90210 - The
College Years" Soundtrack
Giant Records
Ya know, I have yet to understand
America's fascination with Beverly
Hills 90210. Honestly, what kind of
problems can a group of filthy rich
kids who never have to deal with real
life situations - like poverty, for one
- have? What, whether three nose
jobs is just going a bit too far?
However, if America's teens were
to become as enthralled with the
"Beverly Hills 90210 Soundtrack," I
would be much more understanding.
Featuring everything from the R&B
sounds of "Not One More Time"
(Stacey Piersa) to the Carribean beats
of "No Intermission" (5th Power) to
the Jamaican-influenced sounds of
reggae as found in "Touch My Light"
(Big Mountain), this 12-cut CD is
sure to please the pickiest of music
critics.
This soundtrack also features the
sounds of such well-known artists as
Jade ("Every Day of the Week"), Af-
ter 7 ("Not Enough Hours in the
See RECORDS, Page 9
'ehicle for Jodie Foster to receive an
Oscar nomination as best actress. How-
ever, unlike many films in the past with
similar intentions, thisproduction turns
out to be fairly enjoyable.
The story begins with the death
of an old lady, who it is thought
lives alone in the woods of North
Carolina. However, when a doctor
Liam Neeson) is taken to her cabin
investigate the causes of her de-
mise, they discover a young "wild
woman" (Jodie Foster), who turns
out to be the daughter of the elderly
lady. Nell, as she is known, speaks
an incomnrehensible language, and
1
The revisions and additions to An Ordinance to
Regulate Parking and Traffic and to Regulate the Use
and Protection of the Buildings and Property of the
Regents of the University of Michigan, which were
previously published in draft form and later modified,
were approved by the Regents at their December
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