1111 'stI5 .J I d JudiI - ivi'.JIiudy~, /Apr1il L, IZJ/u - .I..t' Wayans' Celtic Pide' tosses up a bick « BxPrashant Tamaskar After the game, Mike and Jimmy run into the Daily Arts Writer arrogant superstar at a nightclub. By pretending to be Although the genre has been fairly common through- out the history of film, there has been a recent surge in the production of sports movies. This has clearly been a result of the increasing popularity of the sports industry in the United States. Athletes like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Deion Sanders are just as recog- Oizable as movie stars like Tom Cruise or Demi Moore. C The flooding of the market, however, has led to numerous second-rate films, including D "Blue Chips" and "The Pro- DeCerchi gram." Following in the foot- steps of these two flops is the Wayans an terrible new movie "Celtic Pnde," which, despite an intrigu- ing concept, falls flat on its face. -)Mike O'Hara (Daniel Stern) and Jimmy Flaherty (Dan Aykroyd) are best friends and die-hard Boston Celtics fans. However, their love for the team borders more on obsession than anything else. In fact, Mike's wife is going to leave him because she can't deal with hi fanaticism any more. But none of this really matters, as long as the Celtics beat the Utah Jazz and wvi the NBA Championship. Unfortunately, the Jazz features Lewis Scott (Damon Wayans), the league's best player, who singlehandedly defeats the Celtics in Gme 6 of the finals. his biggest fans, the Bostonians start drinking with Scott and manage to get him wasted. The problem is, so are they, and the next morning they wake up with the basketball player tied up in Jimmy's house. Before they can get rid of him, Scott wakes up and tries to REVIEW eltic Pride irected by Tom o; with Damon id Daniel Stern At Showcase escape. Figuring that they are in too deep already, Mike and Jimmy decide to hold Scott captive until Game 7 is played and Boston wins the NBA Championship. Of course, theplan backfires, and the life-long Celtics' fans are forced to root against their team in order to avoid being indicted. Onpaper,thisfilmdoesn't seem like such a trrible idea. After all, on how unfit the two men are for jail. The jokes aren't funny the first time they are used, and they definitely aren't funny the fourth time, either. Moreover, none of the featured characters are particu- larly likable. Lewis Scott is an overpaid, cocky, greedy star. He doesn't care for his team orteammates. His only concerns are making money and gaining more fame. But in comparison to the other two, he isn't so bad. Mike has a nice wife and son, but he's willing to sacrifice it all for his sports obsession. Jimmy doesn't have any of these things, which is no big surprise. In fact, ill he really has are the Celtics and his buddy, Mike. For an hour and a half, it is hard not to be disgusted by these two losers. Both Mike's wife and Scott are constantly telling them to grow up and get lives, but they don't want to change. Although their actions are meant to be funny, they are simply pathetic. And rarely does being pathetic lead to being humorous. However, Stern, Akroyd and Wayans are not at fault here. They are all pretty convincing in their roles, but they are limited by the screenplay. They didn't write the jokes, they just have the unenviable task of executing them. "Celtic Pride" fails miserably in capturing the spirit of sports and the people who love watching them. Instead,. it takes a humorous premise involving the billion-dollar industry of professional basketball and runs it completely into the ground. Unfortunately, as sports continue to grow in popularity, there is no question that Hollywood will continue to exploit this genre, making more terrible films of this magnitude. there probably are fans crazy enough to kidnap the rival team's best player. And the idea of Scott forcing the die- hards to root for him or else face kidnapping charges is rather humorous. Unfortunately, it doesn't work out this way. The overall idea is not the problem; instead, the film suffers from a lack of humor. Every joke fails miser- ably. A huge reason is that the writers constantly try to recycle the same material over and over again. The humor is based on Scott's disdain for the two fans (whom he accurately describes as losers), the lack of masculinity of the middle-aged bachelor, Jimmy, and "Let me save my career - PLEASE don't take a picture of me with these dorks!" Moving film retels tine story *y Bryan Lark Daily Arts Writer Her name is synonymous with hero- ism. Her story is too poignant to be fiction. Her adolescent diary is now a classic work of literature. Her life was tragically short. Of course, the .young girl is the in- comparable Anne Frank. Since her di- ary was published in the summer of 947, it has sold more than 25 million copies and has made Anne a celebrity and an inspiration to the entire world. However, the diary alone does not completely illustrate her life. Telling the untold story of Adolf Hitler's most famous victim is a task eloquently performed by Jon Blair's outstanding documentary, "Anne Frank Remembered." Using a simplistic yet unique style, "Anne Frank Remembered" manages retell the world-renowned story of Anne and her family from its early stages in Nazi-infested Germany to the REVIEW Anne Frank Remembered 'Perversity' eases final exam stress By Tyler Patterson Daily Arts Writer The appeal of David Mamet is not easily explained. There are those who say he is misogynist. There are others who say his language is filthy and his characters are offensive. Yet, no other contemporary playwright has a larger cult following - certainly none as critically acclaimed as Mamet. This weekend, Basement Arts will present its third and final Mamet production of the year, "Sexual Perversity in Chicago." Adam Greenfield, a third-year theater and drama trying to dehumanize it." Mamet wrote the play at the end ofthe'70s, and Greenfield asserts that this may have influenced Mamet. "Greg Zola pointed out that it was written at the end of the Sexual Revolution of the '70s," Greenfield explained. "I think in a lot of ways it is about that time period, about this so-called change in the way we look at what sex is in our society." "This is what David Mamet is saying people are talking about," Greenfield said . "They're not talking about sex. They're talking about distortions of sex." "Sexual Perversity in Chicago" presents j some unusual challenges because there are- over thirty scene changes and about a dozen different settings. To answer these challenges Greenfield will be implementing a minimalist student, will be handling the chal- lenging directorial duties. Unlike "Glengarry Glen Ross," David Mamet's most famous work about the cut-throat world of office politics, "Sexual Perversity in Chi- cago" exposes the battle ofthe sexes. "It's about men and women dealing with each other," explained Greenfield, "or not dealing with each other." The story centers on four people, SEXUAL PEVERSITY IN CHICAGO .,a+ Where: Arena Theater ( Frieze Building) When: Thursday thru Sa General;admission seat two men and two women, who are trying to understand the opposite sex. Danny (Mark Alhadeff) and Deborah (Heather Guglielmetti) are a couple searching for a meaningful rela- tionship amid the singles scene. Bernie (Greg Zola) and Joan (Allison Fisher) are their friends who offer them cynical advice about love. "The title in many ways is perfect," said Greenfield. "It's perversity like fear or strangeness or oddity in sex." Greenfield observed that because of the title, people will expect some sort of sex-fest. "All these different characters are saying all these things about sex," Greenfield went on. "But what it really comes down to is this failure to be able to deal with it. They are in the set. Greenfield said Mamet is very concerned turday. about the heart of theater being ignored by ing is free. fancy production sets and lavish prop con- struction, like "Miss Saigon.""I think 'Sexual Perversity in Chicago' is a great play," Greenfield explained. "It stands on its own legs." The talent of Mamet lies not in intricate plot designs or+ complicated sets, but the language- his ear for dialogue.,j His characters are never innocent or pure and the men are almost never likable. If one were to pin a single quality d'own on Mamet's writing, it would be honesty. In response to assertions of Mamet's chauvinism,, Greenfield explained that even though the women in his. plays are never portrayed in flattering ways, the men rarely; get better treatment. He went on to cite examples too numer-, ous to mention. So even though Mamet's picture of women, See MAMET, Page 12A, Otto Frank with his daughters Margot and Anne Directed by Jon Blair, narrated by Kenneth Branagh At Michigan Theater horrific aftermath of the Holocaust - without missing a beat or sparing a tear. More difficult than "Sophie's Choice," more riveting and emotion- ally exhausting than "Schindler's List," "Anne Frank Remembered" presents ie story of Anne Frank not just as a girl in hiding, but as a free-spirited youth who stuffed her bra and dislocated her shoulder for fun, and the girl that be- came a legacy. " Presenting first-person testimonies from those who knew Anne, never- before-seen photographs and the only moving footage of Anne, this docu- mentary cuts deeper than any other pre- eious account of the Franks' ordeal. Beginning with anecdotes from neighbors and co-workers, the film de- picts a tale familiar to most ofthe falsely secure life of Otto, Edith, Margot and Anne Frank as the operators of a bank in REC ODS Continued from Page SA The Spinanes trand Sub Pop Beautiful things are sometimes in- timaidating. Supermodels, great works of art and Niagara Falls all inspire awe and maybe a little bit of fear at their perfection. The Spinanes new album "Strand" is not quite as awesome as Wme other beautiful things, but it's also a lot more inviting than most. "fStrand" overflows with a gentle but edgy kind of loveliness that draws the listener in a sleepy but nonetheless pow- erful way. The group's second album for Sub Germany and, after Hitler's rise to power, the proprietors of a small busi- ness in Amsterdam. The Franks lived well in Amsterdam from their initial migration in 1933 un- til the conquering and subsequent re- strictive rule of Holland by the Nazis in 1940. Knowing where Hitler's restric- tions would lead, Otto began fashion- ing a hiding place for his family. As Hitler's grip tightened, the Franks, along with the van Pels family and dentist Fritz Pfeffer, saw it necessary to disappear into the hiding place in an annex above Otto's business in the sum- mer of 1942. While the others attempted to create an atmosphere of normalcy in the an- nex, Anne, formerly a precocious child, became increasingly dependent on the imaginary correspondences, fantasies about Hollywood and interpretations of the war in her diary, alienating herself from her seven roommates. Hearing on a radio broadcast that following the war, all diaries concern- ing the war would be collected and published, Anne rewrote and expanded upon all of her entries, keeping her imminent future fame in mind. On another broadcast, news of D- Day sent waves of hope through the annex, but that hope was soon suffo- cated on August 4, 1944, two years into theirhiding, when an anonymous caller turned in the Jewish exiles. The eight now-prisoners were taken to Gestapo headquarters, Westerbork transit camp and eventually to the infa- mous death camp Auschwitz, where the four women were separated from the male loved ones. By the time the concentration camps were liberated in 1945, most of the hiders had been sent to various labor camps and all but Otto Frank were killed by either Nazis, illness or starva- tion. In contrast to the inescapable horrors of the Holocaust, Anne's story empha- sizes the ideals to which everyone should strive-tolerance and complete individuality. The celluloid depiction of her life deserves every bit as much credit as Anne does for conveying those concepts. Narrated by Kenneth Branagh wit]" excerpts from the diary read by Glenn Close, "Anne Frank Remembered" not only stands as a fascinating companion to Anne's diary, but as a testament to the valiancy of which humans are ca- pable. The Academy Award for Best Documentary feature that now sits on director Jon Blair's mantle is a testa- ment to this amazing and moving film. "Lines and Lines" and "Madding" take a while to unfold their charms, it's nev- ertheless moving when they do. The minimalist bend of the Spinanes' music (just drums and guitar) makes a perfect foil for Rebecca Gates sensuous but innocent voice. "Meridian" and "Valency" are played with a punkish intensity, but the result is something more layered and mysterious. "Strand" is enveloping but subtle. The currents of punk, folk and dream- pop that run through the Spinanes' work have never melded together as nicely as they have on this album, especially on the aptly titled "Luminous" and "Oceanwide." Yes, "Strand" is beauti- ful. But almost as important, it's sym- pathetic, graceful and endlessly listen- able, which is pretty awe-inspiring in itself. - Heather Phares .4 4s 4 ;$ 4 44 *1 Air Force Clinical Nursing rn~ch tA[ f I*c! .5:..:......