The Michigan Daily - Wueste, ec. - Thursday, February 15, 1996 - 7 Romantic comedies tap Generation X sentiment By Bryan Lark For the Daily Since the advent of motion pictures over a century ago, love stories, in any form, have been embraced by movie au- diences of all ages. From the epic to the incomprehensible, people have found escape and enjoyment in watching the romance between two - or in some perverse cases three or four- characters on screen. In the '30s, comedy was fused with romance to make more amusing, memo- rable films. Once the two genres merged, romantic comedies began incessantly flooding movie theaters, starting with film god Cary Grant and later featuring fallen angel Hugh Grant. The ensemble romantic comedy, popu- larized in the '80s by "Diner" and "The Big Chill," flourished temporarily, but audiences soon found the formula obso- lete. Pressured to revive the genre, stu- dios in the '90s turned to people in their 20s, those unfortunately labeled Genera- tion X. With the release of "beautiful girls," interest has again been generated in Gen- eration X ensemble romantic comedies. The genre originated with the release of Cameron Crowe's "Singles." Depicting the misadventures of single people, Crowe's film createdthe standardtowhich every ensemble romantic comedy cur- rently follows. According to the "Singles" model, a film must have: A good-looking cast (Bridget Fonda, Matt Dillon), characters in similar predicaments (uncertainty in both career and love), a hip city and backdrop (Seattle - the high point of grunge) and a soundtrack that includes at least one classic song (Jimi Hendrix's "May This Be Love"). The film was certainly not an astound- ing critical or commercial success upon its release. Nonetheless, it did spawn many imitations and a multi-platinum soundtrack. In fact, strangely enough, each imitation has also done poorly at the box office andproduced a relatively good soundtrack. Though other films borrowed many elements from "Singles," the first bona fide clone was "Reality Bites." This film Ethan Hawke and Winona Ryder search for love and the right job In the "Singles" clone "Reality Bites." tellsthe story ofattractive singles Winona Ryder and Ethan Hawke struggling to find love and the right job in Houston after graduating from college. The movie was underscored by classic songs from Peter Frampton and Squeeze. Do you see a pattern? The next "Singles" look-alike occurred in the peculiar form of "Threesome." Starring Stephen Baldwin, this is the tale of three people searching for friendship and sexual identity in their first year of college, to the tune of, appropriately, "Bizarre Love Triangle" by New Order. This film suffers from a blatant lack of originality. If"Threesome"were any more asinine and intellectually offensive, it would star Pauly Shore. Although, if it did star Pauly Shore, the love scenes would be slightly more nauseating. 1995 brought the unveiling oftwo more ensemble romantic comedies. Set against the backdrop of New York City and fea- turing a non-classic but pretty cool song by Sarah McLachlan, "The Brothers McMullen" injected the genre with the efficient quality of independent cinema. This helped the film overcome its predis- posed Generation X roots and become a really good movie. On the other hand, "Empire Records" was also released, or was not, depending on your location. Since it was shown in only two cities, it can be assumed that the fable of record store employees, told to the beat ofthat peppy Gin Blossoms song, was one of the worst films of all time. With that infamous film heading di- rectly for video stores, one might think that Hollywood has finally seen enough such Generation X movies. "Beautiful girls" proves this theory wrong. Taking place in a working class Massa- chusetts town, "beautiful girls" portrays old and new friends, including Timothy Hutton and Uma Thurman, drinking beer, plowing snow, philosophizing, finding love and participating in a rousing rendi- tion of the questionable classic, Neil' Diamond's "Sweet Caroline." More Generation X ensemble roman- tic comedies are in store for your viewing pleasure - or discomfort. Despite con- spicuous similarities, the forthcoming films seem to promise departure from the "Singles" school of filmmaking. In March, we will be graced by the. presence of Keanu Reeves and Courtney Love in the dark, twisted "Feeling Min- nesota." Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmeroftelevision'sromanticcom- edy, "Friends," will also throw their re- spective hats into the ring. Aniston will be seen with "Brothers" creator Edward Burnsin "She's The One" late in the year. Schwimmer will star opposite Gwyneth Paltrow and others in the funeral comedy "The Pallbearer" in the spring. Since the trend shows no signs ofslow- ing down, the only thing members of Generation X can hope for, in the long run, is diversity. -The day when Drew Barrymore and Chris O'Donnell are to- gether again (in a nursing home, remem- bering the classic songs of Alanis Morissette), is the day when we should stop going to the movies. Artists celebrate Black History P By Eugene Bowen Daily Arts Writer Today marks the halfway point through Black History Month. In honor of the spirit of this celebration, NBC and a Web site called Loci have teamed up to cre- ate Club Noir, a World Wide Web chat line. Each weekdaya since Feb. I a different African American musi- cal artist has joinedClubNoir at9 p.m. ESTto answer ques- tions typed in to them since the beginningofthat day. Alan Cohen, Chaka Khan Is just o NBC's execu- artists who surfed thi tive vice presi- dent of market- ing, was right on when he said, "Never before has the online community seen an event of this magnitude." Already such well knowns as Quincy Jones (Feb. 1), Chaka Khan (Feb. 2), Seal (Feb. 7) and The Sounds of Blackness (Feb. 12) have answered a myriad of online questions addressed to them. Yesterday evening Barry White did the same; tonight, Babyface and L.A. Reid will join in the fun. Loci, a site "developed by college stu- dents for col- lege students," was the brain- child of Barnes & Noble Book- stores, which recognized the -'lack of Web sites for col- lege-age stu- dents. Staffed almost exclu- sively by Bos- ton University students, Loci e of the talented is a logical Web at Club Noir. choice for such a great Infor- mation Super- highway venture. Questions for an artist to appear on a particular weeknight can be typed into the Club Noir database during that day. The procedure for joining Club Noir is as follows: 1. Join Loci's homepage (http:// www.loci.com). 2. Click on the statement which begins " will be online 3. A list of instructions on how to submit questions and hear the artist's responses will be provided. Guest artists include r&b vocalists, jazz musicians, rappers and various bands. The black artists scheduled to appear during the rest of Black His- tory Month are as follows: Thurs., Feb. 15: Babyface and L.A. Reid Fri., Feb. 16: TLC Mon., Feb. 19: Organized Noize Tues., Feb. 20: Sonie Marie and Tony Rich Wed., Feb. 21: Toni Braxton Thurs., Feb. 22: George Duke Fri., Feb. 23: L.L. Cool J Mon., Feb. 26: Andrae Crouch Tues., Feb. 27: Tevin Campbell Wed., Feb. 28: Earl Klugh Thur- Feb. 29: Joe Samnle Free billiards. Satellite sports Retro Rock Dance Night w/DJ Chuck Food & drink specials. Drink specials all night. $1 Cover T BH _ AYFRDAY: A MURA: Ine he' m College Night. Contests! $1 Pitchers Ann Arbor's Biggest No cover wlstudent ID 21+ Modern Rock Dance Parties NEW! 89X PARTIES! m FW FEB. 9 and the 2nd Friday of every month. 89X DJ Kelly Brown, contests, giveaways and more! Wk471 I AU AMERICAN UNIVERSIT'Y W A S H I N G T 0 N, D C wants you for one of their dazzling shows in 1996! Excellent voices and entertaining personalities INTER N All0 N A L Strong, athletic, and energized dancers Natural leaders and team players 4eive the innit ando r'me to auiitinnsl A summer iob in the KOGOD COLLEGE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION MBA & MS REAL-WORLD PROGRAMS Featuring * Modular format with a broad array of courses * Strong international focus * Inck-step program that develops teamwork * Workshops that develop leadership skills " Joint degree programs with our School of International Service or our Washington Collegeof Law. leading to the MAIAiMBA or JD.MBA * MS programs in Accounting, Taxation, and Finance (Applicants with undergraduate degrees in accounting, ask about our 5th year MS-A op 'ortunitv * AACSB accreditation -_ . 0 OU16t; 16110 Vll11VL 16ULLI6y QLAU LVaLLG Wv QUAAI avaaa: ra auaaaaaava jvad aaa raac r----- _ __ - -y --- ---- i-- ---a-_"