8 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, February 21, 1996 AACT's'Rosencrantz' is dead. Local production of Stoppard's play disappoints "Oooh, Bill. You're soooo taill Will you be my valentine?" GDeGeneres akes a Wrong'move By Prashant Tamaskar Daily Arts Writer Ellen DeGeneres hasbeen gettingmost ofthe publicity forher big screen debut in "Mr. Wrong." At the same time, nobody seems to be paying much attention to Bill Pullman's role in the film. With the exception of "While You Were Sleeping," Pullman has made a career out of playing the nice-guy-who- doesn't-get-the-girl-in-the-end role. His characters have been, essentially, too true to be good. But in directorNick Castle's new movie, Pullman REVIEW modifies his image by playing a man Mr. Wrong who is too good to be true. The film opens Directed by Nick Castle when MarthaAlston with Ellen DeGeneres (D e Ge e r e s), decked out in a wed- and Bill Pullman ding dress, is ques- At Showcase tioned in a Mexican police station. The majority of the plot is Martha's account of this predicament. Her troubles begin at her younger sister's wedding, where single Martha starts to realize how lonely she really is. A few weeks later, on Valentine's Day, she meets a handsome stranger named Whitman Crawford (Pullman), who sweeps her off her feet. For Martha it is love at first sight. Or so she thinks. : After getting to know the wealthy, sophisticated bachelor, Martha discovers Whitman's true colors. His ideas of fun are stealing beer from a drug store and faxing pictures of his body parts to Martha. However, in the short time that they have known each other, Whitman has managed to captivate Martha's family and friends, making her decision to dump him even harder. But even more difficult than a break-up is getting him out of her life for good. The obsessive Whitman simply will not leave Martha alone. Instead of being a fairly typical comedy, "Mr. Wrong" turns out to be rather eccentric with satirical overtones. The film pokes fun at cheesy romance films, stalker suspense movies and even westerns. As a result, the humor is more cerebral than laugh-out-loud funny. Unfortunately, the unre- fined satire doesn't always appear to be deliberate and consequently lacks the punch that it potentially could have. Ellen DeGeneres is slightly disappointing in her first motion picture appearance. But this is more due to the inadequate screenplay. Considering her experience as a stand-up comic, it would have been nice to see DeGeneres' Martha deliver some sharp one-liners. Instead, the only humor within her bland character comes from her reactions to Whitman's absurd antics. The film does feature some other notable actors and actresses who play small parts. The best of the supporting roles include veteran Joan Plowright as Whitman's overprotective mother and Dean Stockwell as the detective who Martha hires. How- ever, Joan Cusack as Whitman's jealous ex-lover and Ellen Cleghome as Martha's best friend are atrocious. The true strength of the film lies in Bill Pullman's comic performance as the psychotic, but not necessarily evil Whitman. Pullman makes an excellent transformation from Mr. Right to Mr. Wrong. Even from the beginning, Pullman's enthusiasm for his role is obvious; he owns the film's only comedic moments. Although he also played a slimy significant other in "The Last Seduction," Pullman hasn't had much experience as an antagonist. However, it does appear that he is starting to move away from his nice-guy roles. Yet, it really doesn't matter what the nature of his character is; in the end, Bill Pullman always seems to be Mr. Wrong. By Mitchell Katz For the Daily The title characters of Tom Stoppard's comedy, "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead," end the play in a state of rigor mortis, hanging from theirnecks. For the audience last Thurs- day night at the Ann Arbor Civic The- ater, even such a seemingly jarring fi- nale could not awaken them from a near stupor. "Rosencrantz and Guilden- stern," as directed by Liz Foster, had about as many belly laughs as an Ingmar Bergman film; it was about as dull an evening as one can find in Ann Arbor. In "Hamlet," Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are peripheral to the main action. Old school chums of Hamlet, they are called to Elsinore by Claudius and Gertrude to cheer up the melan- choly prince. The two wind up infuriat- ing everyone and are last seen escorting their friend to England at the King's command; unbeknownst to them, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern have been set up to be killed. In Shakespeare's play, these two characters are com- pletely expendable, existing only to keep things moving. In this production, they failed to do even that. Stoppard's idea of looking at "Ham- let" through the eyes of this pair of pale, bewildered fall guys seems promising. The two characters are as peripheral to themselves as they are to the Shakes-pearean text, victims of circumstances they never comprehend and thus are unable to escape. In other hands this play could have actually been funny. Rosencrantz (Steve Elliot) and Guildenstern (Troy D. Sill) are first seen by the side of a road, tossing coins. Rosencrantz had tossed 85 heads in a row - a portentous omen to the two men and to the audience, as the scene was charmless and protracted. En route to Elsinore, they meet a band of traveling actors and their leader, the Player, portrayed in an unengaging manner by Joseph Radding. The players hit each other and overacted, with Alfred (Sean Vogt) providing the only element of suspense as audience members tried to figure out if this unfunny character was male or female. Once in Elsinore, Rosencrantz and b REVIEW Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead Ann Arbor Civic Theater Feb. 15, 1996 Guildenstern move around the castle vainly trying to figure out what is going on. They are intended to recall a couple of classic burlesque buffoons, but they philosophize in a pretentious and bor- ing manner. Talking above their sta- tions in life, they chatter on and on about life's probabilities and possibili- ties. Unconvincing as high comedians, and unfunny as low comedians, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are left performing jokes that are academic if not anemic. In scenes directly incorporated from Shakespeare, they meet the royals of the court. Claudius (Timothy Henning) and Gertrude (Aaron D. Shell) moved around the stage flatly reciting the Bard's original lines; even casting a man as Gertrude added nothing note- worthy tothese scenes. Worse was Mark Lewis' Hamlet. Hehammed-uphispart while dressed in an outfit that recalled a hand-me-down from the Downward Spiral Tourcrossedwithadoily.Ophelia was to be played by a different woman every night, so perhaps one of the eight other Ophelias would have done a bet- ter job than the one I saw. As the play continues, mock-philo- sophical arguments bewildered audi- ence members, as the lines of Stoppard's language-giddy play were competently recited by the likable but dull Elliot and Sill. Words numb the eardrum's. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern drone on and on. Ponderousness is added to monotony. Nobody seemed to remember which man is Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Even they became confused. During one of their many philosophical rantings, one of them said, "Every exit is an entry somewhere."VFor au- dience members who ran for the exits at the plays interminable end, the en- try into the cold air was refreshing indeed. "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern arre Dead" at the Ann Arbor Civic Theater. PERSONA ZEd, NON-SMOkiNq, TOWN CAR SERVICE To/FROM DETROIT METRO CAll FOR INFO: 665,8283 Study and explore in PRenamne tting at Lorenzo de'Medib Intiute - At Iniute of forent. Complete Amenan Unvesity awrijailnhrtu~dy/tra'reexmrnion packag. Swmwomr te - .dy,1996 - Six Credit I Non-credit, A/C Hotel Upgrade Somun r /Tar Abroad 1996-1997 - Full Credit M Violsa ORENCEA (APUS Shool of ontinuing Education. Fairlield Unvesty, fairfield. (aimecijat 04410 4n ~ Phone (203)2S44220 fax (203)254-4106- E Mai: cbbowersfairl fiirfield.edu 'Cry, the Beloved' contest Do you want to receive free tickets to the new acclaimed film, "Cry, the Beloved Country?" Well, the Daily Arts section has your solution. This picture stars James Earl Jones and Richard Harris as two race leaders in South Africa in the 1940s. It is currently playing at the Michigan Theater, and your attendance is desired. What do you have to do? Just stop by the Daily Arts office on the second floor of the Student Publications Building, 420 Maynard St., today from noon to 6 p.m. and tell us the name of another recent film starring Jones. You will receive a free pass for two people to see any Monday * through Thursday showing of this movie at the Michigan. But hurry, supplies are limited. I THE PRINCETON RVIEW What Makes Us So Good? ,R Small classes 0 Personal attention *4Only real LSATs are used 0 Experienced teachers Courses begin May 6! Ask about our MEGA course beginning March 30... *0 TEXAS INSTRUMENTS TI-92 DELIVER. 01 on't let this spring leave you broke and left out of all the fun. Go anywhere Greyhound* goes for a maximum round trip fare of $129. For a limited time only, from February 26th until April 15th, students who show a valid student ID can travel to any of our 2,400 destinations. So this spring, take your break on Greyhound. For more information call 1.800.231.2222. ANN ARBOR, M1 TO: ONE WAY ROUND TRIP DETROIT, MI $ 5 $ 9 TOLEDO, OH $14 $25 AT CATALOG PRICES a1 7-?72-28 11 TRICON PUBLISHING 2150 ENTERPRISE DRIVE MT. PLEASANT, MI 48858 ASK FOR OUR FREE CATALOG. 01 Wednesday ~~1 7 f- Lurnch 11 :30-3pm peciai I I -:1 $2.99 Cheeseburger & Fries 1/3 lb. of lean ground chuck Drink Special 9pm-Close $1.00 off all English Pints of Beer 338 S. State 996-9191 You can choose how to spend your monthly computing allocation. Your computing allocation allows you to "buy" the services you need, such as e-mail, file storage, remotex access, and printing in the Campus Computing Sites. Check your subscriptions today-and learn how to spend your allocation wisely! I ; .' . _. Lectre ote U ..'/ , .t