8 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, September 13, 1996 Ka IA. .. 'Grill' fails to fan the flames The Melvins are one big, happy family, as you can see. Melvins return to beloved Detroit, hit. Shelter tonight By Bryan Lark Daily Arts Writer Despite poignant, powerful perfor- mances from a renowned, though not necessarily superstar principal cast, "The Spitfire Grill" fails to spark any- thing more than mild entertainment and excessive sentimental goodness. Originally titled "Care Of The Spitfire Grill," this small, formulaic, marginally charming, three-hankie film debuted to inexplicable acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival this past January. "Grill" burned a Cinderella- like path across the history of indepen- dent cinema, gar- nering $10 million for its theatrical R distribution rights.TeS Nowhere near as 4 Te glamorous and original as its course to a theater near you, the plot of the film is an oft-told fable of a remarkable individual who lands in a strange environment to initial prejudice, overcomes social and personal obsta- cles to change the lives of those nearby and demonstrates the power of the human spirit. Getting misty yet? In "The Spitfire Grill," the aforemen- tioned stranger-with-that-special-some- thing is Percy Talbott (Allison Elliott), a convict who gets a new lease on life by moving to the tiny hamlet of Gilead, Maine. Upon arriving in Gilead, feisty, heav- ily accented prison travel agent (don't ask) Percy hooks up with crotchety, dilapidated Hannah Ferguson (Ellen Burstyn), owner of the Spitfire Grill. Get it? Percy's a spitfire ... so is EVIEW Spitfire Grill At Ann Arbor 1 & 2 and Showcase the-restaurant- business movie, "Fried Green Tomatoes." Soon, most of the townsfolk view Percy as the messi- ah of central Maine and stop, or Hannah ,.. as is the Grill. Where do they come up with this stuff? Working as a cook-waitress-gopher at the hottest, well - only diner in Gilead, Percy encounters only whispers and discrimination, but overcomes the degradation with her sassy attitude and lack of shame regarding her past. You go, girl! Citizen by country-fried citizen, Percy wins over the town, stopping along the way for touching scenes of self-discovery and female bonding, deliberately reminiscent of another tear-jerking, extraordinary-women-in- film could be half as stimulating. Digging deeper than the sentimental exterior, full of sweetness and absurd subplots, the true heart of this film is Allison Elliott. Magnetic and fresh, she makes this film worth watching: One cannot help but be affected by Percy once the credits have rolled. The other primary cast membersle give outstanding performances, irclud- ing Ellen Burstyn's stab at the gusty- on-the- outside-soft-and-chewy-ob-the- inside Hannah and Marcia Cay Harden's Jennifer Tilly impression known as Shelby. Still, there is little to admire about "The Spitfire Grill." Writer and director Lee David Zlotoff, while to be praised for hisbusi- ness savvy in marketing this unin4 tive, weepy motion picture, should L blamed for the various shortcomings of "The Spitfire Grill." For instance, Zlotoff could havdeasi- ly rewritten such choice phrases as, "You saved my bacon today," which are usually indigenous to buddy-cop action movies. Aside from the far-too-few com- pelling characters, the only other posi- tive thing to say is that the landsc4 surely looks like Maine, judging from past adaptations of Stephen King nov- els and documentaries about lobsters. Once you've looked over every selec- tion on the menu of "The Spitfire Grill" - Great Performances with a side of Bacon, Bad Dialogue Omelets, Pleasant Foliage Platter, Sentiment Sandwiches and Free Refills of previ- ously learned lessons about yourself, the best choice is to go home and fi up your own damned grill. By Ted Watts Daily Arts Writer "Is it a filthy hell hole?" Melvins' vocalist and guitarist Buzz Osborne asked about the Shelter (where his band will be playing tonight). When informed it's below St. Andrew's, he responded: "Oh, it's there. Gotcha." With the precise value of filth and hellishness registering in his mind, the interview is able to continue. The Melvins have been responsible for 16 tons of rich creamery rock during their career. But they haven't headlines a gig in Detroit in the last couple of years (and albums). "We like Detroit.P Sometimes scheduling doesn't permit it or we just don't have the time. We T always like playing Detroit. It's fun. We always have a good time there," Buzz Dol explained. _ "Good time" and "fun" are words sprinkled liberally throughout the interview, as are the occaisional punctuated yawns of grogginess. To be a musi- cian ... With a sound generally on the harsh edge of modern music, the Melvins can trace their influences to bands such as KISS, with whom they played earlier this year on five dates. "It was real good. They were totally cool to us. We had a lot of fun;' Buzz said. Kiss had even heard of the Melvins covering some of their songs. "They're real aware of all that kind of stuff about them. Gene and Paul are the main guys and their brains are still intact because neither of them ever did drugs or alcohol so they're totally aware of anything to do with KISS especially. And I have to hand it to them, they could get straight cock rock bands to open for them, and for us to do any shows with them at all is kinda cool. I can't believe they would do some- thing like that. But oh well. It was fun. I was glad to be part of it," Buzz recalled. The Melvins' newest album, "Stag," is actually a bit of a departure for the band in that it has many varied parts, rang- h Tni or 96 ing from the traditionally swampy stuff to almost gleefully- composed bits. "We certainly wanted to do something that was a lot dif- ferent than our last record. We're not the Ramones. We want- ed to do something that covered a little more ground, but still remained interesting to us. So it's good. I think it's our best record, I don't know what everyone else thinks, but I'm happy with it definitely. Sonically, song wise, everything," Buzz said. And he's right. The album is masterfully diiferent from "Stoner Witch" their previous album. It's almost like a skill showcase. But be careful of how you relate it to the band: "Some reviewers E VI E WN accussed us of growing up on this ie Melvins record. What the fuck are you talking ight at the Shelter. about? There are so many songs on s open at 6:30. call there that are (grunt) completely 61-MELT for details. fucked up, I don't know if that can be considered growing up," Buzz exclaimed. As for people who don't get it Buzz let it be known: "In a world of bands that I hate, I think this record is really interesting and creative, and if people fail to see that in it, it's not my fault. It doesn't mean I don't think they're fuck- ing idiots. They can go listen to their fucking double com- pact disc of Smashing Pumpkins and get all the inspiration they need." What a nasty thing to say. Heeheehee. The Melvins have better cover art, too, with images inspired by voodoo tapes- tries instead of 19th Century fantasy angels. Well, the Melvins are also doing their own thing with their set on this tour. It's just them for three sets of varying crazi- ness. "No opening bands. An evening with ... ," joked Buzz. "We play a little over two hours trotal. So it's plenty." The first set will run about half-an-hour and will be exper- imental. The second set will be slightly quiet. And the final set will be real damn loud, with both a Flipper and a Fleetwood Mac cover. Make sure to see the whole damn deal. The very first song is new. start, depending on your perspective, treating her like a side-show freak. Watch the almighty Percy soothe Hannah's leg pain with magic lotion! See the amazing ex-con girl forge a special friendship with the town's mys- terious homeless man! Witness Percy turning water into wine! Without going exactly that far, Percy single-handedly revives the town, both economically and spiritually, until her honesty and true intentions are ques- tioned by those who hold her most dear. The subsequent final scenes are easily the best of the film; they seem less like a feel-good message movie and more like an intriguing mystery. If only the rest of the sluggishly paced, poorly structured Singer Dali breaks out on her own Cynthia Dali Untitled Drag City Singer / songwriter Cynthia Dall is best known for her collaboration with lable- mates Smog, and though no name or title appears on her solo debut album, her work is refreshingly distinctive. While Smog's Bill Callahan appears on "Untitled," contributing guitar and vocals, the similarly stripped-down production values are the only similarities between Smog's music and Dall's solo work. She's able to turn a question like "What are you getting me for Christmas?" into a frosty, thinly veiled threat, and the echoing pianos that make up "Untitled"'s musical motif sound as if Dali was in a faraway place that's both nightmarish and dreamy. That's not to say that "Untitled" is a to - pletely bleak record; on tracks such as the Callahan / Dall duet "Holland" and thewist- ful ballad "Bright Night," the album achieves a remote, luminous beauty, and on "Aaron Matthew" becomes downright warm and genuine. Brittle, disturbing and magnet- ic, "Untitled" shows that Dal] has plenty to say on her own terms. - Heather Phares See RECORDS, Pagi p 1 JIMMY Continued from Page 5 new band and no one's ever heard of us." The tour is sponsored by Calvin Klein and Tower Records, where the band will be playing Sunday at 4 p.m. on South University Ave. in Ann Arbor before the show at the Shelter that night. With all the corporate I 9 1 I Medium Pizza With Cheese 1 and One Topping. Hand Tossed or Thin Crust,; DeepDishextra.Serving theUniversity of Michigan IExpires 12!31 M6. Customer pays sales tax , I Iwhereappllceble. Delivery area limited to ensure safedriving.Our driverscarry lesthan$20...... @ri1998 Domnos Pizza, i nc. II- 99 1 I I Large Pizza With Cheese I and One Topping Hand Tossed orThinCrust, I Deep Dish extra. Serving i the University of Michigan I Expires 1=/191 Custwwe pays sales Wae S weweap plicabs.De v ry ereamftdst ensure safe driving. Ourdrivers carry Iessilw'i620.QO. Q 199 Domino nananInc. i.... .......................... = == ===sm I sponsorship, Linton laughed, "I was like afraid of (the tour), like when I heard about what it was going to be ..." Linton said the whole CK thing hasn't been a big deal, though, except for at the beginning. "It so funny because one of the guys at Capitol gave us these CK shirts and we w- gonna (wear them on stage) as joke. Then we figured, no, we better not." Linton said that "the true energy of the band comes out" in Jimmy Eat World's live attack. That's not to say these crowds won't be the biggest they've ever seen. If five people show up to the show, Linton said that they're "used to it." It doesn't bother them that much, though. "When you drive 10 hours to a show and there's like no ' pie there, it kinda bums you out ... t you just look forward to going into the next town." Linton said that the band will hope- fully stay together a long time and keep getting better. Jimmy Eat World is starting with a bang. Go meet Jimmy Eat World at Tower, practically in your backyard, if you can't make it to the Shelter, and then you'll know. about something millions of people are yec discover: what could be the next big thing. 761-1111 1031 E. Ann St. place :derto ay. Serving the University of Michigan Add nord Dou ~ee A1V V I / r ."' m