8.- The Michigan Daily - Monday, January 27, 1997 Gray moves mountains with 'Slope' By Gabriel Greene For the Daily Don't think for a minute that Spalding Gray is unaware of the irony of turning his life into art; the man does not take an unironic breath. One of the major crises in his latest monologue, "It's a Slippery Slope," is 'A Gray's desire to ' have an actual pri- It vate life. "I'm tired of being a vicarian," M he confided to the packed Michigan Theater. "I want to live a life, not tell one!" For almost two decades, Gray has been using his monologues to showcase his neurosis du jour. In "Monster in a Box," it was the terrors of writing an autobiographical novel; in "Gray's Anatomy," he tenaciously seeks treat- ments to correct an eye problem. "Slope" does not limit Gray to any one 'E ict disorder. Rather, he comes face to face with the aspects of his life that have existed throughout all of his shows: his longtime relationship with Renee Shafransk, his mother's suicide, his inability to be happy and his latest pas- sion, skiing. Coming onto the V I E Wstage, Gray took a seat at his ever-pre- A Slippery sent desk like an old Slope friend for dinner. higan Theater With trademark wit, Jan. 24, 1997 Gray told the enthralled crowd of first being drawn to mountains at Fryeburg Academy in Maine. Rather than take advantage of the free lessons they offered, though, he stayed inside and fantasized about skiing. But, ironically enough, at Emerson College, Gray became sidetracked by writing and performing his own mono- logues. Only years later, when Gray was touring with "Monster" in Aspen, did the pull of mountains affect him again. During his first lesson on skis, he could only turn left. A distraught Gray sput- tered en route back to New York. Outside of his newfound love for ski- ing, Gray's personal life was terribly fragmented. He found his 14-year rela- tionship with Renee deteriorating; he discovered a note from a woman named Kathie who wanted to have tea with him, and he was turning 52 - the age when his mother killed herself, wonder- ing if he should join her. Gray's fascination with his mother's suicide has long been evident in his work. Gray was offered a part in Steven Soderbergh's Depression-era movie, "King of the Hill." The deal was sealed when Gray found out he got to slash his wrists in the movie. Finding as much time for skiing as possible, Gray was finally able to turn right on skis. Skiing somehow enabled him to forget about death. But more problems arose: More unsure about himself than ever, Gray proposed to Renee, while in the midst of an affair with Kathie. With Kathie, he could finally laugh: "I think in two years [with Kathie], I laughed ... " iron- ic pause, " ... 5 times." The affair with Kathie resulted in a son: Forrest Dylan Gray. It also resulted in divorce. Through all this turmoil, though, Gray was able to still find his footing on skis. And for once he was able to look at his parade of recent tragedies and say, "Let that go - you're here now." "Slope" presents the deepest feeling Gray has ever put into a monologue. The story of a man who is so exhausted by his life and his work is so wonder- fully delivered, you almost forget that you are just one of hundreds of listeners with whom he is sharing this secret ... until another perfect pause comes, and you see Gray's eyes again. He knows. Spalding Gray performed at the Michigan Theater on Friday night. You just know he does. ARE YOU A LEADER?> Vacancies have recently opened on " LS&A Student Liaison to MSA Serve as the LS&A Government liaison to the MSA " LS&A Joint Student-Faculty Committee Serve on committee with faculty to discuss a variety of issues. "LSA Student Government Representative Develop communication and teamwork skills Improve student life in LSA If you would like to apply to any of these, stop by the LS&A Student Government office and pick up an appointments application. LSA Student Government is located on the third floor of the Michigan Union in the MSA office. Appointments applications are available in the display envelope just outside the office. Please fill out the form in its entirety and slide under the door, and you will be contacted shortly thereafter to schedule an interview. ALL APPLICATIONS ARE HANDLED ON A ROLLING BASIS. STD3Tca Uniof 7 4003 Michigan Union " 763-4799 Allen's 'Everyone' tries too hard to find love By Bryan Lark Daily Film Editor Woody Allen may believe in his little, troubled heart that "Everyone Says I Love You." After seeing his wildly uneven musical comedy, however, love isn't exactly what springs to mind. Starring a sublime ensemble led by Goldie Hawn, Julia Roberts and Drew Barrymore, "Everyone" leads audiences through many emotions and sensations, trying too hard to be loved. Most often, the film is plagued by an odd feeling of familiarity. Perhaps that sen- sation is because this is a Woody Allen film, and it is populated by -prepare your- self for a shock - neurotic New Yorkers. The difference here is that the characters are fabulously rich neurotic New Yorkers, who tend to break out in song and jet off to Paris or Venice. The rich New Yorkers on which this too-sunny comic valentine is focused are an extensive, extremely liberal family ruled by lawyer Bob (Alan Alda) and socialite Steffi (Goldie Hawn), living in a deluxe apartment in the sky above Park Avenue. Guiding these Manhattanites through their dismally affluent lives is a Drew Barrymore, as S thinner-than-Kate-Moss plot, narrated by Steffi's appealing college student daughter, DJ (Natasha Lyonne). It's spring and everyone's in love - or so they think. Holden (Edward Norton) professes his R love to DJ's stepsister, Skylar Eve (Drew Barrymore), while DJ's A half-sisters, Lane (Gaby Hoffman) an __a n d_ m Laura (Natalie Portman), are fawn- ing over a teen-age heir. After Holden comically proposes to Skylar, spring turns into summer, and DJ travels to Venice with her father, Joe (Woody Allen), in an attempt to find Joe's one true love. DJ settles for neurot- ic New York art historian, Von (Julia Roberts), about whom DJ has learned everything via a hole in a shrink's wall. As autumn falls upon them, the family is thrown into tur- moil by the arrival of ex-con Charles Ferry (Tim Roth), Steffi's current pet cause. When Skylar falls hard for the criminal and dumps Holden, the entire clan questions their love lives, wondering what love is and whether it will last. Beyond the familiarity of the story and characters, the predominant feeling from the film is one of great esteem for the virtuosity of the ' ensemble - the always charm- V I EW ingly flighty Goldie Hawn, the yone Says I laughably affable Edward Norton, Love You the twitchy, romantic Tim Roth, * U the longing Julia Roberts and the sardonically fresh Natasha At Ann Arbor 1 & 2 Lyonne. With the esteem for the cast comes a certain innate charm that permeates all the classic songs throughout the film. Not notified that they would be singing prior to filming, the cast charms viewers with their unprofessional, yet surpris- ingly enjoyable, vocal talents (only Barrymore's voice was dubbed). Still, outlandish musical numbers challenge their charm with an overall sense of disbelief. Beginning auspiciously, showing Allen's satirical undertones, wi rousing, ridiculous renditions of "Just You, Just M# and "My Baby Just Cares For Me," the numbers quick- ly escalate to tediousness and incredibility. By the time you get to dead people and a 10-minute Groucho Marx tribute in French, you start to disbe- lieve everything you see. You may even think: "Hey, Woody Allen may just be attractive after all." Combining the overall feelings of familiarity, esteem, charm, disbelief and frustration, "Everyone Says I Love You" totals an entity worthy of strong like, nowhere near the love for which it so desperately strives. Seeing that not everyone says I love you, perhaps next time Woody shouldn't be so presumptuous. Skylar, in "Everyone." Urix, 0 CITRIX Wd.ws Without Walls www.citrix.com I make I I I erence! Citrix (NASDAQ. CTXS) is the leader in multi-user Windows NT-based application server and Internet software. We're looking for System Software Engineers who want to develop or test leading edge technology including: C / C++ Windows 95 IAT.*. -., ALT r i.~. Java ActiveX windolCwsNi i nternals li~Ve orKsU I