Uf£tmiuImiun ai Three Men and a Tenor MSU Men's Glee Club spin-off comes to the Power Center tonight for a zany evening of music and celebration. Tickets are $12 for students and $15 for others and are available in advance at the Michigan Union Ticket Office. For more information or to purchase tickets, contact the ticket office at 763-KTS. Friday January 10, 1997 I SEvita: Saint or slut? Madonna triumphs with tragic film By Bryan Lark Daily Film Editor Don't cry for Madonna, America. At least not yet anyway - Madonna's gigantic and risky reer move known as "Evita" is a beautifully sung, skillful- "acted, gorgeously shot and adroitly directed film. "Evita" strikes a phenomenally grand pose, but it is still far from the best picture of the year. Electing style over substance, "Evita" sidesteps its inherent subject matter of R political unrest and the dangers of exces- sive power with lavish production num- bers and catchy turn-of-phrase. It creates an easy-to-swallow, toe-tapping, heart- breaking, hip-shaking, tear-jerking, unde- bly fun extended music video telling the story of Maria a Duarte de Peron, the beloved saint / whore of Argentina. OK, so it's not all fun. The film begins with the announce- ment of Eva Peron's death from cancer at the age of 33, exploding into a 15 minute whirlwind of sorrow. Up to this point, the audience is fine, getting into the groove, so to speak, of this tragic tale - that is, until a happy little guitar ditty begins and identity shifting, opinion-chang- ing narrator Che (Antonio Banderas), avoiding the funeral at a bar, turns directly to the camera and sings, "Oh what a cir- cus, oh what a show ...." After the initial shock of the unreality of this musical, Che *dears himself to the audience as he sets up the story behind Argentina's love / hate relationship with its favorite actress- turned-first-lady. Was she a saint? Was she a self-serving, power-hungry vixen who slept her Way into the hearts and pants of nearly everyone in Argentina? In this completely sung extravaganza, answers to press- ing, substantial questions are hard to come by - as soon as you notice an ambiguity or discrepancy, the film pro- vides you with another catchy tune to defer you from A thinking, which is detrimental for a drama but expected in a musical. Never losing its hedonistic momentum, the film depicts, sublimely, if episodically and abstractly, a young, confident Eva beginning a new life in the big city ("Buenos Aires"); her declaration of uncertainty ("Another Suitcase in Another Hall"); her unlike-a-virgin years ("Goodnight and Thank You"); her relationship with Juan Peron (Jonathan Pryce) in "I'd Be Surprisingly E V I E W Good For You"; Peron's rise to the presi- Evita dency ("A New Argentina"); and Eva's reassurance of her disapproving con- ***9 stituents ("Don't Cry For Me, t State and Showcase Argentina"). Slowing down only briefly in the sec- ond half, the breakneck pace is maintained by accounts of Eva's European tour, her battles with the upper class, her fla- grant philanthropy, her campaign for the vice presidency and her proposed exaltation to sainthood, which marks the begin- ning of the end of the saga of Evita. By the time the music, and thus Eva, dies, the audience has come to know and love the three principle characters through stellar songs. The audience has been treated to an amazing, dynamic spectacle that truly deserves the rivers of tears and the thunderous applause it receives. Emotions and ovations aside, there is still something wrong with "Evita," other than cancer, that is. Don't blame Madonna - her performance is like a prayer - exhilarating at best, satisfying at worst and always engag- ing. She did everything that was necessary to successfully emulate Eva Peron, including making the viewer forget all those years of Boy Toys, "Sex," that gold tooth and Dennis Rodman. Don't blame Antonio Banderas, he's Oscar-worthy as the sarcastic, insightful, omnipotent conscience of the nation. His flair for the musical, especially in the up-yours-mister anthem "Goodnight and Thank You," injects a huge dose of adrena- Jonathan Pryce waves to the crowd as Madonna smiles. line into any already caffeinated movie. Don't blame the capable, almost pointless, forehead- implanted Jonathan Pryce. After all, the film is not called "Juan." Don't blame the stellar production team - Alan Parker's vigorous, yet gentle direction, Gerry Hambling's astounding MTV-on-speed editing, or Penny Rose's splendid, sophisticat- ed costume design are all much-needed assets. Blame Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's original music and lyrics, with guitar riffs, lame rhymes, and bland Latin flavor that now seem dated and generic. With little cin- ematic appeal and even less character development, the sometimes insipid soundtrack still makes an enjoyable singing biography. After all, Hollywood musicals are not exactly the hallmark of significance. Great performances, outstanding production, and sweeping yet imperfect soundtrack aside, what. exactly, is the film's opinion of its biographical subject, Eva Peron ? Instead of revealing any clear opinions, "Evita" revels in its own ambiguity, keeping Eva as enigmatic as possible, allow- ing viewers to form their ideologies of Evita, and thus Madonna, independently. Whatever your opinion of the two pop icons, forgo your wild days and your mad existence, please keep your promise, and don't keep your distance from Madonna's triumph, "Evita." am Whitney and Denzel get friendly in "The Preacher's Wife." Snoop stinks up on new 'Doggfather' Snoop Doggy Dogg Tha Doggfather Death Row ** This is scary. Maybe even eerie. A Snoop Doggy Dogg album that ISN'T all that. An album that is so full of weak rhythmic holes and out-of-place ele- ments one is forced to wonder if maybe 2PAC's death has affected Snoop adversely. Granted, Snoop would be hard-pressed to keep rapping songs at the level he had on "Chronic," "Doggystyle" and "Murder Was the Case." Granted, "Tha Doggfather" is still a better album than 80 percent of the rap albums that have been released since the Fat Boys were popular. Granted, Snoop no longer has the help of premier rap-music producer Dr. Dre, who left Death Row in the later part of last year... . Ah, maybe we're onto something here. While Snoop's rapping is sub-par at times, what is most prominent about the bad on "Tha Doggfather" is the raunchy way in which Snoop's rapping clashes with the background beats more often than not. "Snoop Bounce," "Me & My Doggz," "You Thought," "Groupie," "Sixx Minutes," "Snoop's Upside Ya Head," "Blueberry" and "Doggyland" contain just a few of the dilapidated beats which haunt most of the 21 cuts splattered across "Tha Doggfather." In a way, the sheer number of terrible tracks Snoop's lines are laid on are as 'Preacher's Wife' tugs at emotions w ith heartwanning holiday tae Kristin Long Deily Arts Water The latest run on holiday films has hit an intriguing low; the Hollywood geniuses have lapsed into a field of slap-stick Santas and out-of-control reindeer. "The Preacher's Wife" has that wel- come, dual holiday / non-holiday flavor that has been ssing from cent venues; it RE brings a new TeP twist to the sea- sonal plot, while surrounding common themes. With musical interludes from Whitney Houston and a strong cast including Denzel Washington, the remake of the 1947 classic "The Bishop's Wife" offers a ':ent variety to the standard holiday flick. Houston's repertoire could raise a few eyebrows in her singing-mixed-act- ing career. However, her role here fits with style because the plot focuses else- where and not on her singing alone. Houston plays Julia Biggs, the wife of the pastor of St. Matthew's Church and the parish choir leader. Her musical tal- t fits aptly with her role and does not m overdone nor overplayed. A majority of the film's success stems from Denzel Washington's role a as the angel Dudley. In answer to the Reverend Henry's (Courtney B. Vance) prayer for help, Dudley transcends to help the preacher regain control of his church community. Their interaction is funny and sincere, while the tense feel- ings between them create much anxi- ety. When Henry becomes obsessed with parish problems, the relationship between VIEW he and his wife cher's Wife begins to falter. Dudley attempts to *** soothe the wounds, At Showcase but in effect only makes things worse because the chem- istry between Julia and the angel is dynamic. The subtle glances they exchange reveal that with each dilem- ma the pastor encounters, the more infatuated Julia becomes with the heav- enly body. When the world seems to cave onto the problematic Henry, his only hope is to turn to the nuisance Dudley. Washington takes a less stark approach to his role, and the result is a gentle man with a great deal of potential humor. His annoying appearances when Henry is at his worst makes him even more lik- able to audiences. Amid all this romance and chaos, a younger actor makes an impressive debut as the son of the pastoral couple. Justin Pierre Edmund as Jeremiah Biggs shows much hope while he deals with the loss of a friend to an orphanage and his father's absence in church affairs. The innocence of the children combined with the mystical figure is magic and makes for light-hearted fun. This amusement, however, causes some problems for the plot - it makes for a long film with a short time span. The significant, and thereby interesting events, happen few and far between, leaving much drag in the middle of the story. The surface of the story is stimu- lating and compassionate, but beyond that there is little of interest. "The Preacher's Wife" is impressive with its character interaction. Houston and Washington are brilliant together, as is the angel with his project Henry. Houston's singing is also commend- able on the soundtrack, for unlike her previous films, it is not central and the major key in the movie's success. Her songs do not overshadow the point, nor do they inhibit her acting ability. "The Preacher's Wife" is an engaging film about life-changing events. The plot's depth does not extend very far, thus leaving the film to fit in the holi- day greatest hits category. The character changes hit at the heart and leave noth- ing but a pleasant feeling at the film's outcome. Houston is redeeming her act- ing career, and we may leave the theater apt to hear another song. Maybe. Pimp Doggy Dogg looks smooth. funny as they are disappointing. In an underground dis of Dre and anyone who would assert that Dre's beats were as important in bringing Snoop up as his lyrics were, Snoop says in "Freestyle Conversation": "Delicate? Beats? So that's what makes me now? Nigga, I don't give a fuck about no beat." And it shows. You'd think on this song that Snoop didn't care too much about rapping either. He's not rapping on "Freestyle Conversation"; he's talk- ing fast, like his soul was taken over by the spirit of E-40 or something. While the lyrical content is more interesting than the beats background- ing it, it doesn't take much to realize that the sounds accompanying the rhymes have a purpose that shouldn't be overlooked. Dr. Dre recognized that, and it was exactly because of his bomb instrumentation that we forgave his sometimes weak vocal flow. Even MC Hammer, Luther Campbell and Vanilla Ice got away with bad rapping for awhile because of their songs' dancable flava. Snoop's rapping on "Tha Doggfather" is far from bad, but it's not being buoyed by the kind of nod-yo- head noise that Dre could mix in min- utes. Dat Nigga Daz (who you'll quick- ly be able to hear made a lot of the mixes on this album) has some skill, but he's just no Dre. And Snoop, "Tha Doggfather" and the hip-hop community are suffering all the more because of it. - Eugene Bowen ..._. m M.