Discover the joy of Origami, the art of paper-folding. Join other cre-
ative folks and learn how to turn plain old paper into magnificent
designs. The activity will begin at 7 p.m. tonight at the Ann Arbor
District Library, located on 343 S. Fifth Ave. Call 994-2345 for more
information.
Tuesday
February 11, 1997
5
4
Once Upon A Time ...
Drescher loses her annoying laugh, 'Beast' lives happily ever after
.
By Neal C. Carruth
Daily Arts Writer
Once upon a time, a stuffy film critic
ent to see a movie called "The
autician and the Beast." Now, this
critic had never been impressed by
either of the
film's leads
and he'd had E
his fill of The Be
light roman- and th
tic comedies.
nut, a funny At Briarwoo
thing hap-
ned. For once, he was pleasantly sur-
sed.
"The Beautician and the Beast" will
probably not turn out to be one of the
best films of 1997, but considering that
we are in the midst of the spring cine-
matic wasteland, one could do far
worse. Such stinkers as "Meet Wally
Sparks" and "The Pest" attest to this.
Fran Drescher stars as Joy Miller, a
Queens beauty school instructor with
big dreams. After a fire destroys her
assroom, used during the day for sci-
ence classes, Miller is portrayed as a
heroine when she rescues the laborato-
Vy animals that share the room.
One individual who see
newspaper headline is Gr
McNeice), assistant to th
Slovetzia, a tiny East Euro
Grushinsky is in the Un
search of a suitable tutor
IEW
eautician
he Beast
**I
children. Be
to be both
great educa
vinces her
Slovetzia.
Miller ar
find a count
still antiqua
I
d and Showcase
yearning for the ways of t
West. Its overbearing and
autocratic supreme
ruler, Boris Pochenko
(Timothy Dalton), is
instantly taken
aback by Miller's
direct style.
As Miller loosens
up the children, she
begins to fall in love
with Pochenko. She
also inadvertently west-
ernizes the country, intro
ducing notions of over-
time and labor unions
s a valorizing into the its factories. The resulting labor
ushinsky (Ian strike jeopardizes the budding romance
e dictator of that has developed between Miller and
pean country. Pochenko.
ited States in Though "The Beautician and the
for his boss' Beast" is somewhat predictable and for-
lieving Miller mulaic, it is still pleasurable to watch it
brave and a go through the motions. One does not
tor, he con- leave with the awful feeling that the
to come to film was a depressing waste of time.
Rather, the film was quite captivating,
rives there to due in large part to the two lead perfor-
ry in turmoil, mances. Drescher, who seems to be uni-
ted but versally considered annoying,
the comes off quite well in this
film. She keeps her grat-
ing laugh in check and
strives for an Audrey
Hepburn-esque
charm. While she
doesn't quite make
it, she does prove
herself to be quite
capable within a
limited range.
Drescher does falter
a little in a big emotion-
al scene, near the end of the
film, when Miller is sup-
OK, smile. But just don't laugh. posed to be disap-
pointed with and hurt by Pochenko. At
this point, her acting suddenly ceases to
be light and effortless.
Dalton, whose career has taken a sad
turn, does a fine job as Pochenko. With
his slightly spiked hair and imposing
eyebrows, he gives Pochenko undeni-
able presence.
Unfortunately, the romantic chem-
istry between Dalton and Drescher isn't
quite right, and this is the fatal flaw of
"The Beautician and the Beast" Even
though the film is supposed to be a
story of oddly paired lovers, the princi-
pals are simply not credible as love
interests. They fail to generate any heat.
The screenplay also presents some
problems, moving forward a little too
leisurely. A film of this sort shouldn't
exceed 90 minutes or so, but "The
Beautician and the Beast," comes in at
just under two hours, trying the audi-
ence's patience. Additionally, some of
the film's gags, like one involving a
dutiful chicken, land with a thud.
Overall, this represents a pretty good
effort. It's an example of the sort of pol-
ished entertainment that used to be pro-
duced in the halcyon days when there
were more talented people in Hollywood.
Fran Drescher and Timothy Dalton star in "The Beautician and the Beast."
We've got more free Ray Charles tickets!
~ oc
In celebration of the Ann Arbor Summer Festival, which is bringing Ray
Charles to Hill Auditorium on Feb.15, the Daily is giving away one more pair
of superb tickets to see a phenomenal performance by one of the world's
finest musicians. Charles will appear with the Ann Arbor Symphony
Orchestra to play his roaring classics along with his great new material.
Proceeds from the concert will benefit the Ann Arbor Summer Festival and
help keep the Top of the Park outdoor concert and movie series free and
open to all. If you are interested in entering the contest to win a FREE pair
of tickets, e-mail your name and phone number to dally.arts@umich.edu. If
you entered the contest last week, you are automatically re-entered. Here's
the scoop: You must be a student at the University; employees of The
Michigan Daily and the Ann Arbor Summer Arts Festival are not eligible. If
} you don't win, tickets are still available by calling 764-2538. Good luckl
Latest from 702 will no doubt please fans
6 t
702
No Doubt
Biv Ten Records
Mix harmonious vocals and the latest
in R&B and hip hop and what's the end
result? 702's debut album, "No
Doubt." 702, comprised of
Irish (16), Kameela (18)
and Lemisha (18), was
first introduced to the
music scene in the
song "This Little
Game We Play," with
Subway. Two years
later, these three Las
Vegas natives have
decided to venture off on
their own musical : endeavor,
and what a wonderful endeavor it is.
This 10-track album is packed full of
first-rate music and vocals. From the
beginning song "Get Down Like Dat,"
it's obvious that these girls are out to take
care of business. "Steelo," the group's
current single, gives only a small hint of
the musical bonanza 702 has to offer. On
songs like "Show You My Love" and
"Not Gonna," 702 showcases versatile
vocals over up-tempo beats. "Round &
Round" and "Word Iz Bond" offer sweet
harmonies, while incorporating a
smooth laid-back sound.
On "All I Want," 702 samples the
music from New Edition's "Candy
Girl" to sing about longing for the ideal
man who knows all the right things to
say. "Get It Together" and "Finding My
Way," two of the more slow-tempo
songs on the album, give listeners a true
sense of the group's vocal depth. 702's
real talent manifests itself as the group
belts out serious harmonies on
these two ballads.
The only problem with
"No Doubt" is that it's
too short. Just as you
get caught up in the
vibe of the album,
it's over, leaving you
longing for more.
702 has meticulously
combined R&B, hip
hop and jazzy grooves to
produce a fierce debut album.
Long after you've listened to this CD,
you'll continue to hum and sing it's con-
tagious tunes - no doubt!
- Jessica Simmons
Cibo Matto
Super Relax
Warner Bros. Records
"Viva! La Woman," Cibo Matto's
fierce, funky and fun debut album, was
one of 1996's finest releases. The new
year has brought new tunes from the
duo, in the form of the "Super Relax"
EP. This nine-track disc is being
released in conjunction with the video
for the band's first heavily promoted
single, "Sugar Water," a tune from
"Viva!" that sounds as sweet as its title
with a dreamy chorus that's catchier
than the flu.
If you're going to buy "Super Relax,"
you'd better like'
"Sugar Water."
Track one is the
"Viva!" album ver-
turing vocalist Miho Hatori in sing-
song mode. She kicks into her flow
with the hard-edged hip hop -of
"BBQ," which would be the -easy
standout were it not for the poor
sound quality of a live recording.
"Crumbs" is aptly named: It's miot
much of a song, and it sounds -n'iore
like scraps pasted together off of the
cutting-room floor.
The EP is saved, however, by the
two cover songs. The first of thd is
"Aguas :e
Marco, a .xery
swanky-sounding
duet between
Hatori and a male
who is not ideriti-
fied, sung in
Portuguese. No, I
can't understand a
word, but that's
not the point.. I
can, howeever,
sion; track two is a
slightly sparser,
harder remix,
courtesy of Beastie
Boy Mike D., Blues
Explosion drum-
mer Russell Simins
and Beastie pro-
C
ducer Mario Miho and Yuka are
Cal dato; track
seven is a jazz-tinged acoustic version;
track nine is a remix by DJ Coldcut
with vague reggae and dub overtones.
Yep, that's four versions of the one
song.
That leaves us with five new songs.
Three of these are originals: "Spoon,"
"BBQ" and "Crumbs" (notice that the
food theme continues from "Viva!").
"Spoon" is unremarkable if solid, fea-
CI
ibo Matto. understand the
words to the other
cover, a version of the Rolling Stones'
"Sing This All Together."
For the uninitiated, I recommend
buying the debut album rather than
starting with this EP But for the fan
who devoured "Viva! La Woman,"
"Super Relax" is a tasty appetizer,
enough to tide us over until the next
full-length feast.
- Anders Smith-Lindall
Want to share your writing Ernp1 y ent Opportunities
with Daily readers?
Submit fiction or poetry to I
next month's LiteraryII
Issue. For more details on
how to enter, re ad IBAGEL SANDWICH & SMALL SOUP a Wage
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ag zn .Low-Fat and Fat-Free Foods
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