1
Al Iaff
Check out one of the Festival's Awards Juror Screenings. Barbara
Klutinis, a film studies instructor at Skyline College in San Francisco,
will show and discuss her experimental films. Join Klutinis at the
Michigan Theater at 3 p.m. for this free presentation. See below for
more information about tonight's screenings.
Thursday
March 13, 1997
13A'
When 'B
Limp story
By*0diant Tamaskar
Dail Writer
" from Jim Carrey, none of "In
[ Color's cast members have
reaf ade a mark on the big screen,
whith is fairly surprising given their
cons derable talent.
Keenan- Ivory R1
Wayans ("A Low
Down Dirty
Shame"), Damon
W a y a n s
"Bullet proof "),
D id Alan Grier
( omerang") and Marlon and Shawn
Wayans ("Don't Be a Menace to South
Cent6aL While Drinking Your Juice in
the6-lod") have all been featured in
majik unsuccessful motion pictures.
The last two cast members with a
realistic chance at achieving movie star-
dom may be Jamie Foxx and Tommy
Davidson, who, after being supporting
actors ip a few films, play lead roles for
the firt time in "Booty Call." Although
t tnovie itself is not particularly note-
worthy, the duo is able to display the
skill that could guide them to bigger
and better things.
Foxx and Davidson star as Bunz and
Rushon, two friends with very little in
'Blur' full of
Blur
Virgin Records
Blur's self-titled fifth album finds the
London quartet boldly stepping away
from the Britpop scene it helped form
a lead in the early '90s. The result,
h ever, is a mixed bag; some songs are
just as good as (if not better than) the
band's earlier hits, like "Girls
and Boys" and "Country
House," while other new
songs are sadly mud-
dlediand poor.
Since the
September 1995
release of its UK No.
Ilum, "The Great
Escape," which includ-
ed numerous crisp,
melpdic sing-a-long tunes,
Blur has eschewed such Britpop-char-
acterizing sounds and drawn inspiration
frot' a strange source. American
"slacker rock," namely Pavement and
Beck. Such influences abound on
"Blur,' yet the results are hit-or-miss.
The album commences with
"Be6tlebum," a slow-moving, so-so
but a rather weak choice for the
first single. The aptly titled "Song 2"
follows, a 2:01 dirge that begins with a
ioot '
calls ... run
wastes actors' talents
E
common. Bunz is a boisterous; crude,
irresponsible womanizer, while his pal
is sensitive and refined.
Rushon has been dating a girl named
Nikki (Tamala Jones) for seven weeks,
and they are getting pretty serious.
However, they have
V I E W not slept together
because Nikki
Booty Call wants to be sure
that her man is
** committed. In an
At Showcase attempt to please
his girlfriend,
Rushon sets up her friend Lysterine
(Vivica Fox) with Bunz, and all four of
them go out together.
Although the double date starts off
rocky, it quickly heats up, and soon
Rushon and Nikki are ready to make
love, while Bunz and Lysterine get set
to do their thing. There's only one prob-
lem. The guys don't have any condoms,
and the women have a "no glove, no
love" policy. Finding protection turns
out to be a little more complicated than
Bunz and Rushon imagined, as the pair
are willing to do just about anything to
satisfy their dates.
The humor in "Booty Call" is derived
from the men's tunnel vision in their
willingness to jump through all of the
necessary hoops to seduce Nikki and
Lysterine. This premise is not very orig-
inal, but the film takes the idea to
absurd, amusing extremes.
To the movie's credit, the female
characters are quite strong and up to the
task of battling Bunz's and Rushon's
raging egos and hormones. Despite
what the males might think, it is obvi-
ous that Nikki and Lysterine are the
ones in charge. Nikki has been able to
make Rushon move at a pace that she's
comfortable with, while Lysterine
seems to be toying with Bunz, who is
used to the more predatory role.
Still, Bunz and Rushon are the focus
of the film, and Foxx and Davidson
play the parts well and have excellent
chemistry together. As the more obnox-
ious of the pair, Foxx perfects an uncon-
ventional delivery that reeks of sinceri-
ty no matter what he says or does. He
also displays a wide variety of comic
skills, including imitations. dry wit and
physical humor.
As the straight man. Davidson
exhibits a subtlety that is missing from
any of his other performances (such as
in "Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls").
By restraining himself throughout most
Vivica Fox, Jamie Foxx, Tamala Jones and Tommy Davidson all have mad sex in "Booty Call."
of the film, the few instances where he
does revert to the persona he developed
on "In Living Color" become even
more funny.
Given everything that "Booty Call"
has going for it, the most disappointing
aspect of the fi1,m is that it just does not
uenerate consistent laughs. Although
there are a few truly hilarious
sequences, the movie,. believe it or not,
is not outrageous enough.
The film takes its insight on the rela-
tionships between men and women too
seriously, causing "Booty Call" to go
limp at times. Moreover, when the writ-
ers can't think of anything else funny
for their characters to do or say, they
resort to cheap racial and sexual stereo-
types. The humor is not malicious, and
is meant in good fun. but it still man-
ages to be offensive.
Unfortunately, the dull intervals and
the occasional tasteless characterization
amount to suicide for "Booty Call."
Sharper editing and a more thoughtful
comic touch would have served the film
and its actors better. Instead. Foxx and
Davidson are forced to show off their
skill in a movie that isn't worthy of their
talents.
hits, misses
drumbeat similar to the Smashing
Pumpkins' "1979" before it adds a
Pixies-like guitar riff and crooning
singer Damon Albarn.
After that up-tempo number, Blur
slows things down for "Country Sad
Ballad Man," a song that never really
gains momentum. The next two songs,
"M.O.R." and "On Your Own," however,
are quite brilliant. The former is an ener-
getic tune with the band - Albarn,gui-
tarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex
James, and drummer Dave Rowntree--
synchronizing perfectly on the
chorus, while the latter has a
" / catchy, sing-song quality..
"Theme From Retro"
is, frankly, an awful
song, a failed result of
calliope meeting dis-
torted guitar, but the
following "You're So
Great" is awesome, with
Graham Coxon passionate-
ly singing lead vocals (for the
first time in Blur's oeuvre) over sweet
acoustic guitar strummings.
"Death Of A Party" is an eerily cool
song, and "Chinese Bombs" has a feel
not unlike Blur's nearly-punk "Bank
Holiday," off 1994's stellar "Parklife."
Things are appearing quite rosy after
"Look Inside America," which is simply
a great song (with decidedly pro-Yank
lyrics). While I disagree with Albarn's
"Drink Pepsi / It's good for energy" lyric.
Comedy Company strikes back
Group to use 'The Farce in final performance
Blur's fifth album offers a mixed bag.
the song warmly urges Brits to "Look
inside America / She's alright / She's
alright."'The song also includes a pretty
little string interlude and a likely barb
toward Oasis, as Albarn sings about the
U.S., "I'm not trying to make her mine,"
while Liam and Noel Gallagher possess
a "We're-gonna-conquer-you-whether-
you-like-it-or-not" attitude.
T-he album ends in mediocre fashion.
with the longest - and arguably worst
- song, "Essex Dogs" On the plus side,
it is something you have never heard
before on any of the first four Blur
albums. On the down side, "Essex Dogs"
is neither tuneful nor danceable, two of
the strengths of earlier Blur material.
Blur's creatively titled fifth album is
worthwhile to investigate. but quite
inconsistent. A handful of songs are
fabulous, but too many sonic experi-
ments fail to reach the same level of
quality from earlier albums.
-A< aron Re nnie
By Christopher Tkaczyk
Daily Arts Writer
With the reissue of the "Star Wars"
Trilogy, the Comedy Company is seizing
its chance to make light out ofla good sit-
uation. "Comedy Company: Special
Edition" parodies
the "Star Wars"
tang in a few of its P I
new sketches. This Con
new production will
use a combination 1Ehur
of new material and
old material that
was previewed this year during earlier
performances. "Special Edition" is the
groupY's final production of the year, and
it promises to be a grand finale.
The group plans to present a selec-
tion of its better sketches, including the
parody of "West Side Story" that audi-
ences may remember from the group's
sold-out performance at the U-Club
titled "Mortal Komedy." Also being
reissued is the sketch "Barmitzvah
Boy," which won audiences over during
"Get Funny." the company's previous
show at the U-Club. A select number of
other Comedy Company classics will
also be presented, but the emphasis will
be put upon the new material.
Beside a few Princess Leia imper-
sonations and Luke Skvwalker haircuts,
the group also plans to present a new
R
ne]
variety of material, all written by the
group's cast and team of writers.
Most fascinating about this group is
that all of its material is original. These
performers are amateur college come-
dians, but they present professional pro-
ductions under the
EVIEWauspicesof LSA
E EW sen ior Scott
3dy Company Michael Fera,
whose influence
aySaturday, 8:30 p~m. woe nfurc
Mendelssohn Theater upon the group has
s; raised it out of a rut
in which previous
companies had been.
Fera's decision to turn the Comedy
Company into a fresh group with a nat-
ural talent for humor was a wise one.
The productions they have presented
this year have been some of the group's
best in its 16-year history.
As in past Comedy Company shows.
improvisation games will be a featured
segment of the performances. Many
audience members come to these shows
just for the improv. Audiences seem to
love the fun and hilarity involved in such
interactive participation.
Also featured in "Special Edition"
will be two stand-up comedians. Fera,
along with LSA Senior Mark Rukman.
will present their humorous view of life
in two separate acts. Rukman previous-
ly appeared in the company's "Mortal
Komedy" show, and he has also
appeared professionally around the
Chicago area. This will be Fera's last
year as director and producer of
Comedy Company, as he intends to
graduate at the close of this term.
In an interview with The Michigan
Daily, Vera reflected on his years with
the Comedy Company.
"I have had a great time working with
the people of this year's company, and
they are the most talented group of indi-
viduals with whom I have ever had the
privilege of working," Fera said.
He also added that he sees "great
things in the future of Comedy
Company" because of the talented peo-
ple who are dedicated to their job.
"Comedy Company: Special
Edition" will offer a grand night of sci-
ence fiction, entertainment and laugh-
ter. And as any Jedi .knight would
,always profess, Fera added, "May the
farce be with you."
Tickets will not be available through
the Michigan Union Ticket Office
(Ticketmaster), but they will be sold
directly by the Comedy Company.
Fera cited the exorbitant fees that
Ticketmaster adds to admission prices
as the reason the group will sell its own
tickets. To secure reserved seating. call'
the group at 647-4197. or e-mail them
at cOmco( umi(ich. edu.
See RECORDS, Page 14A
S..
The Ann Arbor Film Festival - today's lineup
7 p.m.
"C'est La Vie"
"Not For Nothin"'
"Hardwood Process"
"Gabriel Goes For A Walk"
"Chronic"
"Ride on Rosa"
"Nocturne"
"The Life"
"StripMall"
9:30 p.m.
"Fetal Position"
"Labor"
"If My Mother Knew"
"The Room"
"Off The Wall: A Creative Journey"
"Mah Jongg"
11 p.m.
"Aquamorpheus"
"Genre"
"Cosmodrom"
"Hasten Slowly"
Check out tomorrow's
Daily for the regular week-
ly film listing.
i STUDY AT
SOTHEBY'S
THE AMERICAN ARTS COURSE
-Hands on Study
-Post-Baccalaureate Certificate
Awarding 36 Master Credits
m -~ -________ -~ U