.-The Michigan Daily - Monday, April 8, 1997

Chaos, Midler make for 'Old' news

By Laura Flyer
F4 the Daily
-Just as soon as the popularity of "The
First Wives Club" begins to dwindle
from the Hollywood scene, Bette Midler
is back again in
another romantic RI
comedy that strains to
be light and humor- That
ous, but gets lost in a
edping jumble of
unfocused plots. At a,
"That Old
Fceeling," directed by Carl Reiner, teaches
one valuable lesson: Whether you are
young or old, life is too short to mull over
recent mishaps; it is important to seize
the moment while it is in your hands.

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It+
Bria

Sound familiar? Midler once con-
vinced her best friend with a fatal disease
that she should live in the present and not
in the past in "Beaches." Now she must
put up with the complaints of her daugh-
ter, Molly (Paula
V I E W Marshall).
The clamor and
Old Feeling chaos begins at the
wedding of Molly
** and Keith (Jamie
arwood and Showcase Denton). Molly is
overly anxious that
her divorced parents, who have remar-
ried, will cause a catastrophic scene
through their incessant fighting on her
"big day." Instead of ripping each
other's hair out, however, they rekindle

their former lust and unbridled passion
for one another.
What presents itself to be a creative
twist to the typical divorced-couple sce-
nario gets lost when there is a constant
transition in the central conflict. At first,
the focus is on the possibility of a disas-
trous wedding. Later, though, the focus
shifts to the discovery that the recent
lovebirds have left town, and their puz-
zling location baffles everyone.
Midler is, however, perfect in the role
of Lilly, a garrulous, lively, uncon-
cerned woman who has obvious marital
problems with her current spouse.
But, of course, Midler really isn't the
star of a movie until she sings - this time
a sweet serenade to her ex in a bar. It felt

as though even the director knew that the
movie would be complete flop had Midler
not shown off her divine musical talent.
The film adds sparse comic relief.
Midler's and Dennis Farina's escalating
fights are humorous the first time
around, but by the third or fourth time,
it is almost pitiful. A charming scene,
however, occurs when a group of elder-
ly women giggle over and admire
Midler's and Farina's public display of
affection. Midler flashes a genuine,
nonchalant smile in their direction,
calmly saying, "It's adulterous."
Despite a couple of twists and turns
here and there, "That Old Feeling,"
nonetheless follows a predictable path
of chaos to complete order.

Farina and Midler get that warm, fuzzy feeling again in "That Old Feeling."


GRADUATION.

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Sunf ire
$400 Bucks of Incentive*
Hot Looks
Great Performance
Land Big Job
Raises
Summer Home
obeT Pr zes
Nobel Prizes

Some Other Car
Zero Incentive
Drives Like a Shoebox
Looks Like a Shoebox
Interview After Interview

ROCK-
Continued from Page 5
and no particular race deserves perse-
cution. Rather, all the closed-minded,
stupid people from every group
should be summarily ignored.
University students were quick to
pick up on Rock's upfrontness, and
they refreshed by it. 7
"I was surprised by his truthfulness
regarding black/white relationships,"
sophomore Kenneth Jackson said. "It
felt good to hear some honest cri-
tiques."
"He kept it real," freshman Corey
Graham agreed.
Chris Rock's routine circulated
through various American events from
O.J. Simpson ("O.J.'s whole defense was
if you didn't see it, then I didn't do it") tc
taxes ("The government takes money
from your check every week, and ,then
they come in April for more money. What
kind of gangster shit is that?") to sexual
harassment ("If a man is your boss and he
says 'fuck me or you're fired,' then that's
sexual harassment. Otherwise that's just a
man trying to get (sex), and a man
shouldn't be put in jail for trying to get
(sex). Hell, if my dad didn't 'harass' my
mom, I wouldn't be here.")
He also spent a great deal of the last
third of his schtick preaching the
gospel on virtually every relationship
aspect from oral sex to the type of men
women date.
With his politically incorrect 4liv-
ery, comically overexaggerated fcial
expressions and no-holds-barred mate-
rial, Chris Rock was a roaring success.
As freshman Dhani Jones put it, "The'
intellectual capabilities (Rock) exem,&
plifies are extraordinarily intriguing."
Okay, well maybe Rock isn't thatg
amazing, but his brand of comedy is nev-
ertheless a welcome betrayal of the hear-
no-evil-speak-no-evil apathism that has
super-saturated American society.

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