The Michigan Daily - Monday, October 20, 1997 -9A
.'Last Summer' is not quite a 'Scream'
By Matthew Barrett
Forlhe Daly
,irst things first: Despite what the advertisements
say, "I Know What You Did Last Summer" is not
"Scream." It is nothing like "Scream." In fact, the only
thing that they have in common is their screenwriter,
Kevin Williamson.
Directed by Jim Gillespie, "I Know What You Did
'.ast Summer"jumps around with no particular rhyme
or reason, until a satisfying conclusion. The cast
includes two of television's brightest young stars,
Jennifer Love Hewitt ("Party of Five") and Sarah
Michelle Gellar ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer"). But
they are both shown up by relative unknown Ryan
Phillipe, who plays Barry Cox, the ringleader of the
group.
Phillipe's performance domi-
nates the other actors when they
share the screen. Other members of I
the cast include Freddie Prinze Jr., Di
as the fourth member of the group, (9
Anne Heche and Bridgette Wilson.
The plot, which seems fairly
simple at first, is really quite intri-
cate and should keep you guessing throughout the
movie. Four friends are driving home after a party one
summer night when they hit someone in the road.
After checking him out, they pronounce him dead, and
after debating it for awhile, decide to throw the body
in a lake. One problem: he's not dead.
The movie then jumps to the following summer,
and it's clear that their little secret is taking quite a toll
on the group. To make matters worse, notes start to
appear, telling them "I know what you did last sum-
mer." The mystery man then begins to stalk the char-
acters and seems more interested in toying with them
than killing them. The characters begin to unravel
before our eyes, and then the inevitable finger point-
ing begins.
It is too bad that the school year in between the
accident and the summer is not included in the movie,
because this is when we would have had the chance to
see the characters develop and decay. They go from
lively, cocky, high school seniors to walking zombies
in a matter of seconds, and this
REVIEW
Know What You
id Last Summer
At Biarwood & Showcase
much feeling for the
ters.
is a tough pill for the audience to
swallow.
For a "horror" movie, "I
Know What You Did Last
Summer" doesn't have very
much suspense. Sure, we won-
der about the identity of the
killer, but it is hard to muster up
mainly one-dimensional charac-
It would have been nice to know a little bit more
about their families and how they dealt with the dra-
matic change in their members.
Whether or not it's right, this movie will be com-
pared to "Scream," and it doesn't stack up. "I Know
What You Did Last Summer" eases into its plot,
whereas "Scream" reaches out, grabs you by the
throat and doesn't let go. It is nowhere near as
humorous as "Scream," and it lacks the all-star cast
of victims.
So, let's write it off as Williamson's sophomore jinx,
and start getting ready for the return of the Williamson
we know and love on Dec. 12, when "Scream 2" is
released.
Apparently, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillipe, Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie;
Prinze Jr. auditioned for a Gap commercial last summer.
iving after nine years
aiah Michelle Gellar doesn't know what's happening
,bLast Summer."
IHomer time: 1
,I Aaron Rennie like "The
Daily Music Editor Susan" hav
Fall. The season has many connota- solely bas
tiops: football games at the Big House, been sa
leaves changing
.color and the return
S f The Greatest REV I E
how on Earth.
''ingling Brothers The Simp
Circus, you might
ask? Instead, I'm
.referring to the most Sundaysa
corsistently brilliant
cpmedy in the history of television (at Homer in t
least in our lifetime), "The Simpsons." was a little
The wacky adventures of Homer J. "Eat My S
Simpson and company have now show has I
titered their ninth full season on Fox, ous niche.
though for the second year in a row Homer,
pure comedic bliss has been rudely less-than-b
interrupted by the Major League Simpsons"
Baseball playoffs. leading ma
Nevertheless, Fox has been good to he's a cart
"The Simpsons" and the sitcom's many "Cheers" w
fans over the years. The network's line- had a dyna
up has been so pitiful in recent years that omnipresen
it couldn't help but give "The winning "S
}Simpsons" a big push, airing lots of works its
pisode trailers all week long. Castellanet
NBC, on the other hand, doesn't face deliciousne
this problem at all, as horrible shows Take for
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Cuned-in 'Simpsons' clan still thr
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f
Single Guy" and "Suddenly
te received whopping ratings
ed on the fact that they've
ndwiched between the
"Seinfeld" and
"ER" jugger-
W nauts.
Ever since
sons "The Simpsons"
FOX switched the
Fox focus of the show
at 8 p.m. from Bart
Simpson to
he second season - the first
bit shaky and had too many
Shorts"-like Bartisms - the
found its own unique, hilari-
the lovable, Duff-guzzling,
brilliant patriarch of "The
clan, is perhaps the greatest
n in television history - and
oon! Sure, Sam Malone on
was fantastic, but Ted Danson
amite supporting cast and an
nt laugh track, not unlike the
einfeld" cast. Homer's charm
way solely through Dan
ita's vocal chords and the
ess of the show's scripts.
example one of many scenes
where Homer has an interesting conver-
sation with his brain. Homer is desper-
ately searching his couch for a single
peanut when he finds a $20 bill. Homer
is disappointed and moans, but then his
brain tells him, "Wait, S20 can buy you
many peanuts."
H o m e r
responds, "Tell
me how." His
brain says,
"Money can be
exchanged for
goods and ser-
vices." After a brief
pause, Homer cries
out his trademark,
"Woo-hoo!" I mean,
"Seinfeld" may be the
best sitcom with real
actors on TV, but Jerry .
has nothing on
Homer.
"The Simpsons"
is not just about
Homer, however, nor
does it exclusively
focus on his wife,
Marge, or his chil-
dren, Bart, Lisa and
Maggie. Instead, a
60-plus member cartoon ensemble has
emerged over the years, with each char-
acter having some integral role to play in
the world of Springfield, U.S.A. Ralph
Wiggum, for example, is an adorable,
mindless second-grader who causes
one's ribs to hurt from laughing nearly
every time he opens his mouth.
Addressing his teacher in one
episode, Ralph says, "Miss
Hoover?! My worm crawled
in my mouth and then I ate
it. Can I have another
one?" She coldly
responds, "There are no
more worms, Ralph.
Just put your head
down and go to
sleep." Excited by
this news, Ralph says,
"Oh, boy, sleep!
That's where I'm a
viking!"
Such comedic
genius is clearly the
handiwork of a bunch
of gifted writers. Matt
Groening, artist and
writer of the "Life Is
Hell" comic strip, is
the creator of "The
Simpsons," but the dirty work is done by
the young staffers, many of whom work
80-plus hour weeks. While largely
unrecognized for their work, one former
writer has indeed hit the big-time:
Conan O'Brien. The "Late Night" host
on NBC was the driving force behind
many a "Simpsons" classic, including
one to which students can somewhat
relate, in which Homer goes to college.
The episode drops pop culture refer-
ences such as "Animal House,"
"Porky's" and Trekkies, and finds
Homer loading up his car with case
upon case of Duff for a weekend of
"beer-fuelled mayhem." Now, c'mon,
would you rather hang out with Homer
J., or one of those Hootie-ador ng
wankers from "Friends?" No contest'.
Hopefully the magical run of "The
Simpsons" will last for a good, 1ong
time, but in all likelihood the fair people
of Springfield will disappear from Fs
Sunday night line-up in a coupleo
years. Whenever the new episodes;eqd,
however, the fabulous old ones willn
tinue to live on in perpetual syndicati~p,
like Fox's other, considerably less futY
standby, "Married With Children.',Ii
the meantime, like many other students
at this fair school and millions through-
out the world, when 8 p.m. rolls around
on Sundays, I pray that the phone does
n't ring and interrupt Homer time.
If you think you're pregnant...
call us-we listen, we care.
PROBLEM PREGNANCY HELP,
975-4357
Any time, any day, 24 hours.
Fully confIdential.
Serving Students since 1970.
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305 S. Main 665-2680
Just a Short Walk Downtown from
Main Campus.
Consider the University of Michigan
for graduate studies in
EDUCATION
Prospective Graduate Students' Meeting
Saturday, October 25, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
"Yes men.
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MEMENIff
Educational Studies Programs:
Curriculum Development (M.A.)
Early Childhood Education (M.A., Ph.D.)
Educational Administration and Policy (M.A., Ph.D.)
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Social Studies Education (M.A.)'
Special Education (Ph.D.)
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Center for the Study of Higher and
Postsecondary Education Programs:
Academic Affairs (Ed.D., Ph.D.)
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('nmmnit,,C fnlleaa (iGvernance and e.arsimn (Ed.D.)
aol
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CIE?
Presented by
Donald Coffey, Ph.D.
Professor of Urology, Oncology & Pharmacology and
Molecular Sciences at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
President of the American Association of Cancer Research
World renowned scientist and noted speaker Donald Coffey is
coming to Ann Arbor to discuss these topics. His presentation
has been well received by audiences around the world.
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