8A - The Michigan Daily - Monday, March 8, 1999 'Sister mak By Kristin Long Daily Arts Writer In the film "The Other Sister," Juliette Lewis plays Carla Tate, a 24-year-old mentally challenged woman struggling to find her independence. At one point, in the middle of a family dinner, she asks her sister and her sister's fiance if they are going to "do it." At another point, she's barking at dogs in the middle of a ceremony honoring her mother, caus- ing mass chaos and utter embarass- ment for her mother. Later, she's telling her friend Daniel, also coping The Other with mental challenges, that they Sister should do more than kiss and move on to other things. i And this is supposed to be funny? At Showcase To the makers of the movies, appar- ently so. But the truth is that the film hardly is, and it isn't endearing either. The entire premise is more annoying than anything, and builds its humor on the mockery of Carla and Daniel's mental challenges. The laughs are contrived from the two individuals' innocence and misunderstandings, and any tears that may fall ought to result from the film's poor quality than any character revelations. Carla has just returned home from a private boarding school, and through a series of wasted flashbacks that kill any momentum from its very start, we learn that her father, Radley (Tom Skerritt), and mother, Elizabeth (Diane es mockery of mentally challenged . bitch, someone whom we'd rather never meet nor ever care to endulge in her life. The story centers on Carla making it on her own. At her welcome home party, she tells Mom, Dad and her two sis- ters Heather and Caroline (Sarah Paulson and Poppy Montgomery), how she has big goals in line for her future, including earning a degree from a "real" school. Elizabeth, of course, finds this particularly unsettling, because the family is in the midst of planning for Caroline's wedding, and feels that Carla's aspirations can wait for another time. Boo hoo. Instead of focusing on this challenge and creating a story of coming to terms with the cards life has dealt her, the plot becomes diluted with multiple subplots that stall the for- ward motion of the film and also prohibit us from getting attached to any aspect thereof Enter Carla's romantic relationship with Daniel McMahon, This, too, could carry the film on its own, but alas, it battles the Carla-Elizabeth story, and instead of com- plementing each other, which it poorly attempts to do, we are left feeling no real attachment to any aspect of the story. It is superficial and a complete bore. What gives "The Other Sister" any cheers, as quiet as that cheer might be, is Juliette Lewis's performance. While many say that actors leap for roles of the mentally challeged, Lewis does a remarkable portrayal of the determined Carla regardless. What weakens her credibility is her character's inability to make a gradual progression toward proving her independence, and instead her behavior seems ridiculed. Herein lies a fundamental problem with the film. It bases its humor on Carla and Daniel's mental conditions, and quite hiuntly laughs at their challenges. It isn't laughing with them and their adventures, but treats them as a farce and seems to be more of a put down that an unlifting story of a woman overcoming the obstacles of ife with her love. While Giovanni Ribisi's Daniel, like Lewis, is well-repre- sented, we are expected to find more humor in his igno- rance, and he just becomes an snowball of embarassing moments,. All of their discussion of sex is completely for- mulated to gain a laugh or two, and it ruins any credibility the film might have mustered. The remainder of the film's stars go completely wasted. Diane Keaton reprises her "Father of the Bride" (Parts I and II) role, as the mom who stuggles with letting go. Oh, "Annie Hall" days, where have you gone? Keaton has class and talent, but her portrayal of Elizabeth is nothing more than a diluted attempt at being an emotional carry-all. Skerritt shows the most talent, with regard to Carla's fam- ily members. We actually care about him, his feelings of accepting Carla and his coming to grips with alcoholism. As the sisters, Montgomery and Paulson merely add dead- weight to the already sinking plot. "The Other Sister" makes its strongest attempt at true humor when it parallels scenes from "The Graduate" to por- tray Carla and Daniel's fears of being average. At least here, we are not mocking the young lovers, but actually attempt- ing to understand their challenges. Unfortunately, for this original film, it has to use another film to make a point. While "The Other Sister" tries to be an endearing bitter- sweet comedy, its final product is nothing more than an irri- tating mimicry of the woes of life's greatest obstacles. How not funny. Courtesy of Buena vista Juliette Lewis rides Giovanni Ribisi's handlebars. Keaton), had to overcome struggles of personal guilt and alcoholism to learn to accept and deal with Carla's condi- tion. While Radley comes across clearly as a man we would like to know, Elizabeth is merely a shallow, insensitive Health Career Fair Human Service, Policy, Practice, Research and Administration1 Analyze By Kristin Long Daily Arts Writer People say that overanalyzing things leads one to miss the boat of under- standing. Such is the case with the com- edy "Analyze This" directed and co- written by humor-genius Harold Ramis. The film stars Robert DeNiro as an This' overanalyzes humor March 16, 1999 Meet with organizations from a wide range of health fields Talk with recruiters about full time 11:00am - 3:00pm and internship opportunities Michigan Union Pre-register on-line through ourj home page February 24 - March 12i www.cpp.umich.edu rganizations attending the Fair Analyze .his At Briarwood and Showcase carry the humor int emotional basket- case of a mobster named Paul Vitti and Billy Crystal as Paul's seem- ingly unstable therapist Ben Sobel. While the story lacks the balance of silli- ness and serious- ness to make the film plausible, the charisma of DeNiro and Crystal help to the life of mobster Watch for these o Biotronic " Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan M-Fit * Genesys Regional Medical Center " Peace Corps Mathematica Policy Research . The MEDSTAT Group 1 STATPROBE, Inc. " Market Strategies - Wayne County ,, Health Dept. - ZS Associates " and many more! Th,.U tr iw o hian Career IPanning Placement DOsr, - l.1Stujrnt Aifam, on the verge of a breakdown. Their rela- tionship makes "Analyze This" bear- able. jWe meet the intimidating Mr. Vitti just as he suffers the anxiety attack of a lifetime, which sets the ball rolling for an emotional rollar coster of events. Before long, his sidekick Jelly (Joseph Viterelli) - the epitome of a mob boss's right-hand man - introduces him to the cynical ways of Ben Sobel. Sobel is also dealing with his own per- sonal problems - though his aren't of the necessarily violent sort, but more of the typical single father-about-to- remarry-walking-in-his-father's-shad- ow sort. Needless to say, this is very typical Crystal. He plays a man who doesn't want to go outside of the box, but is inevitably forced to push the barriers and let down his guard. Though his por- trayal brings home the laughs, the char- acterization is nothing unusual for Crystal and we get the feeling we've seen this before. When Lisa Kudrow enters the picture as Laura MacNamara, Ben's fiancee, we get the exact same feeling. It's Phoebe, under a different name, and now she's an eccentric bride-to-be, who's giving up her reporter's job in Miami and moving to New York for her new hubby. We don't know much more about her, except that she's furious with Mr. Vitti's "problems" and anything that has to do with her stops anything inter- esting from happening in the movie's plot. The performance is quite a downfall for Kudrow who was remarkable in last year's "The Opposite of Sex." In that film she had almost completely evaded the "Friends" belong on the small screen adage, whereas Kudrow reverts back to the silly basics here. Is all hope Frustrated and disappointed with the University? Need help making sense of your U of M experience? Check out http://universitysecrets.com _. _ _..... _._ _. _. _ ,.._ .. r L, . i ' : b' ' :3+' ' D r; ' ' : ' ' : ' : D' ; ' tar: d r; D' : D b: ' ' : 'dr : ' : D' gib'' :3+' 'mid lost? The story goes on to show how Paul comes to grips with his past, and moves on as the head of his family. His char- acter is complemented by Primo Sindone (Chazz Palminteri), the leader of the other dominant family in New York, who really can't understand all this talk about "feelings." Chazz Palminteri is, as always, a fine contribution. His presence is perfectly coupled with DeNiro's, especially as Palminteri's character is still mob-like, not questioning his lifestyle at all and the ultimate bad guy with no moral qualms. The contrasting on-screen personali- ties of DeNiro and Crystal really drive a %44 Courtesy of Warner Brothers Robert DeNiro and Billy Crystal shock visa Kudrow In "Analyze This." William K. Mclnally Memorial Lecture F KENNETH G. LIEBERTHAL William Davidson Professor of Business Administration Professor of Political Science University of Michigan Author of Governing China Currently serving as Special assistant to the President and Senior Director for Asian Affairs will present 3) "u.s. Pol'icy in Asia" I TUESDAY, MARCH 9,1999 4:30 p.m. University of Michigan Business School Hale Auditorium Assembly Hall Corner of Hill and Tappan Streets the film's humor. The whiny antics of DeNiro are quite the opposite of what we'd expect from his robust personality given his past roles. Combining this with Crystal's sarcastic demeanor, cre-@ ates jokes that one can't help but find funny. Unfortunately, though, the jokes at times seems more forced than natural, and only garner a chuckle rather than a heart-felt belly laugh. One expects more from these screen legends. Accepting "Analyze This" as an opportunity to laugh at a hard-core mobster gone soft and dealing with his inner-emotions, makes the film work. It's a fun flick to catch, but there isn't much more to it than that. k ing for talented eview theater, sic and books. ot necessary. If 0 please contact an at 763-0379. Daily Arts is loo writers to to ri television, mu Experience is n you're interested, Arts Editor a 9'