6F- The chigan Daily-- Football relay - October 2, I.90 S w 0 0#er 2, 1999 - Fo Without sense of timing, 'Illuminata' bores Patmon makes himself at home at By Ed Sholinsky Daily h'imlnEditor One thing that can make a Hollywood blockbuster like "Lethal Weapon 4" infinitely more watch- able than a high brow art film is pac- ing. Sitting through a work that plods along - though it may be infused with deep meaning - is going to be painful, no matter how much you get out of the film. Now imagine that the movie you're sitting through that is badly paced has nothing really going on and is just one lame joke after anoth- er. This is "Illuminata. Iluminati At Michigan Theat Screening Roo the torture that is Set against the backdrop of turn of the cen- tury New York, a"'Al uminata" is the story of * Tuccio (produc- er, co-writer, er director John m Turturro), a playwright who is battling the theater owner, A(sB e vr l u yi D'Angelo),rwho ys, but doesn't want to with him. Astergourd decides to pull the play, which Tuccio (illogically) sees as a betrayal not only by Astergourd but by Rachel as well. Broken, Tuccio goes off in search of Celimene (Susan Sarandon), a famous 'actress who loves his work and wants to sleep with him, so the two can work on a new play. Not only is "Illuminata" bogged down with an overly large ensemble, but the story seems to go nowhere except to the predictable. What is seems to be about is less the staging of a play and more about how you can keep kicking a woman and she'll still come back to you, and that homosexuals are only out for sex. The film is further damaged by its multiple personalities. At times it can't decide if it's a screwball physi- cal comedy or if it's a serious come-j dy. Then there is the problem that there are times when the film's dia- logue is inflated like the dialogue of the stage, but then there are times when it's more colloquial. But there seems to be no rhyme or reason for the alternation. Mostly, though, "Illuminata" is just boring. It moves at a snail's pace, so that it's easy to overlook the good qualities of the film. Instead, you'll be lulled to sleep like you were a baby and the film was your lullaby. But there are a couple of things of note in the film, that almost make it watchable. The art direction and cinematog- raphy are, at times, stunning. There is a great deal of beauty in the play that is staged within the film. This is t'* : x.1 . By Josh Kleinbaum Daily Sports Editor They sat in the waiting room of a San Diego high school like trouble- makers waiting to see the principal. After a moment of awkward silence, Lloyd Carr turned to the man sitting next to him. "Where do you' want DeWayne to go?" the Michigan football coach asked. "Honestly, deep down, I want him to go to Texas," Chuck Patmon replied. The coach paused, then smiled. "I hope," said Carr, "he doesn't lis- ten to you." DeWayne Patmon didn't listen to his dad. He didn't listen when his dad, and everyone else with vocal cords, told him that he wouldn't start in the defensive backfield at Michigan - Texas is where to go to get some play- ing time. He didn't listen to Ricky Williams, his old high-school team- mate, who was on the way to becom- ing college football's all-time leading rusher at Texas, who told him they could be together again. He didn't lis- ten to that third faction, either, the one from South Bend - the one that told him he could play in the shadow of Touchdown Jesus. Instead, he listened to his heart. For Patmon, who grew up with a Michigan hat on his head and a maize- and-blue T-shirt on his back, that heart said Ann Arbor. But it shouldn't have surprised any- one. If people said he wouldn't get playing time at Michigan, that's where Patmon would most likely want to go. When he drives to the airport, he purposely waits as long as he can, cut- ting the flight as close as he can. "It's like a challenge," Chuck Patmon said from San Diego. "It dri- ves me crazy." For DeWayne, college was just another airport, cracking Michigan's starting lineup just another challenge. Now in his third Michigan season, now an emerging force at free safety on the country's fourth-ranked team, the soft-spoken Patmon knows he made the right decision. "Michigan had more to offer all around, and I'm very happy with the decision I made," Patmon said. But what he doesn't say in words, he says in his demeanor - a large smile covers his face, arms relaxed by his side, Patmon was more at home than the Old Lady in her shoe. Standing at just six-feet tall, 181 pounds, Patmon doesn't fit the big, bruising football player mold. You wouldn't think he could hit like a Mack truck. You'd think he'd hit more like Betty Rubble. You'd be wrong. Growing up the youngest of six kids, including two brothers who were young enough for him to play with, Patmon quickly learned his place as the little one, he was quiet and did as he was told. "He had two older brothers that sat on him when he mouthed off," said Daryl Dotson, a defensive backs coach at Patrick Henry who coached Chad, Daryl and DeWayne Patmon. But it was that same environment, having two older brothers who would sit on him, that toughened Patmon up and turned him into the bruising hitter that he is today. "They always played tough and rough," Chuck Patmon said. "They made him tough." As a sophomore at Patrick Henry High School, DeWayne broke into the I I :.:.Aw- lit-7:71F, .- x 7:7 K", .7'' starting lineup, playing free safety alongside his brother, Chad, the strong safety. "Everyone thought Chad was the great player, because he was such a big talker," Dotson said. "But at the end of the year, everyone ended up talking about DeWayne. His play talks for itself." His play has been more of a whisper at Michigan - at least as far as public attention goes - although it probably should be a roar. These stats speak pretty loudly: ® In his 15 career starts at Michigan, the Wolverines are 15-0. Last season, he moved into the starting lineup after Marcus Ray was suspend- ed for accepting gifts from an agent. He started 10 games; Michigan won all 10. Ray, a Columbus nati.ve, started his last regular-season game at Michigan, a 33-16 loss at Ohio State. Patmon started one game as a fresh- man, a Michigan victory, before miss- ing the last three games of the season with a broken leg. * Last season, Patmon tied for the team lead in interceptions, grabbing four, and was second in pass breakups with four. He already has two picks this year, leading the Wolverines, and one tackle for loss in just four games this season. Patmon will have to be plenty loud today against Purdue. With stud quar- terback Drew Brees throwing to five wide receivers spread all over the field, Patmon and the rest of the Michigan secondary will have a busy day. "Two weeks couldn't fully prepare us for this offense," Patmon said. "Our mindset is that we are going to have to change gears and learn things quick- ly." The Michigan defense had just one week, and that will have to be enough time to learn things. Purdue has speedy receivers, but thanks to his high school buddy, Patmon has some experience tackling speedy guys. Before he had a Heisman Trophy on his resume, before he appeared on the cover of a magazine in a wedding dress, before he rewrote the NCAA rushing record book, Ricky Williams was the star senior at Patrick Henry, where Patmon was a sophomore safe- ty. DeWayne Patmon (15) makes a Dame as Cato June (2) looks on stages his play put on his most recent play because she thinks it lacks an ending. But Tuccio plays a fast one and with the help of his lover, Rachel (Turturro's talentless wife Katherine Borowitz), who is also the manager of the acting troupe, is able to stage his play "illuminata." The play flops with Bevalaqua (Christopher Walken), the "maca- roni queen," drama critic who prais- es young actors so that they'll sleep The cast of "Illuminata" hits a high note in this otherwise dry film. complemented by the puppet show that Turturro intercuts with the action of the film. The puppets' movements and the backdrops are incredible, making you wish that this type of ingenuity was used to tell the story. Along with this, two actors really stand out from the rather bland pack. In a very, very small role Ben Gazzara bring enormous vitality to the story. Playing the aging, senile actor father of Rachel, Old Flavio, Gazzara plays up every line and makes most of the physical comedy funnier than it should be. In a much larger role, Walken is terrific. He prances around the film and has so much fun with the role that his excitement is contagious. If even half the actors brought the energy to their roles that Walken brought to his, then "Illuminata" would have been salvageable. Instead, a cast of talented actors and actres2& seemingly phone in their performances, even Turturro, Courtesy of Artisan Entertainment despite the fact that "Illuminata" is his baby. The usually reliable D'Angleo and Sarandon seem lost, as though they were doing Turturro a favor by being in his movie, but weren't really willing to work that hard. Without a really original concept, without a sense of comic timing and pacing and without any idea of how to keep the audience awake, "Illuminata" is sure to bore to the point where any good that comes out of it will seem like a hazy dream. is I Ir a I 'I, y E, c SIF LL VTAwoERw~ 30 Tap Beers Lunch $5-9 Celebra te Victories! 80 Bottle Beers Entrees $7-$15 , ..,, I POST GAME MUNiES? No Problemal! Satellite T.V. All Games 15 Mins. or Free Lunch Mon.-Fri. 11-3PM Carry Out Available Free taste1 to ln0 Surday of everymolh -.i~aI6 650 MEXICAN RESTAURANT Current Readers1'98 Chile Pepper Maqazine's Fiery Food Challenge, Salsa Division Read the Michigan Daily every Monday through Friday on the Internet. Check ww. michigandaily .Com Ipg I Open everyday at 11:00AM W Mon.-Thurs. until 12:00AM 0 Fri.-Sat. until 1:00AM = Sunday until 11:00PM 996-0996 1-94 at State Street Next to Briarwood Mall . ., .. ., .. C.,;. Which meant every day in practice, Patmon got a first-hand look at one of the best backs in the game. "I think that's why I hit pretty hard," Patmon said. "I had to tackle a big guy like him." Having to tackle a player like Williams in high school helped pre- pare Patmon for top-notch college players Containing Brees and Purdue's spread offense isn't going to be easy, and the Wolverines can use all the help they can get. While Brees may be able to throw faster than the Concorde, for Patmon, DANA LINNANE / Daly stopping him is just the airport all over congratulate again is;i4 :. ? d ) s ¢ J bP i3 ~ $ L.I Limit E - - - -- - -m --------- J $5 Off Any 2 Entrees I Not valid withiany other (off'. Expires 1/ U99 0.t-' MEXICAN CAFE 333 E. Huron " Ann ArLbor I Free safety DeWayne Patmon, right, and linebacker Ian Gold, left, eac afhepaftersagood play earlier i01c 00 .' C 1 t P ZY I I ,, ' s 1: 'di pR I '!~ m a -e -m WN'0. CA is