Dr. Cornell West... Harvard Professor of Religion and Afro- American studies speaks about the links between the Holocaust and other forms of Genocide. Rackham. 7 p.m. Free. A ftMdft=BWa Aar llkFLTS michigandaily.com /arts MONDAY MARCH 12, 2001 5A Audience is left tangled ip'Bow Dry' By Jenny Jeltes Daily Arts Writer "On your toes boy! Balance ... shift ... feel it!" Never would one guess that this line comes from a father coaching his son on how to style hair. That's right folks. How to style hair. Paddy Breathnach ("The Full Monty") brings us "Blow Dry," a story of a broken family that man- ages to pull it all together through their cohesive effort at winning the National Blow Dry Hairdressing Championships in Yorkshire, England. Grade: C+ So who's going to win the Silver Scissors Trophy? At State Theater However silly the theme may sound, the audience soon finds itself lost in the flurry of high- lights, extensions, and hair- spray. A refreshing change, "Blow Dry" provides one with subtle British humor and some fascinating hairdos. Unfortunately, many flaws stifle the film's wonder- ful potential. With such a fun theme and some fine acting talent, it's a shame "Blow Dry" just couldn't pull it off. The plot is overdone. It just can't attain the right style; too much hairspray and some split ends simply make it lose its flair, and although it grazes the edges of satisfaction, it simply goes 1#. Shelley (Natasha Richardson) and her girlfriend Sandra (Rachel Griffiths), who work at the local barbershop "The Cut Above," decide to enter the competition. Shelley eventually convinces her ex- husband and co-worker Phil (Alan Rickman) and her son Brian to join, for they too do hair. Phil, however, has a hard time with this, since Shelley and Phil divorced years ago because Shelley fell in Teen comedy clich6s hard to 'Get Over' By Matthew Barrett Daily Arts Writer "Get Over It" never strays far from the cookie cutter path established by the recent collection of teen-comedies polluting today's movie theaters. It features a familiar courtesy aofMiramax nims Get Over It Grade: F At Showcase and Quality 16 cast, a grooving soundtrack (here we even get appearances by Sisqo and Vitamin C), inane dialogue and a story that has nothing new to say. The film is so worried about appealing to its pinpointed audience that it never once con- cerns itself with, those of us who The cast of "Blow Dry" search high and low for a movie that doesn't suck. love with Sandra. This entanglement seems sufficient for a film lasting only one hour and ten minutes. However, the focus of the story shifts all over the place, ignoring important relationships and involving itself in many pointless subplots. The acting is great, thus making the story, however fabricated and tedious, tolerable and even enjoyable. But it just tries too hard to be something it's not. It provides some laughs, but that's about it. There are several conflicts in the story, opening up a difficult task of bringing them together suc- cessfully in the end. First, Phil's rival Ray (Bill Nighy) of Raymond Robinson's Hair Studio, is apparently cheating in the contest. One of his bud- dies breaks the combs right before round one, allowing him to have more time to work his model's 'do. Speaking of models, Ray's hair model, Christina (Rachael Leigh Cook, "She's All That") soon finds out about his cheating behavior. Okay, so this conflict fits in the story fairly well. It would be nice to stop here. But wait ... this is just the beginning. Brian falls in love with Christina and Christina soon learns that Brian has been getting some extra hairstyling prac- tice in by working on dead people's hair at the morgue where he works. Are these details neces- sary? What ever happened to the story of Shelley and her apparently failed marriage? Nevertheless, the story continues along, leaving the audience bewildered. The best part of "Blow Dry" is definitely the last round of the competition, referred to as "The Total Look." Some of the hairstyles are really far out and if you care about hair or not, the dramatization of this crucial competition is very entertaining. A befuddling ending, however, outweighs the fun. (Note: Don't read on if you don't want to know the ending.) We soon find out that Shelley has had cancer for the past 10 years and has kept it a secret from everyone, including Sandra. She was undergoing extensive chemotherapy and was wearing a wig. Perhaps it was her last wish to partake in the championships with her family, amidst the under- lying tension between them all. This conclusion simply fails to have an effect on the viewer. Chemotherapy just doesn't fit into the equation. It takes away any -energy the audience might have left after following numerous silly subplots and it leaves the viewer thinking "Huh? I thought this movie was about hair." to be a bonus for us as we're no longer subjected to what might be the most horrid depiction of the game ever put on film. Sisqo takes the cake with his head-high dribbling display while running the point, although in many ways this is the funniest moment in the movie. Berke's decision to sacri- fice basketball for the play and a chance at winning Allison back is never given its due story-wise, and this makes it hard to believe that there was difficulty surrounding this choice. No one in "Get Over It" has much personality or, for that matter, anything that would make them engaging or interesting to watch. Everyone here is just looking out for themselves and those characters who are different from the norm are so over-the-top and ridiculous that their eccentricities hurt the film far more than they help it. The story kind of bounces along with no rhyme or reason, just the occasional dream sequence, musical number or shot of a dog humping something (a tree, a basketball and a character's leg are all used) inserted every so often to keep things rolling. These.gags are never that funny to begin with and only get more and more annoying as the movie progress- es. There is nothing positive about this film, except for the fact that it's only 90 minutes long. If you are forced into seeing it, make sure you leave the sec- ond that the movie ends, so you won't be subjected to the credit sequence where the cast sings along to "September." Leaving will help you recoup two of the minutes that you wasted watching this mindless tripe. might be looking for little throwaway things like humor, plot, or heart. The setup here is underdeveloped, predictable and dull as can be. It cen- ters on Berke (Ben Foster), a high school student bumming over the fact that his girlfriend Allison (Melissa Sagemiller) left him high and dry. Berke, however, is not one to take defeat lying down. He decides to try out for the school play where he can act alongside Allison and hopefully have the chops to impress her back into his arms. Berke enlists the assis- tance of singer, composer, babe in a bathing suit and budding thespian Kelly (Kirsten Dunst) to help him make his mark in the play. By acting in the play, Berke ditches his basketball career, which turns out t'iara' takes its advice from grandma U U UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN 4 UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN BIOLOGICAL STATION www.umich.edu/-umbs By Shannon O'Sullivan Daily Arts Writer Who knows "time tested secrets" better than Grandma? With advice like, "Have another piece of cake and wash it down with Susan Jane Gilman Shaman Drum Tonight at 8 a gin and tonic," and "Take a few lovers, travel the world, and don't take any crap," Susan Jane Gilman's grand- ma was her main influence in writing "Kiss My Tiara: How to Rule the World as a S mar t -Mo u th Goddess." In today's world, full of contradictory messages and expecta- tions for women, "Kiss My Tiara" offers humorous and no-nonsense alternatives to negative and annoying issues coming from the media, men, relatives, and friends. Sharing her grandma's witty rearks with her own intuitive voice, an, who will be reading from "Kiss My Tiara" tonight at Shaman Drum, approaches tackling tactics from careers, sex, dating, dieting, and more. Taking a turn from the typical self-help books which coun- sel women on the old formulas, los- KIRISTw COMsTO THE AR13. ROOM OF THEi MICWGAN DAMY (420 MAYNMW) AND PICK UP A COMPLIMENTARY. ADMtT TWO PASS.- OR "GET OVER IT," GOOD) POR ANY. SHOWING... MONDAY ThROUG.H... TKURsDAY I-. courtesy of Warner Books Susan Jane Gilman has written commen- tary for The New York Times, Ms., US, The Los Angeles Times and many others. ing weight and catching Prince Charming, Gilman guides women on becoming Smart-Mouth Goddesses when it comes to: 1) Beauty: Sure beauty has the power to excite men. But so does a box of donuts. 2) Food: The Jews didn't survive on wheat- grass. Neither will we. 3) Dating: "The real purpose of a date is so we can tell our gal-pals about it the next day. With 99% of dates ending in dis- appointment, we're better off using it as a source of endless entertain- ment." 4) Marriage: "Don't build a marriage on sexual chemistry. Sure fireworks are spectacular, but look what happens to them. Fifteen sec- onds and poof!" Each chapter not only begins with a witty title ranging from PMS is a Power Tool, Fish Who Need Bicycles (A Thinking Girl's Guide to Love), to Wisdom From Dickville, but each page provides a laugh and a smile. "Kiss My Tiara" is much more than advice with an attitude on dat- ing and sex; it's about money, power and politics as well. Regarding money as a power tool, Gilman sug- gests classic man-catching tech- niques, playing hard to get, acting mysterious, which actually help women get the millionaires they're supposedly trying to marry. Ruling the world as a smart mouth goddess comes from the assumption that talk in itself has the power to persuade and influence today's world. Take the phrase, "You go, Girl," formally exclusive to 'drag queens and homegirls.' Now 80-year- olds in Branson, Missouri are calling it out to each other on Bingo Night." With the guts, tools, brains, attitude, and even clothes, Gilman concludes that today's women are in prime position to conquer the world. As her grandma used to say, "'The world will be more heart-breaking than you know, and more beautiful than you'll ever imagine.' So let's follow our own path, stand tall, and not take any shit. And while we're at it, have a good laugh." Challenging Courses Offered Spring Session (May 20-June 15) General Ecology Summer Session (June 23-August 18) Biology of Birds General Ecology Biology of Insects Freshwater Algac Natural History & Evolution Limnology Biology & Ecology of Fishes Behavioral Ecology Stream and River Ecolo(\ Habitats and Organisms Wetland Ecolog Courtesy of Warner Books Financial aid is readily available! Application forms available in the Biological Station Office 745 Dennison Bldg call 734-763-4461 or email umbs@umich.edu Join us for a rewarding summer in northern Michigan! C' I ii #1 Summer Job $6.25/hr base rate for most positions. PLUS the best bonus plan in the industry - an extra $1/hrl Dozens of different types of jobs: bar- tender, ride operator, lifeguard, sales, hotel staff. Even internships for college. What's right for you? A #1 Amusement Park You call this work? Unlimited access to the over" 150 rides and attractions of the best park on the% planet. Free tickets for friends, and after-hours parties with the rest of the 4,000 summer staff. #1 Coasters% What other job offers the best coasters in the world? 14 in all - including Millennium Forcer' xM Am rc 'stles n f set America's tallest and fastest! ~ Interview with us! University of Michigan Job Fair r design majors t's time Are you interested in making ads that will be seen in print as a way to make money, gain experience, and build a portfolio??! Call 764.0556 ask for Susan or Dana for details --or stop by the Student Publications J Building and get an application from- the Production Department.